Monday 16 January 2012

Ovarian Den



I am excited because I am going to make a lady room.






I was browsing my favourite local lady store, Chatelet/Nesters on Queen St. East






and I told the shop owner that I might have to divorce my husband and turn my whole house into a fabulous lady doily land where there were no dogs, no bits of bike, no voodoo beer cap man statues.




yes. this is on my mantle. One makes compromises for love.


 She said that “Every woman needs a Marie Antoinette Room”. I was stopped in my tracks. A room? Just for me? A room of ones’ own? What could be more delightful, more self-indulgent, and more sand and fur free? 


I posted a picture in a blog awhile back of my office/ laundry/junk room. 



And I’ve decided to clean it out and turn it into a lady room for me. 


This will be a long process and will require much shifting and Goodwilling. I imagine it will take a long time of saving to do this too. But as I do the grunt work I can think of things I want to do to transform this ordinary, rather dull, room, into my personal oasis of calm and feminine snazziness. 

So what goes on in a lady room?

Lady things, naturally.

Needlepointing, reading, coffee drinking, visiting, cat worship, blogging, dreaming, nibbling on wafer thin biscuits from Paris, jewelry fondling, handwritten letter writing, hair braiding, wet nursing, greeting card making, door shutting, Chopin listening, cello playing, sewing lesson taking, piano playing and plotting mayhem.



What instills this need to have a lady room? I’m not the only one, it seems Some peoples on the intermicnets are  calling these lady retreats “Mom Caves”,  a moniker with which I am not entirely comfortable. How about Uterine Lounge? Vagina Vault? Ovarian Den?
Ovarian Den. I like it.
Should it be all white with hints of soft blue and cream? 




Or lacquer red  with black and gold?  


Peacock blue with pink and gold accents?

too much, Ryan?

 Deep red with persian rug jewel tones?



A chandelier. There MUST be a chandelier. 


       



And all my needlepoint storage stuff.


baker studios


crate and barrel


restoration hardware
horchow.com


horchow.com




this chair, different upholstery.
horchow.com
horchow.com






Here's the bare bones of the room. I'm hoping to expand the closet out, so there will be less floor space overall. The window on the right will be inside the future closet.

I want to have a big sliding barn door along that right hand wall, so that the closet is quite open when the door is opened all the way.


barn door, but I wouldn't have mine look so much like a fridge door.




I want a nice writing table - I have an oak pedestal table that I could paint white, or red, or black.









Freakin' doilies EVERYWHERE!

Ok. Maybe not.
I think I need a lady house. 

I'll keep you posted as to my progress. Aren't you super super thrilled? 


Virginia Woolfe said famously that few women published literary works because they lacked a room of their own, some personal space where they could work uninterrupted. I think the real problem was that that probably had dogs that never let them have a moment's peace. Still, generally, I am home all day, and can be in any room I like without fear of someone barging in a demanding I provide them with hasenpfeffer and a male heir. 


So why do I need a room of my own?


Because I am a spoiled little prima donna who will pester and nag and whine and tear at the flesh of your ankles like so many frenzied weasels until she gets what she wants.
That is why.

5 comments:

  1. my vote is for the peacock and gold. A friend of mine had a shed in her back yard transformed into her writing cottage. just lovely!

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  2. Lisa Wells said:

    An Ovarian Den is a fantastic idea! In my world, there is a husband, three sons, and a large, male dog. Are you feeling my pain? I've always had a problem with there being too many styles and choices out there. I find that stressful. Can't wait to see what you come up with Ellen.

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  3. Elizabeth MacGregor16 January 2012 at 15:31

    Am BEYOND excited for you. Have always loved the Persian carpet, heavy red velvet curtain-and-cushion look (and you could make a last-minute dress like Scarlett O'Hara) but remember, Ellen, there is a fine line between plush Ovarian Den and a Victorian salon brothel. Tread carefully!

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  4. PLEASEEEEEEE Can I come hang out in yuor LADY ROOM!!!!! And that beer cap man wellllllll That's a pretty bad big compromise for love lol

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  5. To have a space of one's own is of the utmost importance. Mostly for the 'plotting mayhem' part of it all. In truth, it's very easy to get lost in everything else. You need a place to just 'be'. Whether you write, think, or just lounge around scratching yer arse all day.

    Good for you!!!

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