For decades, I used the same childhood desk from elementary school all the way past graduate school for my writing. It was compact yet kind of large and clunky at the same time, with a single drawer filled with office supplies, and a cubby with random crap shoved into it…and then, dominating the desk itself would be a huge desktop computer.

My writing space only started to change when I came back from Japan. I had a wonderful desktop, but it was at least twelve years old and showing signs of slowing down, despite its capabilities and everything I used it for. Plus, I got an awesome laptop back in Japan that was in no way going to go into storage, so we ditched the desktop, and the laptop became the centerpiece and main tool for writing.

…and then, a revolution in 2024 happened, not long after I published my first novel: I got a new desk.

This desk is smaller and sleeker, and ever since I got it I’ve wanted to make my writing space a creative paradise, full of inspiration and calming vibes.

Here’s what it looks like today:

My creative space

Let me happily break down my creative writing workspace for you. I’m really proud of it and it feels comfortable.

Desk

I actually can’t find the original order for the desk we got, so the picture above is a look-alike. The desk I got is also larger than the one in this picture, but all the elements are the same, including the fabric drawers (which I didn’t like at first but now have grown on me).

I’ve got a printer, Kindle Colorsoft, and huge water bottle on the desk, plus a giant-sized mousepad with flowers that pretty much covers the entire top of the desk (I don’t mind; it looks pretty!).

Mouse pad

With my old desk, it was large enough that I kept live flowers on it (usually orchids) and this large anime figurine, but this time, there wasn’t really room to do that with this new desk without things looking oversized and weird. I got the planter and fake flowers from a local hobby store to keep things “greenish” and alive-looking. It’s hard to see, but at left, holding all of my stationery and office supplies (pens, pencils, scissors, etc.) is a wooden case carved and painted to look like books that are stacked on each other. Here’s a product image so you can see better:

Pencil holder

I have two treasured items in the very back. I wanted them to display in front of the desk organizer and flowers, but in truth, they looked really weird that way, so they sit behind them.

The precious items

The silver roses on the lefthand side behind the pencil holder are a gift to me from my father, who died unexpectedly in 2010. I don’t have a lot of things from him that evoke strong memories like this one, so I keep it dearly. However, it’s very delicate, and the leaves keep falling off of the metal stems with the slightest touch–I have one set of branches that I need to reattach somehow. I hope that’s the last of that happening.

The gold tree figurine with photographs hanging from it is a present I bought my grandmother years ago. She always had family pictures everywhere all over her house, and I thought this was a unique “family tree” frame for her. When she died in 2021, I was living in Japan and couldn’t get back to the US due to quarantine rules for COVID. When I finally moved back to the US in 2022, I asked if I could keep this family tree. Part of me wants to change the photographs in it and update it, but the larger part of me is leaving it as is to honor my grandmother’s work on it, as she chose and sized and cut the pictures in the frames herself.

Above the desk

I didn’t take a picture of it–well, only part of it showed up in the picture–but on the wall above my desk is a beautiful calendar filled with animal artwork, and a gold-painted swallow sculpture.

My bedroom is my haven in that I have my writing workspace plus some other goodies in the room in addition to my lovely, comfy bed. Since moving home I’ve tried to make it into a wonderful space where I can feel calm enough to devote myself to hours of creative work (and relaxation when needed!).

Readers, what does your creative space look like?