Office Upgrades.

Jen Shoop

2 years ago

I mentioned last weekend that we are going low and slow with the decorating of our home, but I was looking around my writing studio the other day and realizing how sparse it feels at the moment. I have some cherished possessions, all clustered in the photo above, including an original Inslee watercolor, a tiny glass bird objet my girlfriend gave me, a Jonathan Adler lamp (style since discontinued), my Magpie notepad from Erin Wallace, a Tara Andris desk calendar, a photograph of the Prada Marfa installation and a stretched canvas Prada Marfa reproduction — all items that spark joy. But aside from them, the space is not particularly interesting. Sometimes emptiness is a good thing for creativity: a blank canvas, or a space clear of stimulation. But the room just doesn’t feel much like me at all. I write at the same old, chipped white desk I’ve written at since college, and I don’t feel romantic about that continuity at all, because the desk wobbles when I type and has worn thin on paint in certain areas in ways that distract rather than charm. I also feel hemmed in while seated at it: the desk is petite in dimensions and I’m forever shuffling stacks of papers and notepads around to give myself elbow room. I spent some time this week daydreaming about giving it a face lift — all my favorite finds for the space below.