Coveting a Writing Space

I work at two different desks throughout the day. In the early morning, I head downstairs to my tremendously cluttered downstairs desk to have my morning devotions, do my Bible Study Fellowship reading/questions, and write my daily two pages of free-writing. Usually, at that time of the morning, my husband is upstairs reading his e-mail on the living room computer and so I have enough isolation to get my morning work out of the way easily.

After the boys have been delivered to school (and I've completed my treadmill time and any morning cleaning), I sit at a small desk in the dining room to begin the day's writing tasks. It is a pleasant enough location. The window in front of the desk overlooks the backyard sanctuary where my husband feeds the birds and other critters. For the most part it is quiet in the mornings, until my husband comes up to get himself a morning cup of tea and, around noon, comes to make his lunch (almost always, talking to me, while doing so). Once the boys return home from school, any work at this upstairs desk is out of the question and there is much foot traffic downstairs because the boys and John generally work out then.

In my head, I have long dreamt of having a special writing sanctuary - a small amount of space to work undisturbed. Oh, what joy when I stumbled upon a listing for this playhouse:

It is a 12 x 10.5 x 10.5 foot structure on 2x4 runners, listed as in decent condition (under a few pine trees for cover) offered for FREE. The inside looks sound, as well:

My mind whirred with possibilities: a small couch in the lower area, along with an easy chair and a book shelf. A small desk and chair in the loft below the window for writing. I didn't want to mention it to my husband until I had called a specialty shed-moving company to get an estimate of how much it would cost to move this small playhouse from the current location to ours, but he came up and noticed me perusing the photos longingly and my hopes spilled out to him.

He had plenty of arguments against my schemes: what if it leaks or is in really bad condition? - photos can make something look good, when really it isn't; what if you go to the trouble to transport it here and then you never use it? - realize, Wendy, it will be doggone hot in the summers and freezing in the winters; what if it falls into disrepair? - this FREE writing shed could cost us a bundle to have someone come tear it down and remove it from the property; where would you put it? - it would look horrible close to the house and yet a truck would rut the yard (especially in current ground conditions) in getting it to a further location; how would you get a fan or heater out there to make it more comfortable? - running electricity to it would cost money, as well; and, finally, why can't you simply move your downstairs desk to the guest room where there is less foot-traffic and fewer interruptions? I can think of another argument he left unsaid: why should we invest money in a writing shed, when nothing you write ever profits us a dime? Now, he is in a foul temper with me just for asking.

I went ahead and secured an estimate. The man I spoke with (very cordial and talkative) estimated it would cost $500 to move the shed, if the ground is level in their yard and in ours. He was literally shocked to find someone giving a playhouse like that away for free. He said they generally cost well over $10,000 to build. He declared, "there won't be longevity on that." I thought he meant the structure wouldn't last long, but he clarified: "someone will snap up that deal right away and, from the photos, it looks as if it is quite sound."

I listed my husband's arguments, and he admitted that my husband raises some valid points ("pictures talk pretty, but can hide a whole lot of ugly," the truck would certainly rut the lawn in these conditions, "FREE isn't always free"), but said he'd snap it up if it was his decision. He even mentioned some things that could be done to enhance the shed, should we buy it and hire him to transport the thing. To avoid rutting the yard, I suggested it might be positioned next to the barn (which would either mean a longer walk to use it or a drive to park by the barn gate, but would place it closer to access of electricity).

But, knowing my husband's fierce opposition, I decided to honor his opinion and his feelings on the matter. My bubble burst. To give the dream a decent burial, I wrote this post. The pipe dream lived in my head for a few hours and then dissolved. It was fun while it lasted. Now, I'm off to tackle the clutter atop my downstairs desk. We shall see if moving it to the guest room provides the isolation my writing requires. Then again, perhaps the clutter can stay. These famous writing workspaces aren't exactly immaculate. I can deal with the paper distractions, just not the people distractions.

What about you? If you are a writer, what would your dream writing space look like?