Lovely post, lots to think about as we come into Autumn, I love the feeling of getting cosy. I don’t have a desk, I feel most creative first thing in the morning and my writing desk is a tray on my lap whilst sat in bed. My creaky joints won’t allow me to spring out of bed so I make the most of grabbing a cup of tea and writing in bed.
But Substack I rarely write on my desk, a mix of on the train, sofa in my living room, in a hotel room, in bed, on the balcony, in a green space somewhere outside m. Whenever creativity pays me a visit. 😅
I need my Desk set up to be inviting, some flowers, maybe a candle. Photograph of my loved ones. Tea pot... able to look out of the window. 🥰
funny story, I do sometimes light a candle when I need extra love in the space. A few years ago, I had a zoom interview / exam and at some point I had to interrupt the interviewer to pause for a second so I could blow out the candle, it had dropped on my aunt’s favourite table cloth (I was at her place)😇 I got some surprises faces on the other side of the screen as I disappeared from the screen for a few moments 🤣
I have a desk but I hardly ever write there. Being a mama of two I have to write where inspiration hits - my main spots are out on the deck, the couch or on Sundays which are my writing days I switch between my 3 favourite cafes. When I do write on the couch it's mostly at night and ideally I'd light some candles and incense but that just depends. I feel like obsessing over a certain place and set up to write places limitations on my creativity which yes ... is a clear no from me 😂 one thing I do always do though is make a coffee or cacao or smoothie in the hotter months. I seem to need something to sip on when I write which is interesting haha
When the first of my children got married a few years ago, I took over her bedroom and made it into an office/studio. Before that I used a corner desk in the family room. I love having an office because it’s my own and I can seclude myself in it when I’m not home alone. But I also like to work outside or on the comfy sofa or even at the dining room table sometimes (especially when it’s snowing, because of the sliding glass door which allows for a great view).
Ooh Claire! A juicy conversation. I have a beautiful studio that I love to be in. It’s a privilege that I am very grateful for and I work in there most days. I started out working from the dining room table in early 2020 for my employed job (that covid thing!) and then moved into the conservatory after we had a roof put on it to make it more usable, and set it up as my space to accommodate my accountancy work and my illustration work. Now I’m in the extension and I love it even more 💛
Oh I love moving about... but I also love having a designated space to make as my creative altar! I’m about to get turfed out of my office space as it becomes my eldest’s bedroom... but I will be working from my new desk in my bedroom until my studio space is built in our garden (on the vision board and manifesting like crazy!!) I like to use my big Mac (not Big Mac like my phone is trying to autocorrect to) for my design work as the screen is massive, but my writing and personal creations feels like it is more portable so I do it on my laptop wherever I can... standing in kitchen... sitting on floor or sofa... anyway... I guess what I’m saying is that I like flexibility too!!! Ha!
I’ve used the kitchen bench so so much... great height, boil the kettle, watch the little ones who can’t reach the keys 😆! We too have plans in for a garden studio - very very excited to bring that one to life... ✨✨🪴✨✨ what’s your time line on that Lauren?
Claire, I've only just got to this post, and I'm so glad to have read it - thank you!
We share a desk, although it's usually just me using it. Every so often I have to clear another 'pile of denial' - usually to make space for my humungous writing notebook for some saved-up-cos-I-deserve-it writing time. We're a household of two, but space is still very much at a premium.... 🙄🤣
Pile of denial?!! 🤦🏽♀️ haha I’m there with you!! It’s SO hard isn’t it!
Reading all the comments I do feel we should prioritise a proper desk and chair at home...I’ve had an idea but I’d have to rearrange things... hmmm! Still wondering if I could make it work...
I bought a small, old Victorian school desk a few years ago and I absolutely love it. It has a pop up lid, a space for an ink well, and it has all of the graffiti etched into it. It’s beautiful in my opinion, my husband doesn’t quite see it 🤣
A child’s one 😂. It’s a good job I’m not very big. I use an old wooden chair, it’s old but I don’t think it’s Victorian. It doesn’t match the desk but I still love it. The front left leg isn’t fixed in place so I need to be careful whenever I sit down and tuck myself under the desk 🤦🏼♀️🤣
This post feels very timely for me as I have earmarked a space in my home as a creative space for me but have so far not managed to clear it/sort it/make it lovely but hope to do so this autumn/winter.
Currently I work where I can/when I can, the dining table, sofa (sorry Donna!), bed (probably also not great for the back!) often with sleeping babes strewn across me. I really like working in cafes and am very interested in the idea of co-working space locally. I live in a sort of villagey but vibrant and creative corner of North London and feel there must be a huge demand for co-working here for people who no longer go into town everyday...xx
There are LOADS of co working spaces in LONDON Lyndsay - that’s where I got the idea. I did lots of research! I need to introduce you to my pal Amy - she’s South West but has a studio she hires to creatives! She also paid for co working for a while somewhere! Are you on insta? I’ll hook you in?
I think with these big seeming projects we just have to take it step by step don’t we. With our standing desk space I bought clear boxes to store our bits and bobs and once they were sorted and the walls were painted white I felt like “ok here we go blank canvas!!” What’s first on your list? ✨
You are so right re the big projects. My starting points are deciding on a paint colour and getting a table/desk. I had one of those atelier style trestle tables in mind but we might be inheriting a table from family who have just moved abroad so it’s not completely in line with the vision but it will do for now...!
Great inspiration and tips here Claire. I struggle with a working space because I’m an adult human in the size of a twelve year old human’s body. This sounds cute (it’s not 🤣) but makes furniture very tricky. I have a decent set up now and plan to get a desk made for my size as I haven’t found one any other way.
I am a chiropractor who works with the neuro-musculoskeletal system and I spend my day reminding my patients not to work from their couch (sofa depending what you like to call it). At least not regularly.
I don’t like being the bearer of bad news but sorting bent over for an extended time can cause undue stress to your back or neck. However given that you guys do a ton of yoga you’ll be better off than most.
I just had to throw that in there as a public service announcement!
Donna this is actually so helpful! So much that we don’t see under the surface isn’t there. After I read this I realised I’ve had a niggle in the outside of my left knee and it’s probably because I curl my legs under when I sit on the sofa, put a cushion on top of them and write ✍️ 💡👀🤦🏽♀️
You got it Sweetie! That position will catch up with you sooner or later (I know, it's such a bummer). If you're working from your couch try to sit up fully with both feet firmly planted on the ground and your laptop or device on your lap, or on a pillow so it's the right height for your neck and arms. Email me for more info😆 because this is what I do ALL day every day is tell people this exact thing!
Aww I often wonder if I’d have a cat if Dave wasn’t allergic!! I’m the same with the sofa - one spot and one alone! I think I might have a couple of weird strains from doing it though!! 🙈 I sit with my legs to one side and I defo need to do more yoga to balance it all out! ✨❤️
My 17 year old daughter recently bought me an old wooden desk in a charity shop and restored it. It’s small because we don’t have much room, but I love having that little space to call my own! And the 10 year old hasn’t even covered it in Lego builds yet 😅
Thanks for this Claire. I work at the dining room table with my working from home husband opposite me, as we don’t have office space. I’m trying to write a book - my deadline is fast approaching! - and I’m really struggling. You’ve inspired me to carve out a small nook for myself in my bedroom. It’s an area little more than cupboard sized but it might just do the trick.
Honestly Jayne the change of environment works wonders for me. I move a lot! This evening I took my notebook to the spa for an hour and got a piece of copy done in minutes where as if I’d have stayed home I would have faffed around cooking and cleaning and being pulled in all the directions. How are you in cafes? Good for you or too noisy? ✨
I haven’t tried it yet as it’s been the school holidays and with four kids at home I haven’t been able to escape! I’m going to try the library next week 🤞🏻
Lovely post, lots to think about as we come into Autumn, I love the feeling of getting cosy. I don’t have a desk, I feel most creative first thing in the morning and my writing desk is a tray on my lap whilst sat in bed. My creaky joints won’t allow me to spring out of bed so I make the most of grabbing a cup of tea and writing in bed.
But Substack I rarely write on my desk, a mix of on the train, sofa in my living room, in a hotel room, in bed, on the balcony, in a green space somewhere outside m. Whenever creativity pays me a visit. 😅
I need my Desk set up to be inviting, some flowers, maybe a candle. Photograph of my loved ones. Tea pot... able to look out of the window. 🥰
funny story, I do sometimes light a candle when I need extra love in the space. A few years ago, I had a zoom interview / exam and at some point I had to interrupt the interviewer to pause for a second so I could blow out the candle, it had dropped on my aunt’s favourite table cloth (I was at her place)😇 I got some surprises faces on the other side of the screen as I disappeared from the screen for a few moments 🤣
I have a desk but I hardly ever write there. Being a mama of two I have to write where inspiration hits - my main spots are out on the deck, the couch or on Sundays which are my writing days I switch between my 3 favourite cafes. When I do write on the couch it's mostly at night and ideally I'd light some candles and incense but that just depends. I feel like obsessing over a certain place and set up to write places limitations on my creativity which yes ... is a clear no from me 😂 one thing I do always do though is make a coffee or cacao or smoothie in the hotter months. I seem to need something to sip on when I write which is interesting haha
When the first of my children got married a few years ago, I took over her bedroom and made it into an office/studio. Before that I used a corner desk in the family room. I love having an office because it’s my own and I can seclude myself in it when I’m not home alone. But I also like to work outside or on the comfy sofa or even at the dining room table sometimes (especially when it’s snowing, because of the sliding glass door which allows for a great view).
Ooh Claire! A juicy conversation. I have a beautiful studio that I love to be in. It’s a privilege that I am very grateful for and I work in there most days. I started out working from the dining room table in early 2020 for my employed job (that covid thing!) and then moved into the conservatory after we had a roof put on it to make it more usable, and set it up as my space to accommodate my accountancy work and my illustration work. Now I’m in the extension and I love it even more 💛
Great post Claire! I'm also a morning person and tend to stop all my computer work by 2pm as my brain just doesn't function well after this point!
It’s so smart to work to our own timelines isn’t it... I often brain dump on weekends too so I don’t go into Mondays overwhelmed! ✨🙏
Yes, I love my Sunday planning! :)
Oh I love moving about... but I also love having a designated space to make as my creative altar! I’m about to get turfed out of my office space as it becomes my eldest’s bedroom... but I will be working from my new desk in my bedroom until my studio space is built in our garden (on the vision board and manifesting like crazy!!) I like to use my big Mac (not Big Mac like my phone is trying to autocorrect to) for my design work as the screen is massive, but my writing and personal creations feels like it is more portable so I do it on my laptop wherever I can... standing in kitchen... sitting on floor or sofa... anyway... I guess what I’m saying is that I like flexibility too!!! Ha!
I’ve used the kitchen bench so so much... great height, boil the kettle, watch the little ones who can’t reach the keys 😆! We too have plans in for a garden studio - very very excited to bring that one to life... ✨✨🪴✨✨ what’s your time line on that Lauren?
Claire, I've only just got to this post, and I'm so glad to have read it - thank you!
We share a desk, although it's usually just me using it. Every so often I have to clear another 'pile of denial' - usually to make space for my humungous writing notebook for some saved-up-cos-I-deserve-it writing time. We're a household of two, but space is still very much at a premium.... 🙄🤣
Pile of denial?!! 🤦🏽♀️ haha I’m there with you!! It’s SO hard isn’t it!
Reading all the comments I do feel we should prioritise a proper desk and chair at home...I’ve had an idea but I’d have to rearrange things... hmmm! Still wondering if I could make it work...
All my adult life I’ve craved a kitchen table - that’s where I’d do EVERYTHING! 🤣
All the things! Ours has surface area syndrome 😂
🤣 #sas
I bought a small, old Victorian school desk a few years ago and I absolutely love it. It has a pop up lid, a space for an ink well, and it has all of the graffiti etched into it. It’s beautiful in my opinion, my husband doesn’t quite see it 🤣
Ahh how cute!! So a teacher’s desk? Or a child’s one? What chair do you use?
A child’s one 😂. It’s a good job I’m not very big. I use an old wooden chair, it’s old but I don’t think it’s Victorian. It doesn’t match the desk but I still love it. The front left leg isn’t fixed in place so I need to be careful whenever I sit down and tuck myself under the desk 🤦🏼♀️🤣
I should have called this confessions of a creatives workstation 😆
Haha! It would make for a good Note thread for creatives to share their work spaces/ desks!
Wouldn’t it!! It’s like the anti Instagram here sometimes!!
I have 2 desks but they are usually not free when I want to write so I write on the sofa
Ahhh 😌 I might start a chat to see everyone’s desk set ups I’m curious!!!
This post feels very timely for me as I have earmarked a space in my home as a creative space for me but have so far not managed to clear it/sort it/make it lovely but hope to do so this autumn/winter.
Currently I work where I can/when I can, the dining table, sofa (sorry Donna!), bed (probably also not great for the back!) often with sleeping babes strewn across me. I really like working in cafes and am very interested in the idea of co-working space locally. I live in a sort of villagey but vibrant and creative corner of North London and feel there must be a huge demand for co-working here for people who no longer go into town everyday...xx
There are LOADS of co working spaces in LONDON Lyndsay - that’s where I got the idea. I did lots of research! I need to introduce you to my pal Amy - she’s South West but has a studio she hires to creatives! She also paid for co working for a while somewhere! Are you on insta? I’ll hook you in?
I think with these big seeming projects we just have to take it step by step don’t we. With our standing desk space I bought clear boxes to store our bits and bobs and once they were sorted and the walls were painted white I felt like “ok here we go blank canvas!!” What’s first on your list? ✨
Yes I am sure there must be! I know of the big ones like We Work and Second Home but not so much the smaller community based set ups...
Would be lovely to be connected to Amy, thank you. Yes, I am https://instagram.com/storyandthread_ over there.
You are so right re the big projects. My starting points are deciding on a paint colour and getting a table/desk. I had one of those atelier style trestle tables in mind but we might be inheriting a table from family who have just moved abroad so it’s not completely in line with the vision but it will do for now...!
Oh yes, also the local element is key for me for a co-working space as the places I know are usually central xx
Great inspiration and tips here Claire. I struggle with a working space because I’m an adult human in the size of a twelve year old human’s body. This sounds cute (it’s not 🤣) but makes furniture very tricky. I have a decent set up now and plan to get a desk made for my size as I haven’t found one any other way.
I am a chiropractor who works with the neuro-musculoskeletal system and I spend my day reminding my patients not to work from their couch (sofa depending what you like to call it). At least not regularly.
I don’t like being the bearer of bad news but sorting bent over for an extended time can cause undue stress to your back or neck. However given that you guys do a ton of yoga you’ll be better off than most.
I just had to throw that in there as a public service announcement!
Donna this is actually so helpful! So much that we don’t see under the surface isn’t there. After I read this I realised I’ve had a niggle in the outside of my left knee and it’s probably because I curl my legs under when I sit on the sofa, put a cushion on top of them and write ✍️ 💡👀🤦🏽♀️
You got it Sweetie! That position will catch up with you sooner or later (I know, it's such a bummer). If you're working from your couch try to sit up fully with both feet firmly planted on the ground and your laptop or device on your lap, or on a pillow so it's the right height for your neck and arms. Email me for more info😆 because this is what I do ALL day every day is tell people this exact thing!
I don’t have a desk either. I mostly write from a particular spot on the sofa with a cat always trying to sit on my laptop 😂
Aww I often wonder if I’d have a cat if Dave wasn’t allergic!! I’m the same with the sofa - one spot and one alone! I think I might have a couple of weird strains from doing it though!! 🙈 I sit with my legs to one side and I defo need to do more yoga to balance it all out! ✨❤️
My 17 year old daughter recently bought me an old wooden desk in a charity shop and restored it. It’s small because we don’t have much room, but I love having that little space to call my own! And the 10 year old hasn’t even covered it in Lego builds yet 😅
Oh wow Gráinne!! That sounds so romantic I love that! Imagine all the folks who have written on it?!
Yes! Hopefully their legacy lives on 😊
Thanks for this Claire. I work at the dining room table with my working from home husband opposite me, as we don’t have office space. I’m trying to write a book - my deadline is fast approaching! - and I’m really struggling. You’ve inspired me to carve out a small nook for myself in my bedroom. It’s an area little more than cupboard sized but it might just do the trick.
Honestly Jayne the change of environment works wonders for me. I move a lot! This evening I took my notebook to the spa for an hour and got a piece of copy done in minutes where as if I’d have stayed home I would have faffed around cooking and cleaning and being pulled in all the directions. How are you in cafes? Good for you or too noisy? ✨
I haven’t tried it yet as it’s been the school holidays and with four kids at home I haven’t been able to escape! I’m going to try the library next week 🤞🏻
Ah that sounds nice Jayne!!!