How long have you worked from home? And where is home? I’ve been a freelance writer for about five years. Up until recently that meant I worked on articles for the New York Times, ReadyMade, and Unplggd from my apartment in Brooklyn, NY, but this past January my husband and I moved to Pacific Grove, CA. We converted our apartment’s second bedroom into an office space we share. I run the pet blog Pawesome out of here.

Describe your style? How would you define your aesthetic? Giant Robot meets Mollusk surf shop. My husband and I have very different aesthetics that thankfully really balance each other out. His side of the office is minimal, with just the bare essentials (and the occasional surfboard leaning against the wall) while my side is a collector’s space. I like to curate little exhibitions filled with art, tchotchkes, and personal memories. We have a mix of new, old, budget, and expensive pieces in the office. My side is much more budget friendly, with both vintage and Ikea pieces.

How do you keep your office organized? I’m thinking here of the physical space but also your computer. Are there any particular programs you find really useful? Honestly, I never feel like the office is organized, but I have a few pieces that help keep the chaos in check. One is my Ikea Helmer drawer unit. Its six drawers are nice and small so I can easily divide items up to make it easier to find them later. The other is my Poketo planner. I’ve used programs like Google Calendar and iCal, but I get too distracted when I’m on the computer to remember to plug in appointments and to do lists. It’s much easier for me to take this little datebook to bed and plan things out for the following day, week, month. Plus it has all these extra sections in it for organizing ideas and finances. When I’m at the computer, as I mentioned before, I get distracted very easily so I’ve found the Instapaper plugin for FireFox (also available for Safari) to be really helpful to keep track of sites, blog posts, and products that have peaked my interest. It’s the equivalent of folding a dog ear in a magazine, but in this case, all your folded pages are on one site.

When you were designing your home office what did you keep in mind? If I can’t spend my days outside, I want to at least feel like I am. We have these beautiful windows that overlook the giant ferns growing in our yard, so we decided to create an office layout that allowed our desks to be as close to that as possible, while not creating too big of a glare on our glossy screens. [Bruce's desk is below]

Is there any piece of home office furniture you covet? My husband’s Herman Miller Embody chair. While I love my little vintage blue chair, it does not do a body good.

What is a desk accessory you can’t do without? Apple’s Magic Mouse. It boggles my mind how Apple was able to build a multifunctional mouse within such a basic form factor.

What would you change about your own workspace? I’d love to figure out a visually appealing way to hide all the cables, wires and modems/routers on our floors. Until we own though, I don’t want to invest anymore in the space.

What do you most love about your space? Having my best friend working across from me.

What inspires you? All of the amazing work I learn about by reading the web. When I see other people being creative, it motivates me to produce great work.

Photo: Chris Warnes

Deborah Bibby has worn a lot of hats in her worklife. She began editing fashion magazines and moved into interior styling. She had a book publishing business and is now the editor of Australian interiors magazine Real Living. I was lucky enough to work for the same company as Deb in Australia and can vouch for her inimitable style. When she’s not busy editing or dreaming up new book ideas you can find Deb blogging at Real Living.

As editor you have an office in the heart of Sydney. You live about 45 minutes away by the ocean. How much time do you spend in your home office? What kind of work do you find yourself doing there? My home office is like my sanctuary – it’s my creative place and I often lose myself in there for hours on a Sunday afternoon. It feels indulgent to sit and dream up ideas for work or for myself personally. Work really is my hobby (ssshhh)!

One thing I never do in my home office is tax, bill-paying or any other day-to-day chore. Instead, the space is for me to get creative. Prior to Real Living I used to have a small independent book publishing company, so ideas for books are constantly popping into my head. I have one running around in there at the moment, about old-fashioned beach houses across Australia. I am determined to capture their essence before they have all disappeared.

A few days ago, the cottage in front of my house was demolished to make way for an uninspiring modern glass box. I am not against strong contemporary architecture – done well it can lift the soul – but I do find it a little depressing when it’s all about the money and there is no respect for the emotions of a place. The buildings are often cheaply built, purely functional, emotionless structures. Soon the original beach house will be more valuable than the bunkers popping up everywhere and developers will struggle to comprehend it. Apparently the “McMansion” loses value the minute contracts are exchanged. A positive that did come out of the GFC was that the pressure was taken off families to keep up with the Joneses. Suddenly it’s okay to be a little humble.

How would you describe your home office? What is the design aesthetic? Less about style and more about the heart. I’d say my office has evolved over the years and acquired layers. I love the scale of my old architect’s desk – it’s weighty and substantial and makes me feel secure. The drawers are deep and smell of sawdust and paper. The retro curved plywood bench saves the space and stops it looking dated. I don’t think my office has a particular design aesthetic, but if I had to label it, I guess I’d call it “classic with an Australian edge”.

Does anyone else use your home office? No, the space is deliciously all mine (although I’d be happy to share).

How do you organize the space? I don’t. I tidied it up for your shoot but usually there are books, magazines, notepads, pencils and piles of paper across every surface including the floor. I don’t have a computer on my desk – I spend so much time in front of one at work, I don’t feel the need. I love a more tactile work space and am surrounded by images, rolls of wallpaper, bolts of fabric and precarious stacks of magazines. Although I do tidy up before I start any work so my head is clear.

In your job you must see a lot of great home offices. What inspiration have you taken from them? Have you seen the shots by Mikkel Vang of architect Rob Brown’s simple shed in Mudgee? [Two shots below - for more go to Vang's site] It’s not a home office, but it is inspiring – I think it’s important to try and bring nature into the workspace to keep the balance.

What impact do you think colour has on a workspace? A lot. That’s why I prefer a neutral palette – so I don’t get distracted.

What desk accessory can’t you do without? Sharp pencils and my iPod.

Is there a piece of furniture you’d love to replace? No.

What inspires you? All things visual. I love French Vogue and the editor Carine Roitfeld is inspiring with her irreverence. Elle Decoration is also a magazine I look forward to landing on my desk each month. Photographers Arthur Elgort, Ellen Von Unwerth and Australia’s Richard Bailey. More recently I have been seduced by the images of lifestyle photographer Mikkel Vang. Artists Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Adam Cullen and Martine Emdur – I have their postcards (that’s all I can afford) taped into notebooks. Peter Beard – I only have to flick through his book Fifty Years of Portraits to get carried away; is that weird? Music – Damien Rice’s 2002 album O. I am sure it would inspire anyone. I am also inspired by the sound of the tide coming in, and gathered flotsam and jetsam from the beach, like the shark-egg cases on my desk – they make me want to sketch.