Changing Rooms

The conservatory has become our favourite place.. We have teas and meals there.. It is where we take our visitors, or catch an afternoon nap on the sofa or just a place to sit and be.

However we had a problem. To get there one had to walk through the main bedroom. Not an ideal situation. So for some time we debated whether to change the lounge which was in the traditional front part of the house, with the bedroom which was at the back.

There were issues to consider, such as the lounge being near the front door and having a woodburner fireplace which we so enjoyed on winter nights, and the bedroom’s very convenient main en suite. Also the fact that moving big heavy furniture from one end of the house to another, needed planning and strong arms.. Then last week we knew that that is what we wanted to do. Change the rooms. The issues could be overcome.

The family always come for birthday celebrations and that was a golden opportunity to have willing labour right on hand! After a good lunch we set to work. I had emptied the cupboards and stripped the bed. Most of the furniture could be moved down the long narrow passage, but the two wide couches had to be taken outside through double doors. They could not go round corners or through the inside doors, so were carried round the house to enter double doors through the conservatory. The pictures hanging on the passage walls were removed and the up-ended big bed was negotiated along the length of the house to take the place of the couches.

The heavy baby grand piano was the most difficult piece to move.. All hands were required to lift off the heavy lid and tip the instrument to remove the legs and peddles.. Then it was laid on it’s side on a mat and pulled along the passage to it’s new home. That went well, but replacing the legs and peddles was a much bigger task than taking them off, as the legs had to be put on once the piano was the right way up! While the family held the piano, the head of the house lay on his back underneath, replacing the under structure as fast as he could!. Letting it slip from our hands was not an option!

At last all was in place and a well deserved birthday tea was served..

The bedroom light shade looked decidedly out of place in the new lounge and we have since made a trip to town and replaced it with a beautiful shimmering chandelier. The big screen TV is set up, pictures on the walls and flowers on the piano. The conservatory being part of the lounge now gives us more space and the whole effect is far better than we had expected and we wonder why it took so long.

The bedroom in the voorkamer is really nice too with morning sun and wide views of the front garden. Winter nights could be really cosy with a fire in the stove!