The Den…….used to be our daughter’s bedroom, then our son’s and then the place of study for nurse training and ongoing learning. Now? To relax in. This became a dumping ground room after retiring. Littered with boxes. In my youth my extended families always had a ‘Box Room’. Flotsam, jetsam and junk! Never truly decorated this room myself other than painting the existing anaglypta wallpaper. To explain.

When we first moved here to Wales we had visitors coming almost every week for about five years. We both worked and the opportunities to decorate were impossible. I can’t simply hang wallpaper and get it done in a weekend. Useless like that. It always was a long winded affair in past houses of stripping back to basics. Always some unlooked for need to repair. Plaster, woodwork, plumbing, electrical, etc. Thank heavens in those past houses for a couple of friends’ assistance and also my Dad and Uncle Ron! Also, when moving to Wales it offered it’s glorious outside too. The beach, the lakes, rivers, forestry and woodland. So we were often out and about. It is really only since retiring it has been possible to get stuck in.

So. Getting there to the last hurdles now. First finish cutting the carpet on the last stretch of skirting and doorway. Then there are more pictures to hang, a different stereo to sort out, a TV monitor for the DVD’s, a sofa bed to choose, hangers for the guitars and tidy up the wires. Putting together the ‘blackboard desk’ today (advert picture here below). It folds down from the wall so no floor space permanently taken. The sofa bed needs the empty floor space. So it will be nice to finally get off the dining table to write blogs.

The plan is an escape room for whoever needs it. I want to generally sit here to write music, plan for the Spring garden interventions, bit of art, reading, listening to music, mixing synergy essential aromatherapy oils or generally using and checking out the vintage fountain pens.

Please tap on individual photographs to enlarge.

The nice bit? No more technical books to read or essays/thematic inclusions for ongoing Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to type/write and angst over. Now it is journalling, diary thoughts, doodling, writing lyrics to new songs whilst drinking coffee, eating biscuits and putting down the fountain pen in gentle satisfaction and not out of frustration. Bliss.

The not so nice bit is that I have boxes on boxes of unwanted technical books, DVDs, CDs, ornaments, etc. to get to somewhere else. They are currently getting piled up ‘out back’. But focus on the nice bit! When certain visitors come we can now sit, drink, play guitars, sing and chat.

Below are photographs of the progress and a couple of shelves in the under the stairs ‘library’.

Please tap on individual photographs to enlarge. Thank you.