I live here: My Home Office

I realized recently that I've done a number of these "I live here" posts,  but ironically, none in the United States and almost all in more temporary dwellings than the one I have lived in now for years. 

When the pandemic started and everyone began working from home, a wise friend told me we are not "working from home" but "living at work." How true. 

So I thought it would be fitting to post a tour of my home office in my "I live here" series. I have been in this office for over 4 years. I "moved" into it in January 2018 when I knew I would quit my full-time job and work for myself as a consultant. I couldn't very well work from my kitchen counter top or take important calls from the bedroom (though I respect that people had to do that when office work suddenly became virtual overnight). 

In the last 4 years I have had countless iterations to the layout. My computer has faced nearly every direction and the bookshelf has been moved against every wall, but finally this version is the one I like most of all. 

I decided not to "stage" my office for these shots. Sure, I cleaned up a little bit, but I otherwise wanted to present it exactly as it is. This exercise of photographing my office and decided what to write about it has revealed to me that I am no minimalist. Instead, I like to be surrounded with treasures that remind me of who I like to think I am. 

I realized that my office houses some deeply personal artifacts. This is strange  because I consider my office a place of business, and I have such a big divide in my life between the business and the personal.  But maybe the divide is all in my head - apparently my office is the most personal room of all! If a biographer were to investigate my home to learn more about me, they would find the most revealing artifacts in my office. 

This first photo is a view from the doorway when you walk in. You are greeted by a large fig tree and light from two windows. The big free soaks up the light from the window, and provides privacy from my neighbor's house. 

The black and white rug is from Ikea. I got it on sale but it is impossible to keep clean with a toddler. It is also 2 inches too long for my office. Once my daughter is older and makes less messes, I'm going to buy a nice custom rug that is easy to keep clean. 

The large Japan Railways poster to the right was a gift from my best friend 20+ years ago. I still display it. 

Only one wall has neither a window nor a door, so we built stationary bookshelves and a magnet board. I actually don't like the board very much and I want to replace it with a white board. 

 

I sit facing out to the street. Usually the blinds are down but I opened them up to take pictures. 

These past two years  I have collected photographs from Alex Thomas, a photographer who lives in Tokyo. Her photographs are so nostalgic and bring me so much peace. 

More Alex Thomas photography on the other side of the window. 

And even more Alex Thomas on the other wall. 

I have one shelf devoted entirely to anthropology books...

The top shelf is very narrow and cannot fit any books. I display a fan purchased from a street vendor in Yangon Myanmar, a photograph of my family's hometown in Greece, two skeletons from Mexico, and the Anna Sui Starbucks mug from Japan. 

My Monocle Magazine collection from 2008 to present. 

I purchased "City Pillow" from a local artist in Shimane when I lived there. Everyone thinks it's ugly but I proudly display City Pillow on my shelf. 

Above the pillow is the "Scary Times" Success Manual by Dan Sullivan, whose lessons have kept me afloat throughout the pandemic. 

Along the other wall I have a calendar and several postcards from museums I visited in Japan and Qatar. 

Here I keep my Delfonics agenda and favorite pens for everyday use. 

The plant window features a small collection of animal pots. Unfortunately the succulents look very sad and I will need to have them replaced. 

The other side of the plant has a salt rock land and some geodes. 

Close up of my actual desk. I keep my Hello Kitty Pez collection off camera. 

This is one of the best purchases on my adult life: The Herman Miller Sayl Chair. I have been wanting this chair since I sat on it at a client's office 6 years ago. I could have saved a lot of money ordered a black chair with a black cushion, but I wanted the custom white one with grey armrests and a red cushion. I am so glad I splurged and got exactly the one I wanted because I sit on it every day and love it!

There are the five daruma I bought in Japan in 2017. With daruma, you are supposed to set a goal, then color one eye in. When you achieve your goal, you color the other eye. You will notice that the two on the right have both eyes colored in. One is for starting my consulting career, and the other is for having my daughter. 

These daruma have gotten very beat up because my toddler like to throw them around the house. 

On the far left corner of my desk I keep a mirror, comb, and stash of make up for quick touch ups before or in between Zoom calls. My schedule is often so packed I don't have time to run upstairs to the bathroom to put on makeup. Keeping it at my desk is so convenient. 

This is my actual computer: a 2020 Macbook Air. Also pictured, my headset, mug warmer (which keep my coffee from going cold during meetings), and computer glasses. 

A look at the shelf to the right of the desk. 

The shelve behind my desk is off camera, and a little messy. Every 6 months or so I try to reorganize it. It's mostly office supplies, journals, agendas, notebooks, and stationary. 

This is a tote bag I bought at the Mercato in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and I use it to store my poncho (for when it gets cold) and printer ink. 

Lots of books on strategic planning and consulting. 

Monocle book collection.

Retro Airbnb in Tijuana

When I planned my first trip to Tijuana, I knew I wanted it to be epic. I have a good friend who lives there but didn’t want to impose on his lodging (at the time he was living with an ex) so I decided to book an Airbnb with two bedrooms in the city center so we could enjoy Revolucion Avenue in the day and night.

I let him narrow the list of options down since he lived there and knew the area, and when we settled on three, I decided that one was too far and the other two basic. So I splurged and book the most expensive one.

The place we got was a concrete condo with a very reto vibe. Eclectic furnishings and a record player. It took me a little while to get used to the cement staircase with no railing, but every time I came down the steps to the sound of Nat King Cole I felt like I truly was on vacation.

The apartment is in the Colonia Cacho, a stylish neighborhood that melted my heart from the instant I saw it. I would much prefer to live here than the area around Revolucion.

A Typical Tokyo Airbnb

The view from my airbnb in Tokyo

When I left Japan in 2014, airbnb was still the wild west in Japan. The concept of sharing your home with strangers was unheard of – and unpopular in this space-obsessed private country.This 2015 NYT article covers some of the mavericks who joined airbnb in the early years.

In 2013 and 2014 I was desperate to find places in Hiroshima on airbnb, and there was only one. 

Literally. 

One.

But when I returned to Japan in 2017, the airbnb listings were numerous. Especially off the Yamanote line in Tokyo, buying or renting a small condo in the city and turning it into an airbnb is a very lucrative investment. Many hosts have now taken up this venture and airbnb units are plenty.

I jumped on this and stayed at a few airbnbs in Tokyo. Boy, did I get a taste of city living. I will remind you that I spent one year in a large traditional Japanese house in the countryside.  This could not be more different. 

Space

As you can see, studio apartments in Japan are tiny. Like so tiny there is scarcely room for you to lay your suitcase flat on the floor. This particular room was actually the LARGEST of the other airbnbs we saw. It actually has a couch and TV. The others could only fit a double-size bed. Think of it like a college dorm without the desk or storage. 

Genkan

The genkan (pictured right) is the entrance to a Japanese home. There is a small step separating the home from the doorway, and before you take that step, you must take off your shoes and leave them there. Against the wall there is usually some shelving space for you to store a few pairs of shoes. 

Kitchen

The hallways is a perfect spot to put a tiny kitchen. You will see that there is only enough room for a U.S.-sized mimi fridge, microwave, tea kettle, sink, and one gas top burner. Missing are an oven, dishwasher, and enough shelving to keep dishes and dried food. 

Bathroom/Shower Room/Laundry Room

In Japan, the toilet and shower are always separate. This is actually really convenient and something I wish was standard in American homes. The bathtubs are also super deep which allows you to really submerge in the water. 

On the left, you see a photo of a typical bathtub, adjacent to the shower area. On the right, you see the tiny washing machine. Japanese homes rarely have a dryer, so you must hang the clothes outside to dry. 

On the left, you see a Japanese toilet with a sink over the basin. The water automatically comes on when you flush the toilet. This allows you to wash your hands without wasting water by turning on the sink. 
On the right, you see the main sink and doorway to the bath/shower room. 

Heating and Cooling

Japanese homes and apartments do not have central heating and cooling like American homes. Instead they use this machine you see on the wall. For a tiny apartment, this is all you need and its very efficient. But when I was living in a gigantic uninsulated house in the countryside, I had only one of these and it heated and cooled the space within 2 feet of it. 

Front Door and Balcony

The photo on the left is of the balcony. I've never seen a Japanese apartment that didn't have even a tiny narrow balcony. The purpose is not to savor being outside, but rather to hang your clothes so they can dry in the air. This balcony had a table and chair for foreigners, but I rarely (never) see Japanese people hanging out on their balconies. The balconies always become the de-facto clothing racks and outside storage. 
On the right you see the hallway, sparse and sterile. This particular apartment opened up to the outside which I have found is also pretty typical in Tokyo.

I live here: Ikaria, Greece

Two decades ago, my uncle built a small two bedroom house on some land that my family owns on the island of Ikaria. My grandparents had four children: the oldest lived on the other side of the island in a house her husband built, the second oldest-my dad-moved to the United States, the third oldest lived in Athens where he worked as a professor, and the youngest lived in the house my grandparents built.

My uncle, the third oldest, built this small house on the island so he would have a place to stay when he visited from Athens. At the time his children were teenagers, so one bedroom had bunkbeds for them. The bedrooms were only large enough to hold beds, but in the small houses there was a bathroom, a shower, a small basic kitchen, and a living-dining room combo. It also overlooked the ocean, which was just minutes away on foot down a rocky hill.

Although the house was built to be a family get-a-way, when I arrived in September of 2016, it had no been used in sixteen years. The first few days were spent cleaning the interior, trimming the wild thorny bushes that had consumed the outside, and draining and re-filling the water tank. It was backbreaking work, but once it was done the house was finally livable.

We spent several weeks here on our vacation. There were some odd quirks, no doors on the bedrooms or bathrooms, sand mysteriously creeping in no matter how much we swept, a few bug critters every now and then, but there was so much to love.