My Favorite Room: Derek Fisher doesn’t let the NBA dominate his home office
Former Laker Derek Fisher’s favorite room is his office — a place for thought, work or some peace and quiet.
There are two boxed basketballs stacked on an armchair and books by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the shelf, but for the most part, Derek Fisher’s home office is an NBA-free zone.
“I’ve been gifted lots of pictures of myself, but I don’t really put them up,” said the former Lakers point guard and five-time champion. “I don’t like to have my jerseys on the wall.”
Fisher, 43, lives in the Mediterranean-style San Fernando Valley home with girlfriend and “Basketball Wives” star Gloria Govan. It’s a full house most days — the couple have five children from previous relationships and also share the seven-bedroom property with Fisher’s nephew and the family’s Italian mastiff, Bella.
So the newly remodeled office, with its blue-gray walls, bowls of seashells and meticulously arranged books — his eclectic collection includes titles on sports, business, politics and relationships, and half a dozen Bibles — is “a safe haven to get away from the madness.”
It’s also a quiet spot for Fisher to work toward his undergraduate degree in applied communications — a promise he made to his parents when he quit college in 1996 to join the NBA.
“For a long time I wanted to, but I never did — I signed up for a couple of classes and I would withdraw when I would get too busy,” said Fisher, now a television analyst after a stint as head coach of the New York Knicks. “But life happens, and perspective changes, and I owed my parents that.”
Why is this your favorite room in the house?
There’s a warmth and a coziness to it which makes me feel like I’m at home. It’s a place of peace. It helps me feel creative and innovative and forward-thinking.
Did you hire a decorator, or are you a do-it-yourself kind of guy?
I’m a do-it-not-myself kind of guy. Gloria gets all the credit for the design. This office did not look like this initially. When we moved in, we had a ton of furniture to combine, so we picked out a desk, chair from things we already owned.
So the original office got the job done, but that’s about it.
The office looked really nice as it was. But as you know, sometimes your partner has a vision, and things change. So: new wall color, new desk, new design.
You didn’t do Laker purple for your walls.
No, I don’t need reminders of myself in terms of the team and the Lakers. I think a home is just a home and when people walk in, who you are and what you used to do shouldn’t be the first thing that they connect with. It should be the energy in the house, the love in the house that they should feel.
Where did the furnishings come from?
A little bit of everywhere. So from Pottery Barn to Amazon to Restoration Hardware to Target if it needs to be.
During the two-month-long remodel, did you nix any of Gloria’s design ideas?
Gloria strikes a very good balance. Everything doesn’t become frou-frou, with crystals and rhinestones and shiny things everywhere that would make a man feel uncomfortable. I don’t remember having to try to steer her away from the walls being pink or anything like that.
Left to your own devices, how would you decorate a space?
Interior design company or agency for sure. I couldn’t do this on my own. I’ve only ever tried to decorate my first place, like when I first made it to the NBA, and that was forever ago — 22 years ago now. You know, black leather couches like most guys do, furniture that’s way too big, things that don’t really go together. That was me.
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