Magic and Pillows

I am kind of a nut for decorating. I think this love affair began as a child when I had to share a small bedroom with my sister. Fitting two twin beds, two dressers, and all of our assorted belongings into a small X tiny space proved to be a challenge. However, I was no ordinary six year old. I whipped that room into such great shape that we even had room to play pirate and Pocahontas. I was never allowed to be Pocahontas when we played because my name sounded too similar to Nicola. I was always the best friend…..I digress. I enjoyed moving the furniture frequently. By age 8 I could move an entire couch on my own. I believe the bulk of my upper Body strength was developed between the ages of 7 and 9.

When I was in High School, we moved to a new house. This was the first time I had full responsibility to decorate my room however I wanted. I wasted no time and immediately took to the walls. I painted one wall lime green and left the others white. I wrote my favorite poem in black paint on one the wall, and covered another with pictures. I adorned my closet doors with cards from family, friends, and ill-fated romances. This was also the start of my affinity for pillows of all shapes and sizes. This is a love that has only grown stronger over time.

It was my sister taught me the wide variety of uses for a closet. No longer a place for only clothes, I began to look at closets as something far more magical. She emptied hers completely, removed the sliding doors, and placed the head of her bed inside. She wrote “bless me in slumber” over the top of the closet, and hung drapes from the old beam. I loved it. It was a fairy land for her to hide in, a shelter from life.

When I moved into a college dorm, I stacked my bunkbeds criss-cross, allowing for extra space underneath my bed for a desk and refrigerator. I took the two armoirs and placed them facing one another so the doors opened into a sort-of blind. This became our changing area even if we had guests. The back of the armoir that faced the front door was not an eyesore because it was dressed up all fancy in pictures and signs.

Today, I have a new challenge. Living with a man for the first time in my life created a new vision of “home” in my head. No longer exclusively my own creation, I needed to consider someone else. I have learned that it’s okay to have a floor vase filled with flowers as long as it also contains bamboo. I have continued to incorporate brightly colored pillows (red and teal) against a tan couch. I swapped out my (still) favorite poster claiming “A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle,” for new posters of my favorite city skylines and fun french cooking images.

Again not one to waste a closet on something as boring as clothes, we placed our dressers inside with the back facing the sides of the closet. In this way, we each have our own instant shelf space for things the other doesn’t care to see. This is where I keep my fish poster and assorted pictures from my childhood, and where he keeps Star Trek memorobilia. Don’t get me wrong, I like Star Trek but not enough to look into Spock’s eyes as I drift off to sleep…

Overall, I have gained so much through living in all kinds of different spaces with different challenges. I still have a lot to learn. But this is the kind of schooling that I hope will never end. Someday I will own my own home and have even more freedom. Some day I will have a pedestal bathtub and deep red walls. I will have sconce lighting and a large garden outside. But for now I will continue to come home every day to my own little oasis. My own little fairyland and shelter from life. Just like my sister created all those years ago.