Window Seat Dreaming

Better Homes and Gardens

Are you a dreamer or a doer?  I'm actually both, I guess.  I like jumping in and getting my hands dirty with a project, but I have to admit most of my impulsive, wake up on Sat. and decide to redo a room by Monday kind of projects have been the sort of thing that have ultimately left me thinking by Tuesday or Wednesday, "Dear Lord, what was I thinking?"

What works best for me is a slow gestation process.  Ironically, when working with others, I can immediately hone in on what I think is best for them and their home; for myself, I need to think about it, stew about it, gather inspiration, puzzle over it.  Then, sometimes, after thinking about it long enough I jump into action---these, like the kitchen backsplash, are the projects that endure.

One thing I have always wanted was a window seat.  Growing up in a one story ranch style home, I used to be so envious of all the attic and second floor bedrooms I saw on tv and in movies where the teenagers had cool dormer niches and window seats---as a reader, my greatest joy would have been curling up in one with a stack of books.  I was especially drawn to the ones with curtains on the outside to really create a cozy nook.

When we moved in to this house, I have one spot (I'll show you later in the post) where a window seat would work, but for various reasons, I didn't act on it.  Later, when Thomas's brother moved in, the extra space outside of the guest bedroom became a necessary overflow for some of his things (The plus of living in a house built in the 1930's---charm;  the curse--no closet space).

Now, though, his brother is leaving, and I'm dreaming of window seats and ready to make my lifelong dream come true...if only they were all this easy to achieve.

The space is about the size of a dormer, like this one from Little Green Notebook.  I like the idea of the little table, but don't have room for one.  Oh, and mine will of necessity be so narrow that an adult would not be able to sit on it.  Usually, I am not a fan of furniture or rooms that are only for looks, that have no real function--this time, I'm making an exception.

little green notebook blog here

What I am planning is to make the seat a bookcase of sorts---I'll probably just used a reinforced shelf and stack the books directly on the floor underneath, something like this one from the Lettered Cottage (it's much wider than my space---the cushion is actually a twin mattress, but the look would be similar.

The Lettered Cottage here

I'm also planning to do a shelf above---since my home has picture moulding and the walls stop about 15" from the ceiling, I have a natural point to do this:

unknown from flikr via pinterest

Again, this seat is much, much wider than mine, but I plan on curtaining the exterior, partly because their is a privacy issue with the window--it lines up directly with a window in the neighboring house.

House Beautiful

Southern Living

Here's my window niche/hallway in all it's cluttered glory.  I thought about cleaning it out for photo, but:
1.  Am feeling too lazy
2.  Like wearing heavy clothes and shoes for your first weight watchers weigh-in, figure truly horrible befores will make after seem even better:

I'm planning to recycle my former draperies from my dining room's orange phase:

Drapery fabric on left, a fun bird print from Visual Vamp for pillows, my Grace Home blue walls, and a vintage print that ties it all together. sorry for blurry pic, but it was the only one that showed the fabric plus aqua walls.

 

 

 

This gives a more accurate picture of true wall color.   I'm psyched---I have a dream, a plan, and most of the materials---now, I just need for Todd to get the Hell out of my guest room (sometime in the next couple of weeks), and at least one childhood ambition will be fullfilled.  Now, I guess I need to start work on becoming an archeologist (thanks Raiders of the Lost Ark) and a teen detective (Hardy boys), though it may be too late for that last one.....