Estate agent details: Bright, well proportioned double bedroom with large, south-facing, original sash window, 10 foot high ceiling and cream wool carpet. 13 feet by 9 feet.
The Reality:
When Elizabeth came to live with us in Feb 2002, we were still waiting for the paint to dry so we could attach a bedroom door to the empty
frame. Plastic sheeting failed to keep out the cold while we waited for the rotted frame with 3 broken windows to be rebuilt. Crumbling
plaster, held together with grubby white woodchip wallpaper, dented, mismatching skirting boards, a huge inefficient radiator occupying most
of the main wall and dull green nylon carpet completed the look. So, towards the end of 2003, after stripping the room of furniture,
wallpaper and carpet, we pulled down the crumbling plaster to the joints, and rebuilt by hand skimming plaster over plasterboard. By
visually lowering the ceiling - achieved by painting the walls white above a picture rail placed to create a 'golden rectangle' - the
proportions of the room felt radically different. The golden rectangle equation also dictated where the huge purple circle was painted - too
prevent the room from looking too adult for little Anna. Complete renovation of the original window frames (foolishly undertaken over
winter), new skirting boards, coving, electrics, internet connection, radiator, paint and carpet followed.
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Next page: master bedroom
Other pages: living room
Other pages: bathroom
Other pages: entrance hallway