Paul Dodds
Where I live: Central High School neighborhood of Little Rock.
Occupation: Obsessive old house saver and wandering policy adviser.
My favorite space is: My Model A garage/man cave study.
Why? There is something almost magically defining in having a fully separate work space, even one just a few steps away from one’s own back door. It is where my constant stream of papers goes, fluttering from chaos into some semblance of order. I sit for hours in my wobbly old chair, undisturbed, writing, researching, talking on the phone, filing, ensconced in 200 square feet of hidden comfort. My big south-facing window abuts my sweet neighbors’ backyard, and every now and then we chat across the sill — they hand me flower bulbs or play quiet guitar music. I hear birds, the occasional distant screech of teenage tires from Central High. Otherwise, it’s all quiet. The furniture and decor mirror back my gypsy life — Little Rock junk stores, cabinets fetched from a Berlin office dumpster, Cambodian silk-weaving tools, old Harvard chair, Ukrainian painted eggs, amazingly comfortable snooze recliner, often used — all come from near and far to find an unexpected, intimate, peaceful, secret home.
If I could make one change to improve this space, I would: Tile it with 19th-century-style French Khmer concrete floor tiles, heated from below.
— Kim Christ