Nina Lane
Writing in a Rainbow
Confession. Decorating scares me. I hate having to choose paint colors and window dressing styles and whatnot. I’m always worried I’ll make the wrong choice or nothing will go together, and then I’ll be stuck having to live with my poor decisions every day.
Therefore, most of our home furnishings are various shades of “neutral.” We have “toasted almond” shades, “totally tan” trim, and “interactive cream” walls, though I really splurged with “sage green” and “terracotta” in a few places. And while I love our home, it is neither magazine quality nor very interesting.
Everything in this room is personal and has meaning for me. Photos of my parents and grandparents, many pieces of artwork and notes given to me by my children, mementos from my travels, both the books I’ve written and my personal favorites. The windows look out onto the garden (I’m not a gardener, but it’s a nice view).
My dog Dasher usually sleeps right behind me on my office chair when I’m writing (she’s my lumbar support), but she also has a bed right beside my desk where she often lounges.
My desk is usually littered with scraps of paper on which I’ve scribbled notes. I am not a methodical or organized note-keeper, so I end up deciphering a lot of post-it and napkin scribbles. I LOVE my big-screen Mac, where I can see multiple pages at one time, which is very helpful when I’m slicing and dicing a story.
So when I decided to covert our dining room into my writing office, I figured it would be much of the same. Lots of “neutral.” But creativity isn’t neutral. My writing isn’t neutral. God knows I never want my characters to be neutral. And I knew I needed to sit down in a space every day where I felt good—happy, energized, and productive.
I threw all my decorating fears and insecurities out the window. I decided that I would do whatever the heck I wanted, and my only criteria was that everything in my office space had to make me feel good.
So I went all in. Sheer rainbow curtains? Check. Big purple rug? Check. Cabinets and bookshelves painted by my husband in the colors I chose? Check. Plants that I’m somehow managing to keep alive? Check. Paintings done by my mother? Check.
The room is very loosely based on feng-shui bagua. I have elements of wood for family/wealth, fire for fame/reputation, and a children/creativity wall. And did I mention my desk chair is about ten feet from the refrigeator?
The place where I write isn’t always conducive to quiet, reflective time—there’s no door, so it can be noisy when my husband and teeanged son are watching a football game in the family room or when my daughter has friends over, but I definitely never miss out on anything and everyone always knows where to find me.
My office is a “room of my own” but it’s also where Liv, Dean, Eve, Flynn, Luke, Polly, Kelsey, Archer, Evan, Hannah, Warren, Lydia, and all my other characters live and breathe. It's where I can write happy, work happy, and be happy.
New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Nina Lane writes hot, sexy romances about professors, bad boys, candy makers, and protective alpha males who find themselves consumed with love for one woman alone. Originally from California, Nina holds a PhD in Art History and an MA in Library and Information Studies, which means she loves both research and organization. She also enjoys traveling and thinks St. Petersburg, Russia is a city everyone should visit at least once. Although Nina would go back to college for another degree because she's that much of a bookworm and a perpetual student, she now lives the happy life of a full-time writer.
Thank you, Kendall Clay of A Little Fierce Design, for the photography!