A Shared Workspace

I have not shared any newly completed spaces in a while. In part, this is due, to me giving everyone a much needed break from 'Tansy's Latest Remodel'. But, mostly, it is because I prefer to have the sun out when I take house pictures. It is quite helpful in giving the illusion that I know a thing or two about taking a decent shot. Unfortunately, the sun is not synonymous with winters in the Pacific Northwest. When a sunny day shows up and I remember to grab my camera, I do the best I can to capture a bit of our ongoing home transformation.

A few months ago, we turned a sad depressing box of a back bedroom into a shared workspace. My husband wanted an office, but I had to sit him down and inform him that nobody has offices anymore. Offices are class driven creativity inhibitors that have been banned from society. Apparently, the world is a better and more productive place now that everyone has the pleasure of working in brightly lit open spaces that look a lot like preschool classrooms for grown ups. He quickly saw the logic of myself, Google and every other Fortune 500 company out there.

Together, we gave up the Thanksgiving holidays to create our very own shared workspace. Not only does my husband now have the perfect area to make all the random piles he wants, but my 14 year old son can sit at the very same workstation and stare blankly at his laptop screen during his online school lessons. The productivity level is so high here in our home that my husband now has to go and work at the local Starbucks in order to waste time and get a little rest.

I rarely cross the threshold of this incredible room due to my sensitivity to over-productivity and other people. My tech guy is a firm believer in class distinctions and pragmatic thinking. Naturally, he would wilt if forced to work in such a free thinking productive environment. He, therefore, has a personal office in his private living quarters.

Here are some before and after shots of our shared workspace taken on a partly sunny February afternoon.