Do you have a fantasy home? I live in a four bedroom Victorian terrace with a yard in Liverpool. There’s a great sense of community here, good transport links and top notch dog walking opportunities but future lottery winning me is moving. The dream is something period, detached, six bedrooms, garden, utility room (heaven), massive kitchen, morning room (oh yes) and airing cupboards. All this within walking distance of the sea.
As we haven’t won the lottery we are staying put and trying to find a way for six humans and a dog to peacefully co-exist. Remodeling is not an option at the moment and unless it’s for the dream home I’ve got no interest in moving, so we needed to make the space we have work better for us.
I love our dining room. It’s big, full of light and full of books but as with most dining rooms it gets used for meals and then becomes a dumping ground for school bags, washing and the dreaded stuff to deal with later. I wanted to make it a more usable space for escaping from whatever the monkeys are watching in the living room. I swear kids’ telly was better when I was young. God, I’m old! What I needed was a reading nook.
Off to Ikea we went to sit on every chair to test for comfort. I plumped for this wooden framed chair which made me do a little happy sigh when I sat down. The beloved recommended a side table and I disagreed. It turns out he was right, do not tell him.
We managed to build a small haven of calm in a really busy home which I wasn’t sure was possible. The only problem is the dining room is so nice the family has migrated into the room sitting around the dining table drinking tea, singing daft songs and wittering on like the eejits we are. They are spoiling my chill out area. Don’t tell them, but it’s bliss.