A Place of My Own
At a turning point in his life, writer Michael Pollan found himself dreaming of a small wood-frame hut in the woods near his house - a place to work, but also a "shelter for daydreams." Ordinarily more at home among words than things, the author was seized by the idea of building the place himself, with his own two unhandy hands. A Place of My Own recounts his two-and-a-half-year journey of discovery in an absorbing narrative that deftly weaves the day-to-day work of design and building - from siting to blueprint, from the pouring of foundations to finish carpentry - with reflections on everything from the power of place to shape our lives to the question of what constitutes "real work" in a technological society. With one eye on Thoreau and the other on Mr. Blandings, Pollan uses the biography of a single tiny building to brilliantly illuminate the history, and meaning, of all human building: how nature is both sacrificed and celebrated when we transform a tree into a house; where the classical rules of Vitruvius dovetail with the Chinese art of feng shui; what the warring perspective of carpenter and architect have to tell us about the changing experience of work today. This is a book about craft that is itself beautifully crafted, linking the world of the body and material things with the realm of mind, heart, and spirit, showing us that there is not a divide between the two, but a continuum.
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6recommend
8mentions
8people
2013–2026years
75% recommend25% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- >How long have you had this multi desk setup for, and how has it evolved?
Since 2018, the first time I ever had my own multibedroom rental. After I had established my second desk, I was hooked.
I have since moved, and the new location was a smaller half-renovated location... so I spent Summer 2024 building an "office" / shed (120sqft no-permit legal; after reading Michale Pollan's A Place of My Own), which has its own two desks, on opposite walls (12ft apart). No internet available in my shed (by design). In the main house, I split the larger bedroom in half, which created three separate work areas (plus hundreds sqft of storage / shelves). The smallest desk is dedicated entirely to laminating (internet memes, mostly) =P
Both my typewriters are on custom-built stand-up desks (barstools work, but normal chair-height is too low). My tax and music-streaming computers are also stand-ups. Main browser (this computer) is a seated 48" AORUS, which admittedly has four work-stations on a single display (counter-intuitive to multistation, but never use any connected machine simultaneously).
>falling into disuse and accumulating crap that gets set on them
The secret here is to create even more horizontal spaces, without any technology atop, for the simple purpose of setting all your crap. Having a box / closet labelled "Box(es) for unique one-off items that I cannot seem to throw away because I know I'll eventually need it" — is also helpful. So is throwing anything away after its sits within, unused, for over (e.g.) a year.
>typewriters / machines?
My oldest desked computers:
two 2006 Core2Duo (x86): a 20" iMac running MacOS Snow Leopard (taxes only, USB printer, offline); the other is an online Win7 Pro machine that is solid, used for anything with a login (e.g. government paperwork, e-file, direct stock purchases)
My favorite computers are all modern Apple Silicon (M2/M3/M4) — I held-out with a MacPro5,1 for over a decade of daily-driving... until the M2Pro Mini came out early 2023.
But my favorite composing machine is a Smith Corona Super12 Coronet (it's a bulletproof typewriter). Aside from using a proprietary ink cartridge (readily available online, even Amazon), and not traditional ribbons, you just can't go wrong with an electric-strike typebar.
The G.O.A.Typewriter is generally considered to be IBM's Selectric II — and I'll agree, but only if you own two and can service them both full-time (i.e. don't depend on them to always work). This is the only typewriter that can "keep up" with 100+ wpm [theoretically 220+ wpm is possible] because there are no individual typebars to clash/interfere/sieze [just a typeball]. Mine sits unrepaired, after its commonest deathknell: broken drive belt, requiring full dissassembly.
My daily correspondence typewriter is a thick&wide-platen Smith Corona Secretariat, which can handle paperweights up to 65 lb (without creasing; typical platen can handle up to 45 lb), up to 12" wide. This machine requires no power, and minimal maintenance — you can take it out of the attic, after years of dust/rust/siezing... "force" each typebar a few times, and then be typing in no time [obviously you need an undried ribbon].
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One of my favorite gifts is helping intellectuals get offline (if you can't tell, typewriters can play a big part in reconnecting with your world). A recent convert is a judge that has always commented about my typewritten communications (for years, a casual relationship)... now uses a Selectric II professionally (just a brilliant machine, if you can maintain it; interchangable fonts, 10/12 spacing, re-write™). It's a distinguishing correspondence composer, if you can work without red-squigglies/AI (and afford maintenance).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Selectric
https://typewriterdatabase.com/1973-smith-corona-coronet-sup...
https://typewriterdatabase.com/1958-smith-corona-secretarial...
Also, if you haven't (and are type-curious): watch California Typewriter (2016) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWfgpL1X_oE ...RIP California Typewriter =(
- I really liked this.
It reminds me of Michael Pollan's book A Place of My Own The Architecture of Daydreams - https://michaelpollan.com/books/a-place-of-my-own/
Michael goes into great detail on building his own office space. It was really cool to read all the details.
It also reminds me of a Tom Silva quote, "The money is in the details."
- You might enjoy the book (or Audiobook) of Michael Pollan’s “A Place of My Own”, wherein he builds a writing shed with the help of a handyman and some plans from an architect. It was really enjoyable — one of those stories you can sink into and not want it to end.
- The OP's description also reminded me of "A place of my own" by michael pollan. It is a really inspirational tale of another amateur coming from a similar excited and childlike fascination.
- I work in residential construction. Beginner friendly, 'find out if you find this interesting' kind of books:
"This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House" by Bob Vila.
An older book, only the carpentry is relevant today, but a nice picture-driven exploration of sensitive home renovation.
"A Place of My Own: the Architecture of Daydreams" by Michael Pollan
I didn't get a lot out of this because it was a pretty simple project that was being described, but it's a good look at the challenges of design, and a good primer if you're looking to do your own small project. Plus, Michael Pollan is an enjoyable writer.
"House" by Tracy Kidder
Follows the construction of a home in MA with a lot of builder perspective. Explores the common issues associated with running a small carpentry company frame to finish. There is also "The Apple Corps Guide to the Well-Built House" by Jim Locke which is written by a member of the firm profiled in "House" - haven't read it yet.
"Last Harvest: How a Cornfield Became New Daleville" by Witold Rybczynski
Follows the evolution of a farm field into a subdivision.
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A little more challenging:
"The City in History" by Lewis Mumford
Best described as a "Tome" - a staple in intro level planning classes.
"building Construction Illustrated" by Francis Ching
A good illustrated primer on basic residential construction assemblies, will help with visualization of written descriptions and vocabulary.
"Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn" by Thomas Hubka
The evolution of farm yard structures, of interest if you've ever wondered about the repeating patterns you see on New England farms.
"A Field Guide to American Houses" by Virginia Savage McAlester
This book will tell you what every type of house is. If I remember right, I believe it also has a section on vernacular houses. A similar book that I own but have not read is "A Field Guide to American Architecture" by Carole Rifkind. I also like, and have read, "American Vernacular: Buildings and Interiors, 1870-1960" by Herbert Gottfried
"How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built" by Stewart Brand
A great look at what happens after construction is completed, I love this book for it's treatment of a seldom-discussed reality of the construction trades.
"Builders Guide: Cold Climates" Joseph W Lstiburek
Lstiburek is opinionated, and usually right. Find more books of this style at: https://buildingscience.com/
"The Checklist Manifesto" by Atul Gawande
Changed how I approach documenting and completing tasks - in a business like construction where it's hard to go in reverse, it's been a major component of my success since I first read it in 2011. Simple in concept, hard in practice.
- I think the point is sometimes architects eschew local traditions or materials to make a building to their aesthetic standards, often to the detriment of the buildings inhabitants.
These houses might not be "the best" (how would you even classify that?) but they are "evolved" to be comfortable and efficient in the areas in which you'd find them.
Read A Place of My Own by Michael Pollan for an exploration of this very topic.
