Design Dilemmas
Episode 14: This week we tackle the best place to put a desk, zoning long corridor rooms, choosing a new sofa, hiding a neighbours ugly garage and how to hang a gallery wall in a small space.
My dilemmas this week have been multiple. The first involved putting an item of flat pack furniture together that caused me to sit on the floor of the courtyard in actual (pathetic) tears of fury after I couldn’t lift it alone and Max (my son) asked me to wait until he finished his FIFA game before he came to help. I have realised as I have got older that I much prefer to do things alone than with assistance and furniture assembly is my biggest first world issue. There is nothing worse than knowing that it’s easy and you could do it standing on your head, but you’re not strong enough to lift it yourself. Godammit. I have also realised that I am a massive control freak when it comes to items of the home, something that I have always suspected but that has now been confirmed. Should one of my family make the mistake of moving anything decor wise, whether that be a candle holder or an armchair, I will spot it immediately and return it promptly to its rightful place. Mess with the bull, you’ll get the horns, children.
My second dilemma was the half term holidays. My second son, Leo, has recently gained a new girlfriend who lives on the other side of York. We live in the countryside and in order to reach her, he has to get two buses which, even despite the fact that I have Find My Friends on my phone, sends me into a parental trauma (yes, he’s 15 but I still have fears of him a) forgetting to get off and ending up in Scarborough or b) the bus crashing or running him over. I know, ridiculous). I have no idea how my parents survived the stress when, at age 13, I used to get on the tube at Eastcote and leave for the day to saunter phone free around Oxford Street with my friends. My feeling is that they didn’t worry at all because, why would they? No one knew any different; I’d hazard a guess that their stress levels were far lower than ours are now, even though my phone alerts me to their exact location and even how fast they are driving. Sometimes ignorance is bliss, I feel. Anyway, I have spent much of the week driving Leo from A to B because it is less drama for me. Bring on Monday and the return to school.
Right, back to your dilemmas and this week, we are tackling a varied list of quandaries, starting with small space artwork. Next up is choosing a new sofa and how to disguise a window view that is less than attractive. We’re considering how to break up a long room - something that I’ve tackled in my own home - and finally, how to set up your home office to create a space which is conducive to work.
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