My favorite room

When I decided it was time to throw out another question into blog-land, the question "what is your favorite room in your house" popped into my mind. Just like that. But I myself haven't been able to answer it, because I'm not sure.

I'm tempted to say my office/studio. I've posted pictures of it before (here and here and here). It's a good haven in the house, where I can come and shut the door and retreat to sewing or computer or work. The shelves are crammed with my favorite quilt and art and writing books. I can always find something to do in here! But because it's my work space, it's not a stress free place... always, lurking near the computer, there is a stack of files pertaining to the current assignment. Some days, that stack rests happily, snoozing and letting me play. But other days, it whimpers and casts a black cloud into the room, warning me that I'd best attend to it before it gets seriously cranky.

The bedroom is another great place, really. In the corner of the room, right next to a window that looks out to the front of the house, is an antique wicker chair that I found years ago at the Canterbury Antique Fair in Canterbury, New Hampshire. I spruced it up with fresh paint and adorned it with comfy cushions, and it's a favorite spot to sit and read or leaf through magazines.

At a certain point in the middle of the morning, the living room is wonderfully peaceful. We have a tall living room -- two rooms high, really, with windows up above that we can't reach to put coverings on... and we wouldn't want to, because we always have a view of the sky, even when the roman shades on the lower windows are closed for privacy. The sun streams through and leaves patches of sunlight on the couch and loveseat, creating wonderful warm spots for cats to curl up in (as they do) and for people to sit in and read, if so inclined.

But my favorite room is the back end of the house, where the kitchen and eating area and family room all link together into one long room. It's where our family hangs out most of the time. I have a lot of bright quilts in the family room (and am planning to paint a few walls red and/or cheddar yellow), and we have a wonderful bay window that looks out on the backyard where right now everything is starting to bloom. It feels like the center of our home and family: Caroline hangs out in the family room watching tv and drawing and building with legos, or at the kitchen table painting or doing homework... I can be cooking in the kitchen or fiddling in the family room, and Roger will sit and read the paper. Our two cats keep watch from the top of the couch, and we're also accompanied by the Breyer horses and plastic dinosaurs that live in the doll house in the corner. It's a happy, lively area.