A Secret Place Of One's Own

I have this little place. It's in an attic. At some time, i'm guessing during the 1950's, this place was ingeniously converted into a sort of miniature living quarters. Although it's tiny, it's the most practical & cozy place i've ever been in. It gives me the same beautiful feeling that i had as a child when climbing into a treehouse. The windows on one side look out upon the slanted old tiled roof of the next house and the sky. When it rains, water comes gushing down the tiles, and it's mesmerizing. Very few people know about this little place of mine. It's not very easy to get to...
So let's just say that you actually make it up the stairs. You reach the landing. On the right, a very pink room with a chocolate floor. I once slept here. Now it houses my stage clothes, a Paint-By-Numbers Gallery, my great-grandmother Cobys' birdhouse & a small collection of erotic books.



I know, Pink!? I'm not usually the pink type. It's a strange thing. At the time i just decided that this room had to be pink. Afterwards i realized that this is the exact same color of the walls of the bedroom my mom & i shared at my grandparents house when i was little. The same goes for the unusual turqois color of my kitchenette. I didn't plan it that way, but this memory was somehow guiding my color choices...

In the kitchenette, a classic old-dutch sink, black & white tiles with a stone counter. Click on the photographs for a larger image.







But i've gotten ahead of myself. Before you get to the kitchenette, you enter the room left of the landing through a door with a chalkboard & bulletin board made of wine corks.

Right behind it are shelves full with nifty stuff like my 'Vincent Van Gogh Action Figure' given to me by my great buddy, Marlin Seal. The doll has two heads, a normal one and one with his head in a bandage and his ear cut off! On the wall, the pencil sharpener that hung in my Grandpa's shop for years.





Here, my little office. And yes, it was pretty damn difficult getting that desk up those stairs.
Did you notice that unusual little table across from my desk? It's a really old opticians table with a cast iron foot & wheels. It's incredibly practical. The round disk under the table turns to raise the table another two feet or so. Found this wonderful piece at the charity shop for 25euros. Practically everything in the room is a Flea Market or Charity Shop treasure.



And now for the cozy part! Holland is a chilly place so this room kind of revolves around this beautiful gas heater. It's the Cadillac of heating! This sucker is heavy as hell by the way. Took three guys to get this monster up two flights of death stairs....cursing and sweating all the way up.





And then there is the nook. Everyone should have a nook. This is where i read, draw, dream, stare at the stars, listen to the BBC4 or Radio Dismuke and everything is good with the world...or at least my world for the time. So, that was the tour of my favorite cozy place. I'm sure i'm the only one that would think it's so special. It leaks, it is cold, the stairs will surely kill me one day but i love it so.