Home Office Palace Reveals: From Basement to Rainbow Palace

Then, the basement flooded…

Had to rip out the carpets AND the room built atop them.

And suddenly it hit me…

WHY NOT CLAIM THE WHOLE BASEMENT AS MY HOME OFFICE PALACE?!?

At first, I felt selfish…

How could I take up so much space for LIL’ OL’ MEEEEE?

Even though I am my family’s sole provider, I struggled to devote an entire space in my home — the (below) ground floor, no less — to me and my work.

But when the pandemic hit and I couldn’t use a co-working space anymore, working on top of my family, to the sounds of Blippi in the background, meant all of us were unhappy and I wasn’t getting anything done.

My basement “workspace” was dismal and dark, piled high with boxes and knick knacks I had accumulated from well-meaning family passing their hand me down throw pillows…

I took calls in my living room so it didn’t look like I worked in a cave.

But when I hit “end” on my Zoom call, I either retreated to the basement or typed to the Disney soundtrack.

I was re-creating a cubicle in my own home!

So the dream of building the Home Office Palace was born.

At first, my mood boards were full of startup inspo — sterile warehouses full of expansive desks with ugly ergonomic chairs.

I was rebuilding corporate America on a small biz budget despite the fact that I knew damn well I don’t get anything done in a rolling “executive” chair with chubby arm rests, anyway. No matter how ergonomic they are.

So I started designing a space that fit how I actually work.

Not how work has been sold to me through Broadcast News or whatever Baby Boomer meets 9 to 5 '80s fantasy I have remixed in my brain from childhood.

I realized…

Working in a space that inspires joy & creativity isn’t a luxury, it makes good business sense.

I do most of my best work on the sofa with my feet up.

So my Home Office Palace needed couches, not desk chairs.

I like to sketch and draw and write out concepts in notebooks.

So I’d need a big dry erase wall to go to town with my creativity.

When I’m not sitting, I like to take my calls standing.

So I’d need a standing desk without a $1000 tax for some fancy electric crank a dude named Daav patented in Silicon Valley.

I want to invite my friends over to co-work with me.

So I started searching for a circular table to collaborate on, not an oversized desk, where bosses sit across from you to give you performance reviews beneath furrowed eyebrows.

Over time, my reluctance to take up so much for “lil’ ol’ me” gave way to a passion for creating a space that made work less painful…even pleasurable…that reminded me to take more breaks, allow more ease into my life, create more and produce less…

And because, yeah, my brain is wired for ROI (thx capitalism) I also realized that working in a space that inspires me is good for business. BUT ALSO…

Happy people are productive people.

They are also more loving friends.

More engaged parents.

More dynamic members of their community.

The ROI is though the roof! What’s there to lose?! (Other than money, of which I didn’t have much, hence why this project took three years. I couldn’t afford contractors and I sourced many items that ended up in the palace through resale shops, friends giving stuff away, and Facebook Marketplace. I can’t say Zuck never gave me nothin’. He gave me my round co-working table!)

How we work has changed. Shouldn’t how we work from home?

So many of us are working from home now, even with corporate gigs…

Why would entrepreneurs flee cube farms in droves only to shut ourselves up in our windowless home office dungeons?

What would work look like for you if you designed an office space that facilitated how you actually get shit done vs. what corporate tells you a workspace should look like?

I think your business deserves better than the kitchen table.

And I believe every home office can be a palace.

No matter the square footage. No matter the business. No matter the work you're doing.

You deserve to feel happy, calm, and inspired while you're doing it.

Since I started this odyssey, I’ve had friends message me pics and mood boards of retrofitting their closets into office getaways, turning kitchen nooks into multifunctional work and play stations, claiming guest bedrooms as their creativity caverns.

And they’ve also shared that these spaces have become much more than workspaces.

It’s where they go to relax, take a deep breath between earfuls of Blippi, squirrel away to binge HBO. (Have you seen The Righteous Gemstones? That’s what I’ve been binging in the Home Office Palace when Alice is napping.)

Here’s a peek at my Home Office Palace…

I hope it’ll inspire you to build one of your own.