The twenty-first floor contained his private offices, and the Inner Court boardroom. The twenty-second, the penthouse, was the tai-pan’s personal suite. And he alone had the key to the last private elevator that connected the basement garage directly with the penthouse. “Ian,” his predecessor taipan, Alastair Struan, had said when he handed over the keys after Phillip Chen had left them, “your privacy’s the most valuable thing you have. That too Dirk Struan laid down in his legacy and how wise he was! Never forget, the private lifts aren’t for luxury or ostentation, any more than the tai-pan’s suite is. They’re there just to give you the measure of secrecy you’ll need, perhaps even a place to hide yourself.”
«Noble House» by James Clavell
I have a tiny study — it’s essentially a nook divided from the rest of the room with a curtain. Given that it is tiny, I was looking for ways to improve the space.
The first idea was to simply go beyond the designated space. Yes, there is a curtain, but similar to the 9-dot-problem, there is no reason not to go beyond the space. Using a lectern to keep the curtain back, I can now use the whole area and have easy access to the lectern.
Using a light-weight reading chair keeps the space use flexible, as I can easily put it aside to use the whole whiteboard. However, once I am sitting in the chair, it’s a pain to get up. So I was looking for a way to store an eInk tablet and some other stuff (notepad, pens) in easy reach. And probably the easiest way is to store it on the chair itself.
Admittedly, you get a side-bag for a chair for a couple of bucks on Amazon. But there is something to be said for sewing it for yourself. Did it without sketching anything first, but worked out well. Just some Cordura with some curtain fabric on the inside. The attachments are belts combined with velcro. Slung around the arm rests, the velcro presses on each other — and the harder, the more weight is in the bag.
And yeah, while the whiteboard is very helpful, Magic Charts expanded the usable area to the wall right. I still got one wall left … and might use it the same way.
Still a very tiny study, but useful. So, if you have an area you can use, no matter how small, you can make something out of it.
Happy study’ing.
