My childhood room was always a safe haven for me: a place where I could quietly immerse myself in the stories I loved to read; a place where I could spend time doing calligraphy and drawing; a place where I could practise mathematics and do my homework.
My parents helped me create this haven. I remember the time we spent searching for the right furniture in the second hand stores, entering store after store because I had not yet found that perfect wardrobe nor that matching dressing table. I wanted wood and something old-fashioned and what better place to find it than in places where people sent their unwanted furniture. We eventually found what I wanted. I loved the way the wood had been carved to create beauty; the way the varnished wood glistened and shone once it had been polished.
I chose the colour of my room as well, opting for my favourite colour of the moment: green. My parents and I painted the walls a hue of my chosen colour. I remember the round table I had next to my bedside. My mother had sewn a white tablecloth which she decorated with fabric paints. She spent time as well creating a duvet cover for me on the sewing machine. On my bedside table I placed my alarm clock and the books I was currently reading next to a pot plant. I enjoyed plants and had quite a few in my room. My desk was a polished brown with six drawers. I spent many hours happily seated on the chair with my feet settled on the bar underneath. The desk no longer graced the floor of an office and instead experienced the writing and doodlings of a teenage girl. The greens in the room and the browns of the furniture calmed me and made me feel that I was happy in my own space.
My bedroom was one of my favourite places to be during my childhood. I would often lie curled up on my bed with our cat, transported to worlds that authors took me. I was always happy that my parents had given me my own space and had allowed me to do with it what I wanted.
What do you remember of your childhood room?
© Colline Kook-Chun, 2014
(This post was inspired by Kellie Elmore’s Free Write Friday prompt)
Shared mine with older brother, but later on it became a practise room as well.. 😉
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I was lucky that I got my own room when I began school. Then later on my parents converted the dining room into a bedroom so my sisters no longer had to share 🙂
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You have no idea how long it takes for me to buy a piece of a furniture. I’m like a woman shopping for clothes. (Is that offensive to say?) I just have to get what I have in mind and they have to match with other stuffs in my place. It’s amazing how a piece of a furniture makes you feel so satisfied.
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You are right – each piece of furniture needs to fit in with the feel you want for your place – and it needs to suit what it is you already have. (P.S.: no offensive taken – though I have gone clothes shoppping with men who take longer than I do to choose! 🙂 )
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Your room seems like paradise to me. I never had my own room growing up. Today, I still do not have my own room which is really a good situation, until I notice all the mess in there that isn’t mine and then I wish to have my own room sometimes. 🙂 😀
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Yes, now the room is shared with hubby and many children visits. Though I would not trade my family for a room of my own 🙂
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Love the sound of your haven Colline !
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Thank you. I loved it and enjoyed it right into adulthood 🙂
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To be curled up in your room with your cat and your books is a wonderful memory indeed.
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It is one I appreciate and will never forget.
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A sweetly nostalgic piece. It sounds like a good writing challenge – I’m off to do mine now.
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Give me the link and I will read it 🙂
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You had a very good kick start in life.That is why you know how to treat and handle your adult life so well! Lovely written piece
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I was very lucky and I am appreciatibe of that.
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😀
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I never had a safe haven when I was go prowling up. It sounds like you were a very lucky child. 🙂
P.S. I definitely did not have a pot plant in my room until much later in life. LOL (kidding)
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I think I did – though not everything was perfect 🙂
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What a lovely haven, Colline. I like the daydreaming part with your cat best:D I am late having been away and may write anyway about this.
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This was an interesting topic with various responses. I look forward to reading yours 🙂
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enjoyed this post – – and I finally got my own room as a teen – but prior to that – I shared with two sisters – – then one – then solo… ahhhh
hope you have a great rest of July! ❤
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I shared until I was six and then I was lucky enough to have my own room. One of the advantages of being the eldest I think 🙂
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