From grungy
to Glamorous
My Home Office Library
As a teenager I wrote in the car on road trips. I wrote in my bedroom. I wrote outdoors by the creek. I wrote on the Windows 98 Gateway computer I shared with my two sisters in our shared bedroom.
Like all writers, I make do in whatever space I have. No complaints. We write on mobile devices on the go. On laptops in coffee shops. At traffic stalls during rush hour. Nomadic, adaptable creatures, we are.Â
But this year, my husband decided to give me one of the most beautifully validating gifts. Space dedicated to my craft.Â
Over the last eight years, I ran a small online business out of this spare bedroom. But that chapter came to an end.Â
Initially, I thought we would paint the room a fresh color, put a proper window treatment on the window, and rebuild the shelving in the closet. I started browsing Pinterest for ways to spruce up old sliding doors, considering wallpapering or painting a mural.
Then my husband demolished the closet in an afternoon and when I came home from work to find him cleaning up the crumbled drywall, he asked me to draw up the bookcase I wanted. A wall to wall built in bookcase. Understand, my husband has little to no carpentry experience and no fancy furniture-building tools.Â
But he has a big, warm heart and a lot of energy for keeping our home and property beautiful.
We took wall to wall and floor to ceiling measurement. And after I digitally drafted a model of what I wanted, he set to work assembling the supplies needed to make it happen. Â
For the last eight years, this room was packed with large equipment and order fulfillment supplies. It had only one wall light featuring a single bulb. And every square foot of space paid its rent. At the opening of 2025, I sold the equipment and other supplies and used those funds for this room’s transformation.
Out of Business
This room was the base of operations for my online business from 2016 until 2024. During its profitable years, the business kept me too busy to write or create art consistently. During its decline, the room saw little use and began to feel like wasted space, a clutter hole, and untapped potential.Â
The door on the left is the room’s original closet, transformed into our home’s only downstairs washroom by the previous owner when he became confined to living on the ground floor. Thus, the sliding door closet was added on, covering a second window. This second window no longer faces the outside of our home, as the previous homeowner constructed a sunroom on that side of the house.
This home was built in 1948, and we are its second owners. The blessed heirs of plastered, and therefore, not-square walls. I appreciate the soundproofing plaster provides. But when remodeling, they pose a challenge.Â
When building a bookcase into uneven walls, you have two options: Bend your wood to fit the walls or square it up and deal with the gaps.Â
We chose the latter. Mostly because the flooring was also uneven and I wanted my cabinets, counter, and shelves to be as level as possible.Â
We purchased three premade 36″ wide floor cabinets from our local home improvement store. They are larger and deeper than one would need for a bookcase, but I needed the cabinet space to hide my event supplies.Â
Even though I was open to painting plywood for the countertop, I found a local woodworker offering custom-cut Ambrosia maple counters and my husband loved the look of it.Â
In the end, I truly believe this was the wiser choice as the sealed wood doesn’t scuff the way the painted shelves do under the gentle weight of books. I was advised to use lacquer paint for durability, but it cost over $120 per gallon and that fell outside of our budget.Â
We painted. We primed. And we broke our backs testing out the bookcases we built.Â
Something to note: My digital draft accounted for headspace between the top of the bookcase and the ceiling. It also portrayed three pre-built bookcases with backing attached. My husband deviated from this design, which gave us some fits during assembly. However, I have no complaints about the end result.Â
Overall, I think not having larger crown molding or headspace for the bookcase complimented our eight foot ceiling. It allowed me to have more spacious shelves.Â
From the beginning, we decided against lighting built within the bookcase. It was something I initially wanted, but I am very happy with the recessed lights we placed in the ceiling beyond the bookcase.Â
Running lighting throughout the bookcase would have created holes for wiring through the bookcases, shelves, and the maple countertop. I settled for a design that I thought would remain beautiful throughout the years.
Spacious base cabinets also allowed us to hide our internet connection boxes, printer, and financial filing system.
The paint color I chose for this built in bookcase is Sea Serpent by Sherwin Williams.Â
It is a beautiful pairing for SW Shoji White (office walls.)Â
Another difficulty with this design, was that we had to slide the finished bookcases across the finished Ambrosia Maple counter without scuffing, scratching, or leaving paint behind. And because there was no headspace between the case and the ceiling, it was snug.
To remedy this, I attached felt to the legs of the cases which created a soft sled that allowed us to glide the furniture into place.Â
Despite these completely avoidable challenges that you more experienced carpenters are shaking your heads over, our results were satisfactory.
An area rug and some gold hardware later, the results took my breath away.Â
This room is now my favorite place to hang out. Writing and illustration no longer happen at the dining room table or on the couch (RIP my lower back.) It has wonderful energy and it’s easier than ever to dip into the flow state.
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I drafted my Birthright of Scars duology in this room in fall of 2020. And I’m excited to continue the sci-fi fantasy series in this remodeled space.
My favorite personal touch to this room is a little something I purchased from a seller on Etsy. Find it Here.
The seller offers this working door in four different colors, provides a Christmas wreath in addition to the sign for the hook, and allows buyers to personalize it with any number.
I chose 137 because the number feels special to me. It’s a number I want in the space I am writing and creating in.Â
Number 37 is also a highly significant chapter in “Birthright of Scars: Choosing,” the conclusion of the “Birthright of Scars” duology.Â
In decorating the rest of the room, my husband relocated a chair from our sunroom, encouraging me to sit and enjoy the space the day it was complete. Above that, I added a mirror to help the space feel larger and bounce light around the room.Â
It hangs opposite my desk, my desk being oriented to the command position, as you can see I am facing the door here.
I chose this orientation for my desk to minimize surprises and disruptions from my flow state. When writing at my dining table, if my husband came up behind me and spoke it would jar me out of the scene and if I was deep enough in the flow state send my heartrate skyrocketing.Â
Facing the door allows me to see my loved ones approaching and minimizes this shock. Facing the mirror and having the bookcase to my right allow me to enjoy these elements in my periphery. I can also see the outdoors through the mirror.
I chose this wooden sign to encourage me on days when I can’t see where any of my efforts are going and life as a writer and creative feels uncertain. It helps me remember that my lantern only shines on the path around my feet. My light helps me stay on the path. But I have to trust the path to get me to my destination.Â
Dedicated Space
This is the space my husband and I created for my craft. Having a room dedicated to my work is the most encouraging thing I have ever experienced as an artist.Â
This bookcase and room will always be special to me because it is the fruit of our labor, and having my husband’s hand all over it makes it so meaningful.
The items on the walls and shelves serve as reminders of how far I’ve come and what can happen with patience and perseverance.Â
This space is dedicated to what I’m called to do and how I am called to serve. And I believe God helped my husband take on such a massive project with no prior furniture building experience.
Whatever space you can create for your craft is the greatest gift you can give yourself as a creative person. And in turn, your writing, your art will be a great gift to the world.
I’m Laurisa Brandt, award winning author of the Birthright of Scars duology and writer of adult science fiction fantasy and a dash of romance.Â
I reside in southcentral Pennsylvania with my husband and my adopted Timneh African Grey parrot, Hercules.
When I’m not writing, I can usually be found baking scrumptious sourdough bread or enjoying the outdoors. I enjoy writing emotional, thought provoking, high-action stories with deep spiritual themes.
Birthright of Scars explores themes of oppression, social injustice, and redemption through the eyes of a masked legend and a sable commander tasked with ending him.
The renegade fights to save his people from genocide and protect his sister and only living relative, while concealing his true identity.
Sable Commander Ambrosia is transferred to the capitol sector where she is caught up in a deadly political game and finds her convictions and duty are tangled in perilous opposition to each other.
