The nice thing about about designing one’s own home is that you can build it to fit around the way you like to live, rather than have to change your habits to fit your new house. I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately, particularly in relationship to the way that Kevin and I work. I work from home, so some sort of home office is going to be necessary, but I don’t want that office to be tucked away somewhere at the top of the house. Not only would I feel isolated, but I’d have a great big trek to the kitchen and loo too. Equally, I don’t want it to be right near the lounge, because the mess from the office will just track its way into the living space and mess that up too.

In thinking about where to put the office, I was reminded of how important it is to have rituals around the beginning and end of your day when you work from home. I’ve spoken about this at conferences before, and I believe that creating a space that enables me to have an opening and closing ritual to bookend my working day would really help me get going in the morning and switch off at night. Some people go for a walk around the block (with or without dog) to simulate the sense of “going to work”. Shedworkers obviously leave their house to walk to their shed, which gives them a leaving and returning ritual to observe. For me, the closest I get right now is saying goodbye to Kevin at the beginning of the day, and saying hello to him when he returns, which makes for a very long day when he has after-work drinkies.

I haven’t entirely solved the office/work ritual problem yet and would love to hear if anyone has any ideas or experiences trying to build in work-related rituals to their house/home office environment.

But the rituals don’t stop there. Kevin and I have other habits that have acquired almost mystical meaning in the time we’ve been together. We often read to each other before we go to sleep, so our bedroom furniture and lighting will be designed with that in mind. (Our current bed is deeply uncomfortable to sit in, for example, because of its metal bar head “board”.) We cook together, so an open plan kitchen is a must*. And like everyone, we have our grooming rituals, which really would be easier if we had a bigger bathroom.

But one key ritual that Kevin really enjoys is his morning coffee. First there’s the grinding of the beans, by hand in a German coffee grinder. Then they go in his Bialetti, which goes on the stove whilst he heats some milk. When the coffee’s done it goes in his mug with the frothed milk on top. I don’t drink coffee, so this is really Kev’s thing, but it’s something that he really enjoys. It’s not just the taste of the coffee, it’s the whole procedure. So how would one work that into kitchen design? A key element would be to have a composting bin for his coffee grounds, as apparently they’re good for the garden. But is it just a space dedicated to his coffee paraphernalia and preparation that he needs, or could there be more to it than that?

I’m sure I’ll come up with other little habits and rituals that we engage in, and it’s going to be a challenge just to remember them all, let along figure out how to incorporate them, when we come to designing the house. Mind you, the way things are going, we’re going to have a long time to gather and perfect our ideas.

* One without computers in, however…