My writing place is cramped. The desk with the computer is crammed between the wall and a narrow aisle space, and then my model railroad layout. The room is a former eleven-foot by eleven-foot enclosed stairwell. At some time, the stairs had been ripped out. The structure was reinforced, and a sort of spare room was made out of the whole. We used the room as a storage space because, in the condition it was in, it was useless for anything else. The downstairs equivalent had been made into the previous owners’ “Music Room” when the staircase was removed. It was useful, but not wonderful.
From Barre Walls
I had my eyes on the space for several reasons. But mostly because its uninsulated walls sucked heat out of the house. And, I was looking for an office space and a place for my model railroading interests. Size-wise, it was small, but it was going to be as good as I could get.
While I could not strip the siding off to wrap the exterior in a modern insulation material, I crammed every bit of insulation I could into the bare joists, wallboarded, put up a ceiling, painted, and moved in.
Walls are lined with books, carvings, and plants. The tiny desk is shoehorned in near one of the two windows. Elegant it is not. In fact, it’s messy. But I truly do not require elegance—just privacy.
Lots of the room is occupied by my model railroad, but that’s only the top surface. Underneath is a large space that normally stores off-season clothes, Christmas decorations, and anything that does not have a home. In truth, it is a multifunctional room.
If I were to have druthers fulfilled, I would have a larger and easier to clean room with larger windows for plants. But I am happy with the multiple uses, and being tucked away at the rear of the house. The window near my desk looks out over our small pond, and the windowsill is frequently occupied by my cats watching birds in the backyard by the woods. The shelf above the cat’s perch is filled with herb plants, which provide a small wintertime harvest of rosemary and thyme.
It makes for a pleasant nook. It ain’t elegant, and it’s messy. But it is all mine!
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It’s just right, love… hugs
I like the room as you’ve described it. My studio is a little bigger, but uninsulated. It’s bright with windows on two sides. It’s better than the art shed I left behind in CA, but THAT was wonderful IMO. Before THAT was the fiberglass laundry shed, heated by the dryer and THAT was great. There’s something about a space that contains stuff you love to do that makes it OK no matter what.
YES! You nailed it in your last sentence!