But If I Had A House…
Wouldn’t this be grand? (Via Keris Stainton) A room within a room, a cozy little hideaway. I’d make that fluffiness of a bed only half the room, make sure that window was a really BIG window, and put my writing desk inside. Then I’d close those doors so it was just me, all me, and no else.
(How many writers have you heard of who write in closets? There’s something to it, I think.)
Writing in a small space feels safe and gives one the feeling, physically, that it’s only you in the whole world, and you don’t need to stress out your writing with thoughts of what readers think, what editors think, what agents think, what anyone thinks.
Just you and the words. You and your story.
(I’m now missing owning a closet. Maybe I should buy one of these paper playhouses:–>)
Yes, when I was little, I had a room in the cupboard under the stairs. I wanted to make it my bedroom, but I wasn’t allowed. It was an AWESOME playroom. And when I had the whole third floor as a bedroom, I retreated into the back of my closet, behind my clothes, curled up, and read.
You know I live in a little camper. And when we went to look at bigger campers, I was less than enthused. In fact, while I felt it was a practical decision (might be nice to have a working stove and electricity and a bathroom and such), I was everything but enthusiastic.
*sigh* We’ll see.
If I had a real house, I’d want one of those tiny houses. Have you heard of them?
If I had to go big, I could go for the fully-functional LEGO house, where even the sink is made from LEGOs. It was torn down, but when it was standing, it was two stories. More pictures here.
Did you make little spaces as a kid? Forts? Playrooms? Hideaways? Do you ever long for them as an adult? Ever want to retreat while you write? And have you ever written in a closet?
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Natasha Fondren is a writer traveling the U.S. in a camper with her four cats. She is currently enjoying the lizards and desert heat in Arizona.
My kids need that paper playhouse. Or maybe I do. Or all of us.
I have a home office, so yeah, I retreat while I write. Or I try to…
I know, Susan! Isn’t it the coolest! I was trying to figure out if I could get it for myself, but I think the campground would have me committed, LOL!
I shared a room with two sisters when I was young. I had two brothers, too, so I didn’t have any privacy.
The nook with the bed looks lovely, but I don’t want to live there. I do write in my own office, and now my husband has one, too, in the guest bedroom. It is nice, but I think I wrote more when I first started out, typing on the kitchen table. Our next house will be smaller, but we’re not sure how small. We’ll see when the time comes.
Wow, Edie! I always wanted sisters. I’m not sure whether I would have regretted the loss of privacy or not! A room of one’s own is so important. I wrote more when I started out, in general. I don’t know why. Maybe because I didn’t know all that I was doing wrong, LOL.
What about Das Rotorhaus?
http://www.golgo73.com/images/colanirotorhaus01.jpg
http://kiroti.blogia.com/upload/20060323220140-luigi.jpg
http://www.golgo73.com/images/colanirotorhaus02.jpg
http://cubeme.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/Colani%20Rotor%20House1.jpg
http://www.aqua-cultura.de/imgPro3/Colani/colani_hh_rotorh07.jpg
http://www.ais-online.de/6/pdcnewsitem/00/31/26/collanib.jpg
I, for what it’s worth, LOVE it. Tiny, efficient, AND ultra-modern! XD
Oh Joey, I LOVE the Rotorhaus! I’ve seen that around! Definitely way cool. Way, way, way cool! I could do that.
I’m a bit claustrophobic, so the closet thing wouldn’t work well for me. I do like that little “nookit” (as the locals here oddly call “nooks”), though. It looks like a good napping spot (doors open, of course).
I do like those little playhouse-for-grownups, though. Always wanted one as a gardening shed/office. I used to imagine ball jars filled with cuttings and drying herbs hanging from the rafters. My allergies did not come into play in my imaginings. ; )
I’ve seen those sheds made into offices! They’re really cool. I’ve always wanted one of those!
Allergies NEVER exist in imaginings!
Oh yes, I’ve heard of those little houses. I love them! Mary and I live in what is really a summer cottage and only about 600 square feet. We do have an upstairs and a downstairs, but it is small.
As a kid I used to draw various gauges and controls on a cardboard box and stick it in my bedroom closet with a flashlight and pretend I was in a space capsule. Never wrote in there though.
Long ago I knew a fellow who built a sort of house for himself and his family out in the woods at the far end of a farmer’s field. Out of sight of nosey building inspectors who might not have taken kindly to a plywood box without plumbing and a single solar panel for power. The home owner had an indie comics company and drew comic strips for trade publications among other things. (Which is why he lived in a plywood box) The make-shift house sat in a clearing from which a path led into the woods. If you walked along the path for a way you came to a smaller clearing, where he’d built a smaller box filled with art supplies and his desk and comics etc where he worked. He referred to the small house as his Fortress of Solitude!
Eric, I’d love it if you posted pics of where you live someday. It sounds awesome!
WOW! WOW! Oh WOW! THat has got to be the COOLEST! Wow! I’m just tickled pink by that! I love that story!
I love that bed almost as much as I love window seats. Nooks are the best!
I have ALWAYS wanted a window seat, Anissa! I’ve never had one.
OMG! My friend Carole (the woman I write with), is obsessed with these little houses. She wants to dump her husband and retire into one. I scoffed at them at first, but she’s worn me down. They are super cool.
When I was younger, the entrance to the attic was in my closet. My friends and I put down boards over the rafters and played with a Weegie up there. Very creepy and fun.
I like Carole!
LOL! I just love learning there are other people like me. 
What’s Weegie?
The house is not as important to me as 1) the nature outside, and 2) the book space inside.
Two very important things, Charles!
I like having lots of space!
That’s cool, Lisa! I might like it, but Glenn would fill it with stuff, and then I’d hate it. But I used to house sit this HUGE house, and that was so comfy.
I’ve always loved small spaces to hang out in. When I was little I’d make a fort out of a blanket and the small table and chairs in my room (back when you could get kid-size tables and chairs made of aluminum and particle board and formica and such, just like real ones but scaled down). And when I was a teenager I had a walk-in closet I fitted out with a sleeping bag and pillows, and a box that served as a bookcase/end-table, and a lamp. I’d close the door and read in there all day.
For living, though, I want a big house. I want a bigger place than I have now; twice the size would be a good start. Having a tiny, cozy hideaway is great, but I need a lot more living space than that when it comes to day-to-day activities, to say nothing of storing all the books and such, which I refuse to get rid of just for the sake of space. :/
Angie
Angie, I had a wicker chair growing up. It was a “kitchen” chair, (there were actually four), and it was kid-sized. It was SO well made, that TWENTY years later, I was still using it to sit next to the piano and put… quite a bit of pounds on. And it was STILL holding up! They don’t make ém like that any more!
I loved forts, too! Not so much living in a big place. Clutter and stuff fills it. Maybe if I could afford a cleaner once a week.
Forts were a mainstay of my childhood. We weren’t often allowed to play inside; mom made sure we had tons of fresh air. (She threw us out.)
I don’t think I’d function well in that small writing space pictured here. Besides, the Monster Chihuahua would claw her way in. I am NEVER alone to write with her around. (But that’s fine by me.)
Kath, that rocks! And, awww, I’d love to write with a Monster Chihuahua! I love it when my cats curl up next to me when I write.
Those houses are so cool!
When I was little we had these beds built into the wall with drawers underneath supporting it, so there was an enclosed space underneath. We built our barbie houses under there. My sister’s was bigger since she had a double bed, but we both slept under there sometimes. She made hers into a little room.