What I Published in March 2024

Photo by Kelly Dawson

Maybe this is a secret that should probably stay as such, but nevertheless, I’ll share it with you: There’s a lot of guilt in freelancing. It may arise as a deadline looms for all the time an assignment would’ve ideally received rather than the mere hours it realistically got. It comes up during the occasional back-and-forth of paying invoices, though it shouldn’t, because there’s no such thing as a freelancer who survives on “favors.” But here’s the interesting way that guilt has plagued my days lately: I’ve felt guilty about wanting to rest. 

The detail that rarely gets mentioned in the countless “quit your 9-to-5 and work for yourself” fever dreams peddled by internet hustlers is that self-employment has no set hours. You’re going to work a more flexible 9-to-5, of course. But more often than not, you’re going to work a lot longer than that. Invoicing is something you don’t have to do as a full-time employee, as one detail, and neither is accepting last-minute work to meet an income goal. Freelancers routinely flirt with a boom-and-bust mentality — the rush of one big paycheck and the struggle to repeat that success by cobbling smaller rates together in its shadow — so it’s tough to listen to your body when it’s telling you to, you know, go outside. 

“If I don’t work, I don’t get paid,” is a mantra that can keep you going. But it can also keep you from enjoying more flexibility, too. This month, I needed to have more fun, but I felt guilty about it. 

This is another secret I’ll share with you: I got a massage on a Tuesday and took myself out for a long lunch on a Friday. I tried on new clothes one Wednesday, bought a shirt, and then returned it the next day because it looked like 13 other shirts I already own. In other words, I let myself rest. And the work got done anyway. 

Here’s a selection of what I published in March: 

Domino: I Couldn’t Find Affordable Large Art, So I Made My Own for $60

Domino: Don’t Call It Sage—This D.C. Kitchen’s Seafoam Cabinets Bring the Drama

Arch Digest: An Indianapolis Tudor Home Is Bright, Modern, and Made for Slumber Parties

Dwell: In the Mojave Desert, a First-Time Builder Takes On a Tricky Prefab Home

Dwell: Cosmic Buildings’s $279K Tiny Home Recycles Water and Generates Its Own Solar Power

Dwell: Want to Design Your Own ADU? This Prefab Company Gives You the Tools

Dwell: This Completely Restored $500K Airstream Is Built Like a Yacht

Apartment Therapy: This Is the Curtain “Mistake” Designers Want You to Make

Apartment Therapy: 8 Bedroom Layout Ideas for the Best Sleep, Style, and Space