“Remoted” – Workday Seventeen (Wednesday)

Seeing this every day
got on my nerves.

Today was a day of regaining control of the home front. It had to happen.

Walking down the stairs each morning and landing in the dining room/office (i.e. work) before getting dressed and before coffee every single day was just too much. Then, at the end of the day, watching TV from the couch, I could still see the work space. 

There was no escaping it. Even on weekends, there it was, and it was really getting on my nerves. One of the things I love about working outside the home is being able to physically leave the workplace at the end of the day.

A few evenings spent shopping online on Wayfair and Overstock for home office furniture delivered a solution from scores of options. There are a lot of attractive home office pieces available, but it was Overstock for the win.

There was never coffee
in the "coffee nook."

The spring cleaning over the weekend was triggered largely in preparation for the new office space. It wasn't quite as full-bore as a true spring cleaning in that I didn't wash the windows. 

There was, however, vacuuming of the floor and rug, the window sills, ceiling line, and the paneling in the nook. The floor was washed. Plants were rearranged. The bistro set was relocated to the enclosed front porch and the "coffee nook" which only saw coffee once in two years was prepared to become "the office."

There was (and still is) some debate about hanging a few decorative panels to give some separation between the desk space and the counter, but it can wait until after a test run. For one thing, the panels bought a year or more ago and forgotten until this project are not the best colors for the space.

New office for the win!

Late on Monday, the new office chair, in a surprisingly small and lightweight box, arrived and was assembled. Late today, the desk, in an awkward and heavy box, arrived and was assembled. The timing and pacing of the deliveries worked out beautifully.

It was fortunate I paid attention to the product descriptions. There were a couple desks I really like the look of, but the lighthearted, entertaining, and informative descriptions mentioned the need for two adults for assembly. On that note alone, I passed on those pieces. There was a bit of time invested in reading of specs of drawer sizes which also became a deciding factor. A couple nice looking desks had really small drawers. The chosen desk has drawers large enough to hold folders, and deep enough to hold a couple of them. 

The assembly process would have benefitted from help, but was manageable alone. The only injury was to one ankle when trying to flip the desk over after attaching the legs. It’s the ankle that still has numbness and nerve damage from the 2011 roller derby broken leg, and it didn’t hurt like it would have if it was the “good” leg, so that's good. I think.

Peace is restored to
my queendom.

Tonight, sitting in the living room I can see the tranquil dining room I came to miss. In the morning, I’ll descend the staircase and pass through the dining room, restored to its tranquil state. Soon after, I will report to the new home office. It’s small, but still larger than the cubicle from one former job where I could extend my arms and touch the walls. 

The best part is, the new space is out of the “heart” of the house. It will no longer be the first thing seen when entering via the front door. When I leave the office for the day and commute to the living room, I can feel like I “left” work instead of having it taunt me all night from seven steps away.