Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Personal space
Where I live: Stifft Station Occupation: City of Little Rock bicycle and pedestrian coordinator
My favorite space is: Our bookcase and couch.
Why? I don’t know the relationships other people have with their bookcases, maybe this is weird, but my IKEA Billy bookcase and the couch beside it is my favorite space in the house. While I don’t open them as much as I would like, the books on my bookcase both encapsulate me and take me beyond myself.
My major events have affected my bookcase. When I got married and we combined households, my books were (mostly) condensed to this one bookcase to make room for my wife’s bookcases. When my wife became pregnant, “important” books were bumped for baby books. When the twins began to toddle, two of my six shelves were boxed and replaced with a carefully curated children’s library (jackets removed).
My bookcase is dynamic and has become more inclusive.
Our humble, cat-scratched couch is where we read with our kids. Our schedules can be crazy, but this couch is the place where all of us slow down, snuggle up and enjoy time together every night. It also functions as a dining room, TV lounge, trampoline and wrestling mat.
If I could make one change to improve this space, I would: Add one more shelf to that bookcase. Get on it, IKEA!