Turn your home office into a homely office
Also read: Understanding the emotional quotient of a home The process of deciding what sort of space I want is always an interesting exercise in mining my past. I’ve been cycling through all the spaces I’ve ever worked in, going as far back as the first office environment I ever experienced, which was my father’s when I was, maybe, 10 years old. He was part of the oil and gas industry in the Gulf region during its heydays, from the 1970s till he sold his businesses in 2015.
Back then, oilfield supplies companies in Dubai had large yards with storehouses for equipment and offices that were just air-conditioned Porta Cabins. On Fridays, the weekly holiday, my father would take me along if he had work to finish. I remember a large gypsum wood-panelled room lit by a white batten, with one window that looked out to the yard, a massive desk with little models of rigs and drill bits.
I’d swivel around in his chair, pretend answer phone calls and steal some of the stationery. That room felt like it had been created purely on practical instincts, but there were photographs of people he worked with, awards he’d received, mementos from his travels, things that for a professional of that time looked professional. When I got my first proper job, it was at the Hong Kong bureau of an American news magazine, where senior staff had offices for themselves.
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