My Airbnb in the Capitol Hill neighborhood was just as charming as the pictures showed. It was just four blocks from eastern market, a hopping commercial area with a vibrant farmers market on the weekends. But soon after I had unpacked and settled in to my new home, the landlord called to let me know that the heating unit in the upstairs apartment wasn’t working. And with radiator heat, workers were going to be coming through in two days to rip out the floors immediately overhead.
She couldn’t say how long the construction would continue and she anticipated that only Sundays would be quiet days.
It was a mad scramble to find another rental on such short notice. There were plenty of units available, but I they were all the leftovers; either too expensive, super sad, or in less-than-desirable locations.
Luckily, I found a sweet little garden unit just blocks from where I'd started. It was considerably smaller and a bit dark. Perfect for settling in and curling up on the cold winter nights. But not ideal for working or painting from home.
(Entrance to my garden apartment is to the left of the stairs... downstairs.)
While I was in Portland, I had rented co-working space. The AirBnB in Maine was spacious enough to work and paint, but after 2 months of me, zoom meetings, and paintbrushes, I needed a place to go to. I needed people to see in actual 3D. So, I created my own workday by renting a working space. So, I decided I could make the Washington DC apartment work if I could find a decent co-working space.
And boy, did I.
Just 1/2 a mile away I found Bond Collective. It was an absolutely gorgeous space with communal living room areas, private offices and phone booths, and full kitchens. I arrived for my tour with the intention of just signing up for working in the communal space, but my tour guide shared with me that they had opened shortly after the pandemic hit, were only at 20% capacity, and were having a smoking deal on private spaces. Oh, and I was welcome to paint there, too.
After a very quiet time in Connecticut, it's absolutely ideal. I have a place to go everyday where people (albeit not that many) are working, and I'll have enough space to paint. And as an added bonus, there are extra tables galore that I can use as work surfaces for my art!
A friend often says that the wrong things happen for the right reasons. This would be a great example of that because without the heat going out in my first DC apartment and having to move, I would have never ended up finding something that fit me so well for this stage of my journey.