What DO You Do With A Wee Tiny Room?

Most of the rooms at That Old House have had
their makeovers in the six years since we moved in.

But a couple of them are still in their as-found state.

Including this one:

My, my.  Ain't that purty?
Especially that dingy old strawberry wallpaper, the shade at a rakish angle,
and the college-dorm plastic drawers as a nightstand.  Stylin'.

The Cell, as Annie has dubbed it, is the first of three
similarly sized rooms on our second floor.
Each is about 12 feet long, and 7 feet wide.

The second of the 3 wee little rooms is our upstairs bathroom.
(Yes, I did go there ... wee room.  Bathroom.  I crack myself up.)

I don't take wide-angled shots of this room, because that would include the ... well ... the potty.
No one needs to see that.

The last of the wee little rooms is Howard's walk-in closet.
I do not have pictures of that.  Do you have closet pics?
I thought not....
 Someday, this third wee little room will be our master bath.

Since this house was built before indoor plumbing, these wee tiny rooms probably

were nurseries, or hired man rooms, or even box rooms, for storage.

Or, maybe, they were simply ... teensy bedrooms.

**********************
The Cell is kind of out-of-sight, out-of mind.
It's at the top of the front stairs, to the right of the little landing, 
up the one step that you can see just at the right edge in this picture:

Since we almost always use the back stairs, which are past that tiny mid-hall step,

and not the front stairs, we really don't see this little room very often.

It's turned into a sort of modern day box room, and that's a shame.  It has potential.

I needed some inspiration.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw this picture, below, online.

I loved it.  And it put me in mind of our own tiny wee room.

I saved it, but forgot to label it with its source.

I apologize.  I'm quite twitchy about stealing intellectual property,

whether that be words or pictures, recipes, whatever ... and I spent

a lot of time today trying to track down this picture.  No luck.

If you know where it is from, please let me know so I can credit it properly.

I thought it was from Better Homes and Gardens, but I cannot find it on their website.

However, there is Houzz.

And Houzz has thousands of pictures of, well, houses.  (Houzzes?)

Inside and out.

Including bedrooms.

Even wee tiny bedrooms.

So I have been cruising Houzz, looking for inspiration for our own wee tiny room.

You can click on any of the following pictures to go to their source, or to their Houzz location.

See anything you like?

This is a little white for my taste, and a tad claustrophobia-inducing.

I wonder... do you squinch in along the side,

or walk onto the bed by climbing over the footboard?

Farmhouse Bedroom by Quakertown Design-Build Firms Sullivan Building & Design Group

Traditional Bedroom

Farmhouse Bedroom by Chatham Architects & Building Designers JAMES DIXON ARCHITECT PC

Eclectic Bedroom by Other Metro Interior Designers & Decorators J+G Deisgn

I have thought often of doing The Cell in toile -- walls and
ceiling -- but as we'll probably be selling That Old House
when Howard retires, I'm not sure that's a wise choice.
But wouldn't it look grand?  It would be like sleeping in a lovely hat box!

Traditional Bedroom by Chicago Interior Designers & Decorators Branca, Inc.

A daybed is very tempting.
But I hate to change the linens on them .... so awkward.

Traditional Bedroom by Covington Design-Build Firms Highland Homes, Inc.

Admitted -- this one caught my eye because of the
dress form; it's very much like Anne's old dress form.
But of course, that one lives with her in D.C. now.

Eclectic Bedroom by Brooklyn Media & Bloggers Lauren Gries

If I were a little girl, I'd so want this!

Traditional Bedroom by New York Interior Designers & Decorators Adrienne Neff Design Services LLC

Dark walls.  I like it.

Eclectic Bedroom by Toronto Home Stagers GHStyleworks

This English room, at 2 meters by 4 meters, is just about
the same size as The Cell.  A little smaller, actually.
Nice end wall treatment.

Contemporary Bedroom by South East Interior Designers & Decorators Furnished by Anna

I'd love to visit this room, below, but not have to clean it.

Some rooms are meant for admiring.

But ... I do love, love, love that bed.

That's a bed I can see in The Cell.  Sometimes bold is it.

Eclectic Bedroom by Dallas Artists & Artisans Grace Designs Dallas

First step: The Walls and Ceiling.

This explains why we have not done this room, and the one next

to it, yet.  Wallpaper stripping.  Worse than root canal.

And we'll keep the eventual sale of this house in mind, as we make our choices.  Because in 5 years or so, Howard will retire, and we'll decide that New Jersey is just too expensive, or too cold, or too far away from one or the other of our children ... and we'll move.

I'd like to go to some enchanted little place like this;

it looks made for grandchildren.

Traditional Exterior by Portland Architects & Building Designers Alan Mascord Design Associates Inc

And convince all the neighborhood kids that I'm a witch.  :-)

Is it cold where you live?  It's in the 20s F here.  Crazy.

Just a week ago we were still growing tomatoes.  Nuts.

Link Parties!

At Coastal Charm, it's Show and Share #237.  Click here!

It's the 243rd Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life. Click here!

What's Black and White and Red All Over? Our Powder Room!

There's a Toile Party going on, at the Pretty Organized Palace blog. Visit here to read more!

And now. . .

. . . what's black and white and red all over?

On the playground at Eagle Avenue Elementary School on Long Island, we used to say "a newspaper!" and laugh ourselves silly.

But now at That Old House, the answer is ... The Powder Room!
Not as witty, perhaps, but more satisfying.

My most-viewed-ever post was my February 16th one about the metamorphosis of our Powder Room;
if you are curious, click here. The "befores" were interesting. . .

. . . the "afters" were not complete. . . .

No curtains!

(Oddly enough, taped up samples don't count.)

Toile was the fabric of choice for most of you who expressed an opinion, and as luck would have it, I had a generous length of $1.00 a yard cream and black cotton toile that I bought last year at WalMart (bottom fabric in picture, above).

Kismet.

I am really pleased with how this $1.00 a year fabric looks at this window. I self-lined it, just doubled over the fabric so if the blind is raised, it will look the same from the outside as from the inside. The print is busy enough and fabric substantial enough that the pattern doesn't "shine through" from one side to the other.

Hope you like the new curtain! It needed to be swagged to one side, as the sconce would otherwise interfere with the fabric. But luckily, it's all period appropriate!

It needs a tieback -- right now just a narrow bit of satin ribbon is doing tieback duty. Time for a tassel, maybe?

And just let's peek in from the dining room. . .

Now...what is black & white & black & white & black & white & black & . . . ??? As we used to say at old Eagle Avenue, "A nun rolling downhill." You need to have grown up in the days of nuns wearing habits to appreciate this witty bit of school yard hilarity.

Have a lovely weekend! ... Cass

Hooked On Curtains & Guestrooms, And a Foodie Friday Trainwreck!

It is Friday, and it is the first day of Spring! Mother Nature sprinkled our world with a light dusting of snow early this morning; she is such a card, that Mother Nature.

Meanwhile. . .

Over at Julia's wonderful Hooked On Houses site, there's a "Hooked on...." party going on. Check it out here.

Hostess Gollum has declared this a Foodie Friday Trainwreck Day. Visit a vast array of them right here.

My Foodie Trainwreck could qualify for a Wordless Wednesday post.
I am among friends, so I invite you to take a look:

Now that is a train wreck!
Click and enlarge that picture at your peril. You have been warned.

It's one end of our kitchen, in the early cleanup phase after Saturday's House Blessing party.
As my mother-in-law (just visible walking near the fridge) would say ... "Oy!"
As my sister would say, "You couldn't fit a booger on that counter!"

(At the end of this post, for Foodie Friday involving actual food, there's a recipe for chili from The Silver Palate in New York. It's good and complex, with some surprising ingredients. It is not a blazing hot chili, so if you want a scorcher you'll have to tinker with it.)

Since I am Hooked On Curtains this Friday -- I am going to just detour a bit from my guest room and steer you into the butler's pantry.
It is one of the most "BEFORE" spots in That Old House. . . witness this:


See what I mean?

But with no time or budget to do an overhaul before Saturday's gathering,
I resorted to the creative use of a hastily sewn curtain on a tension rod. . .

It became our coffee station, with urns of regular and de-caf, and guests could help themselves.

Speaking of guests, my Florida-dwelling in-laws stayed in the Yellow Bedroom for this long weekend,
and I did indeed get curtains hung in that room in time for their Friday arrival.

But -- I am not happy with them. (The curtains, not the in-laws!)

Take a look:

Notice the poofy-ness. Don't they look stiff? The drapes don't drape! It's the lining.
I wanted a heavy curtain that would block out light in this room, so I ordered "black out lining." Big mistake. Big, big mistake.

This lining fabric is cotton, but it's solidly bonded to a rubbery material
that is stiff, wrinkles and even makes noise.
Although that may be my imagination. It even looks stiff on the bolt:

You can't iron it with a hot iron ("I'm melting, I'm melting!"),
so there is a network of wrinkles like a road map all over the curtains.

I should have used normal cotton lining and interlined with flannel, but I am a thrifty soul, and I had already paid for this bolt of rubbery and somewhat creepy stuff, and by gum... I was going to use it!

And now I'm going to remove it, and replace it with real lining.
Ah well, everyone needs a hobby.

***************
But meanwhile ... if you have time, take a tour of the Yellow Bedroom, our official guestroom.
It's where you would stay if you knocked on our door and needed a refuge.

Come in. . .

This is a small room, so we maximize guest storage (does that seem as if we are storing our guests?).

Near the door, there's a vintage bombe chest, one of my Craigslist cheaper-than-cheap buys.
The top and middle drawers are empty for guests to use.
The bottom drawer holds extra sets of linens for the bed.

The lamp is a pineapple, a symbol of hospitality. I like to buy old lamps and my Dad rewires them, but this one is new, bought at JC Penney
at their huge after-Christmas sale; I think it cost 34 dollars, shade and all.


A little peachy-pink tole basket ($9 at Home Goods) holds practical plastic glasses, bottled water,
and wrapped chocolate covered mints and hard candies when guests are in residence.

We have an old hotel luggage rack, bought for a few bucks when the Carlton House closed in Pittsburgh in the early '80s. It's near the window, holding back the *&%$#* curtains!


On built-in shelves, we keep books, a plastic carry basket for bath items, and two sets of towels.
Plenty more towels are stored on the shelves underneath, behind the doors.

I use yellow towels for guests in this room; they always know which are theirs.
Guests in the Pink Bedroom get ... yeah, you guessed it.
A pair of Teddy Bears perches on the shelves;
you never know when you might need a Teddy.

In the closet, kept empty, there are wooden and padded hangers (no wire!), and extra pillows.
(Now how often do you see the inside of a closet? It's the only one of mine you will ever see!)


On an old quilt rack ($5 at a yard sale): extra blankets and a sweet little quilt.


For bare toes, a small rug, hooked by a gentleman who was my father's best friend.
His wife was French, and the little rug has "Bonne nuit" and "Bon jour" worked into it.


And on one of the bedside tables, a little lamp I recently bought on Ebay.
($24 with free shipping.) Can you see what it is? Look closely. . . .


It is a miniature replica of an old wicker suitcase!
There's a small brass handle at the top.
I just get such a kick out of a suitcase lamp in a guest room.


Simple things amuse me. Just ask my husband. He amuses me no end.


The low-post cherry and poplar bed is one we bought 30 years ago at The Whale's Tail antiques shop in Mars, Pennsylvania.
I love it, but there is the creakiness factor.
180-year old beds have a tendency to audibly protest when used. Can't say I blame them.


The nightstands are from my in-laws' block-front Newport-style mahogany bedroom furniture,
handmade in Boston in the 1940s. Most of this set is in our master bedroom,
but these little guys just fit in so well in this small room; they struck out on their own.




The needlepoint chair I wrote about in another post, here; another Craigslist bargain!


Well, this is long enough!
Tomorrow: More curtains! Remember the powder room?
Those black and cream toile curtains were just what it needed.
You ladies who suggested it were absolutely right.

The Powder Room curtains post is up!
What's Black & White & Red all over? Click here.

Then there's the dining room, the parlor, the master bedroom, the Pink Bedroom. . . .

And maybe, just maybe, the retro-fitted guest room curtains. I hope to get them re-sewn,
and re-hung, today. Yeah, we'll see how that works out.

And remember... as it says in the pillow on the bed in the Yellow Bedroom:


Anyone interested in a partial bolt of rubbery insulated blackout lining?
I know where you can get it, CHEAP! Very cheap.

And.... now for the Silver Palate Chili for a Crowd Recipe, on this Foodie Friday:

Silver Palate Chili For a Crowd

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound yellow onions, coarsely chopped
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from casings
4 pounds beef chuck, ground
1 can (12 ounces) tomato paste
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/3 cup ground cumin
1/2 cup chili powder
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons dried basil
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 1/2 tablespoons salt,
or to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
3 cans (28 ounces each) Italian plum tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill (Use fresh if available, but dried will work in a pinch; just use less -- Cass)
1/4 cup chopped parsley (Dried parsley flakes can be used if you can't get fresh; use less -- Cass)
2 cans (16 ounces each) dark-red kidney beans, drained
2 cans (5 1/2 ounces each) pitted black olives, drained (I use sliced black olives -- Cass)

1. Heat the olive oil in a very large pot. Add the onions and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 15 minutes. Add the sausage meat and ground chuck; cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the meats are well browned. Spoon off any excess fat and discard.
2. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, cumin, chili powder, mustard, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes, wine, lemon juice, dill, parsley and kidney beans. Stir well and simmer, uncovered, for another 15 minutes.
3. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add olives; simmer for 5 minutes more to heat through. Serve immediately.

Serves 20. (Easily doubled!) Per serving: 260 calories, 19g carbohydrate, 26g protein,
10g fat, 55mg cholesterol.