However, the cozy spaces I am referring to are found in homes.As a romantic, I am drawn to remote hide-a-ways for reading, daydreaming, or meditating. Built-in recesses are among the many reasons I like Jack Arnold's home designs (www.jackarnold.com). "Homes of Elegance" often include wonderful chimney corners or inglenooks.
(For a wonderful post on inglenooks see: www.thingsthatinspire.net/2009/12/inglenook-fireplaces.)Balancing the other side of his living rooms are openings for a bookcase.
An Arnold-designed dining room usually has an indentation perfect for a sideboard.
These homes all have steeply pitched roofs which create cozy window seats in upstairs bedrooms.
A small porch, complete with swing, is a perfect out-of-the-way corner for morning coffee or firefly-gazing on a summer evening.
In our home, the most used nook is my writing corner. This computer space is a perfect crypt for myriads of writing scribbles.
I also treasure the window indentation where I often read my Bible in the morning.
Here is another enticing crevice.
Can't you envision a child curled in this nook with a good book?If I let my imagination take flight, I can picture tiny people playing hide-n-seek in this house.
To quote L.M. Montgomery's beloved character, Anne Shirley, small tucked-away crannies certainly leave "scope for imagination."
When I was little I used to hide in a nook when I was sad. Somehow the enfolding hiding place comforted my young heart. Maybe that is why I still love sheltering crevices.
One of my favorite books of all time is The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch woman incarcerated for hiding Jews during the Holocaust. From a flee-infested barracks in Ravensbruck, she could vouch for the shelter of God's unfailing love. In unimaginable circumstances, she echos Psalm 91:1 and 2. "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty."
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As a writer, reader and closet monk, I am a lover of nooks. As a homeschool mom, I also encouraged my children to discover or create their own nooks to add variety to their day and romance to their schoolwork. These are beautiful photos. It's a home that is a visual reminder that we should find moments of solitude with God in the nooks of our days.
ReplyDeleteI love the quote from Montgomery. She, hands-down, is a writer able to capture the imagination that stirs inside nooks.
ReplyDeleteThe St. Patrick's Cathedral picture of the previous post was fascinating to me. I briefly was inside the building but had no idea from the street level that it is shaped like a cross.
And, finally, yes, you do need to come sometime to see the renovations and get some blogging ideas. I'll probably be much closer to the best "after" pictures when summer towards the end of July. Right now it seems like nearly every room is at about the 80%-90% done mark. If you're looking for in-progress, living inside the chaos pictures, now is the perfect time to visit :)
Loved this post, Maurie. I too love the idea of being nestled in a space. Maybe that's what I'm missing in my home now....I'll see where I can put one!
ReplyDeleteYou write beautifully.
www.divinedistractions.blogspot.com
This is a creative and beautifully written masterpiece! I loved how you wove the Anne of Green Gables quote into your blog, as well! Seeing some of these pictures of your elegant home brought back many good memories of my "chapter" in Lancaster! Thank you for shining brightly!! :)
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