LIFE: I have always joked about my working arrangements. I have posted on Facebook that “Due to the snow emergency, Lehndorff Design will be closing early.” As a self-employed graphic designer, my hours can be long but the commute is easy. With caregiving I need to keep even closer. It has been months since I used my “office” upstairs.
My latest ongoing project: to build a little cubicle n a decrepit closet (I am being generous, here). That way I can keep an eye or ear out for Kathy and still keep working. My current computer is a middle-aged Macbook. I don’t need a ton of space, but it would be nice to use a real keyboard and mouse. And not my lap.
The ‘closet’ is the home of spiders that can trace their lineage to the Civil War. I’m making slow progress working on it. In between changing and suctioning Kathy and trying to drum up work I figure out some weird little angle and plug some little hole. I am close to the painting stage, but there are still gaps and stuff I need to patch first. There was a homemade wooden bookshelf crammed in there. I think the previous owners used it for their stereo. The shelf openings and old speaker wires were my clue. There were gaping holes in the wood lathe and plaster to allow our in-wall nature preserve to flourish.
I looked at some of my favorite house rehab and design sites like Houzz and This Old House, but I did not find many good ideas for an office facing into the stairs. There are plenty of designs facing the side of the stairway. That would mean messy demolition, dust and real skill. Kathy is in a hospital bed about 10 feet away with breathing issues. I can’t create dust, fumes or a lot of noise, so I am using non-toxic glue and screws to hold it together. My radial saw is in my basement, so I don’t have to worry about saw dust. I use low odor glue and paint (and lots of caulk). If and when I sell the house, this needs to be fixed anyway. The aides have been “evaluating” my work as they come and go. Pat calls it the Man-cave.
At first my plan was to patch everything with regular plaster. I would leave it rough and funky because I can’t sand it. But as soon as I started touching the remaining plaster it started crumbling. I ended up going with some inexpensive pine bead boards from Home Depot. I like using small pattern stuff like that because it is easy to cut and forgiving. If I need to make adjustments because of the tilted walls I can fudge it. I am a fudger at heart. I covered the ceiling also. Right now when I’m in there it feels like I am inside a roll-top desk. Once it is painted white it will be fine. There were louvered doors that I will rehang so they open better. I ordered a sliding keyboard bracket from Amazon. The desk height was pre-determined by a strange horizontal brick thing in the closet. You can see it in the first photo. I’m guessing it was part of the chimney because it is connected. There were probably fireplaces or wood stoves at both ends. That track light was there when we moved in and was just barely working, so I am probably going to recycle some of the parts rather than risk a fire.
I will post a photo when it is done. I have also been redoing the Lehndorff.com website because I need to drum up work sooner rather than later. So, If you know anyone who wants Graphics for a Song, I will do it in my design closet.