Office Switcheroos

ByDeborah Raney
18 Comments

We’ve had some pretty major changes at our house recently and I’m loving it! It all started when Ken volunteered to move his office so that we could turn part of our basement into a little apartment for our grandson while he attends college near us. The big day came and our two oldest grandsons and their mama came with muscle power and helped us move furniture.

One of Ken’s giant bookcases got moved to his new office and even though his new digs are just down the hall from the apartment (still in the basement), that bookcase had to go out the basement door, up the hill, in through the front door, and back down the main floor staircase. It was quite a production and one we would rather not repeat! But it worked and now our grandson has a pretty great apartment.

As a desk, Ken had been using a round oak table that his parents refinished for us almost 50 years ago. It was our dining room table while we raised our kids, and doubled as my writing desk while the kids were at school. (Yes, every morning after the kids were off to school, I would clear off the table, plop my computer and reference books on the table and write all day. Then before they got home, I cleared all my office stuff away and got the table ready for snacks and supper.

Ken’s new office needed a desk, so I happily traded him my office desk (which was also a Raney family piece) and I now get that round table in my office. I’ve come full circle and I love it!

Ken’s new office at the bottom of the stairs (where a guest room used to be) is serving him well too. We’re all calling it a win/win/win!

Even though we’re trying hard to “pretend” that our grandson is just a random renter and let him have his space (and that means Mimi isn’t cooking for him or doing his laundry 😉 ), we are loving having him closer. He’s even gone garage sale-ing with us the last couple of weeks, and has found some good stuff he needed for his apartment.

If you know me, you won’t be surprised to know that I’ve already rearranged my office, putting my new table/desk in one corner. I think this round table will give me lots of options to rearrange, something that seems to get my creative juices flowing. Which is a good thing because I have a book to finish!

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DEBORAH RANEY's first novel, A Vow to Cherish, inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title and launched Deb’s writing career. Forty books later, she's still creating stories that touch hearts and lives. Her novels have won RWA's RITA Award, the ACFW Carol Award, the National Readers Choice Award, and the HOLT Medallion. She is also a four-time Christy Award finalist. Deb is on faculty for several national writers’ conferences and served on the executive board of the 2,500-member American Christian Fiction Writers organization for 18 years before retiring in 2022. She is a recent transplant to Missouri, having moved with her husband, Ken Raney, from their native Kansas to be closer to kids and grandkids. They love road trips, e-biking, Friday garage sale dates, and breakfast on the screened porch overlooking their wooded backyard.

18 Comments

  2. Love the changes! Beautiful. And looking forward to our next garage sale adventure! 😉

  3. What a wonderful opportunity for your grandson and for you and Ken. This time will probably turn out to be some of the most special for you all. Everything looks great and so inviting.

    1. Thank you, Kim. I agree about this being a special and memorable time. Now some of our other grandkids are talking about how they want to come and live in the apartment when they are old enough. 🙂

    1. Haha! That was actually a photo from when our youngest daughter was the only one left at home. We did share leftover carryout pizza with our grandson and he’s gotten some monkey bread and banana bread too so I don’t think he’ll starve. 🙂

  5. Love it, Deb. Back in 2010, my grand-nephew (my brother’s grandson) came from New York State to live with me while attending lineman school. He had only a room, but it did liven up the house.

  7. It’s always fun to shake up the normal spaces in your home! And how fun that your grandson has his apartment there. What a special thing!

  9. Always so much fun to see your decorating efforts, Deb! Love your grandson’s new “home”! Lots better than an old dorm room. Thanks for sharing.

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