In less than three weeks, we’re moving (yet again – we seem to do this every three years), this time heading from Austin to Cambridge, MA.  AEJ, who has been responsible for all of the incredible design at our house in Austin, is deep into the design planning for our new place.

The thing that I’m most excited about after the move is that I’ll finally have a studio with enough space for a mid-sized grand piano.  That, to state the obvious, is a great big shiny black object.  Add to that the shiny black speakers that are in our current family room in Austin…

(here’s another angle…)

… and you have a lot of shiny black stuff. Since that’s going to feel pretty slick to begin with, AEJ suggested going over-the-top with it, and making it look like the kind of place where Elvis would go to write songs (were he ever actually capable of writing music, and, well, still alive).

To give you an idea of how my studios have changed over the years, here was my workspace in New York City:

This was the studio in Los Angeles (with completely wacked white balance — sorry about that):

And this was the studio here in Austin:

Things had already started moving in the right direction in the Austin studio, with heavy, red, velvet curtains, and a vintage 1970’s acrylic chandelier. It’s like ’70s bordello chic.  Let’s do more of that, only much less subtle.

I’m not going to give much away about her specific plans for the new studio, but I had to post a picture of just one of the lamps.

Are you seeing what’s happening with that lamp? I’ll zoom in for you. But if you’re viewing this at your office, you I suggest you stop scrolling, so you don’t get fired.

That’s right. Boobies. It’s a booby lamp. What says “serious composer” like a lamp with boobies on it? And let me just reiterate that this was my wife’s idea.

It may not be the most appropriate place to write middle school band music, but the new studio is going to rule.