My Cozy Cottage

Posted by fheenix33 on August 23, 2009

Our house is small and space is limited, but I’ve always loved the cozy feeling of it.  Everyone who has come into our home has said that it’s warm, inviting and it reminds them of a New England country cottage.  I was born and raised in New Hampshire and lived most of my life there so it’s no surprise that my choice of decor has followed me here to Ohio.

Earlier this summer I was convinced that we needed to open up the space in the main living area.  Our living room and dining room are two separate rooms, but the entry way separating the two rooms is large enough to blend the two rooms together.  After much convincing, pouting, arguing, and persistence, I convinced Lori that getting rid of the dining room and making it into a second living room would be ideal.  After all, we very seldom ate at the dining room table and our large living room set was much too big for one room.

After almost two days it was complete.  The dining room set had been taken downstairs and half of the living room furniture had been divided up into two rooms.  I loved it!  Both of the rooms seemed so much larger and having a second living room gave us a whole new room that we hadn’t much used before.  I knew that Lori didn’t like it much and I certainly didn’t miss a beat to encourage her to give it a chance.

A week or so ago I was walking down the stairs and I paused.  I looked around at both rooms and realized that the downstairs had lost it’s cozy charm.  It looked empty.  I sat down at my work desk and decided that I didn’t like it much anymore, but how could I admit this?  How could I possibly make the suggestion that we needed to put the two rooms back to the way they had been?  I knew I would never hear the end of it especially when it involved lugging the dining room set back up from the basement.

A few days ago, late at night, I admitted that I wanted the two rooms back to the way they were.  I held my breath.  I knew I was treading on dangerous grounds.  I heard a laugh followed by, “You’re funny.”  Time to pull out the big guns.  I pleaded.  I pouted.  I put on the sad face. I admitted I was wrong and the new arrangement had been a bad idea.  I had to listen to how indecisive I was and how heavy the dining room set was.  I don’t do this much, but I bit my tongue.  I knew speaking up wouldn’t be in my favor.

After admitting I was wrong several times, offering to do the dishes, and promising to never change my mind again with the furniture, the transformation began.  I didn’t expect things to be done that quickly and I had prepared myself for at least a week long battle.  Our beautiful living room furniture was moved back into one room and the dining room set was brought upstairs.  By the following day everything had been moved back to where it had been.  It is, once again, cozy and warm.  I got my country cottage back.