Working from home necessities Part III

A space of your own. Like "A Room of One's Own", but many of us sadly can't have an entire room, particularly those of us in New York City who have progeny. If I could have an entire room to myself I would be so blissful... I think the concept of a Man Cave is frequently inverted. It shouldn't just be about getting to decorate however a guy wants with beer signs. It should be about where you can do whatever you want, whatever gender you are. And very often a woman is expected to be in EVERY room in the house. Cooking, cleaning, nursing, caring. The Angel in the House. Very often this happens even in two-income households, whether through expectations or little social pressures that have gotten ingrained in us over our lifetimes or through personal inclination, in which case you should absolutely embrace it. If you have time.

We should all have a space of our own, if at all possible. For those who read design blogs, I truly don't feel your space has to look like a spectacular example of before-and-after where all boxes match and there are linen-covered pin boards. Although I do believe that if your space is out in the open you should make sure the way it looks doesn't piss off your partner, because that's not fair.

Another tip for working from home: try to make sure it is not creating grudges, on either side. It can. The other partner may get jealous, or resentful of how much time it takes up, or even worse assume that you will do those little things around the house that obviously you must have time for, tucked in between your tasks. I can get a little disgruntled when it's assumed I have time for chores during the day. My own mother, who has had a retail business for over 40 years that she used to work at 6 days a week, has recommended that I spend an hour in the middle of each day preparing our meals, instead of at 7pm after August has gone to sleep for the night.

She was super-mom. I don't want it assumed that I have to be. And you know what? I don't want to be one. I do not yearn for anyone to say in amazement, "How do you do it all??". However, I am the one who cooks, because Paul is fine eating anything but I get daily desires for different foods. Tonight, vegetable tempura of string beans, corn and onion cakes, and curly parsley. I kid you not.