Inspiration: Desire To Inspire’s Kim Johnson
Kim Johnson is one half of Desire to Inspire - a blog packed to the brim with great interiors. She and fellow blogger, Australian Jo Walker, have never actually met. They came together on Flickr and “well that was that. Desire to Inspire was born.” It’s a picture- heavy global tour of chic homes that attracts people from all over the world. Kim, who is a web programmer based in Ottawa, Canada, talks with us about blogging from her home.
What does an average work day look like for you? The majority of my day is spent in a cubicle while I am at my day job as a web developper for the Canadian government. Not very exciting. But then I get to come home and spend my evenings working on the interior design blog I share with Jo, who lives in Australia. That involves answering reader emails, conversing via email with advertisers, collecting photos for a post to be published the following day, and hopefully finding a bit of time to make dinner, check out other blogs, and relax a bit before the day ends. Then it all starts again (at 5 am). My workspace is pretty small; a room at the back of my house that is 11’x10’, with a rather large powder room taking up a quarter of the space.
What technology really works for you? Being surrounded by technology all day, I am inspired by the simple things that get the job done quick. My pink (I loooove pink) Dell laptop is a god send. It is fast and super handy. I often move it into the kitchen where I sit at the dining table and while working I can watch the TV in the living room (and keep an eye out on my 7 cats).
Do you have a favorite desk accessory? The only desk accessory I really need is my whiteboard. I have a marker obsession so I love keeping track of everything (blog advertising, grocery lists, Home Depot lists) on my whiteboard.
What makes your home office work well? Organizing a home work space is essential. Disorganization = stress. No one needs more stress in their lives. So I am always on the hunt for fun vintage metal baskets, storage furniture, trays for stray papers…whatever I need to have a space for every single thing that enters my office.
What do you listen to while you work? Sadly I find I am too preoccupied with other things to find decent music to listen to. I often turn to my digital cable box for help, where I set it to one of the “hit list” radio stations.