Dark corners...

My house has quite a few dark corners and this is a collage of the dark corner on the landing. There is only one small, mullioned window to cast any light but as it is north facing and right under the eaves of the thatched roof, there is not a lot that comes in...

Over time, I have deliberately added to the darkness by changing from a much lighter, painted chest to this walnut chest of drawers and by placing a black lamp on top. The books at the back of the chest are guarded by a charming pair of storks, both of which manage to convey a rather comical air of deep depression and gloom... I'd probably be depressed if I had to stand to attention like this all my life.

On the right hand side of the collage, you can see a rather different impression of the Sydney Opera House. Normally we see it as glistening sails over the harbour but this time the whites belong to the real sails on the yacht. I like the twist to this image.

I have often thought about redecorating this little corner into the light, bright whites of Scandinavian style. And maybe I'll do that one day. In the meantime, I am enjoying the drama of this little corner.

The candles sparkle and dance in the darkness and it makes for a nice contrast...

In this next photo you can see I have added some of the books I received at Christmas... I enjoy Dorothy L. Sayers and it was a delight to revisit the Lord Peter Wimsey stories. Somehow, most of my original copies got lost in the translation from Australia to Suffolk....

And to add to the list of contrasts, the book written by Khaled Hosseini, 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' is far from the light, easy reading of the Wimsey books. But it is a book that is well worth the detour...

In the image above, you can see the rough, original lathe and plaster walls whilst the wall behind the radiator is new vintage plain, modern (boring) plaster which was added to make a bathroom. The original plaster has horsehair, and goodness knows (or wants to know!) what else in it. The pond to the south of the house was likely the place from which all the mud was drawn to make the walls.

But what you haven't seen in the collage are the uneven floors old houses have! Upstairs, we have to prop most of our furniture on blocks and somehow we have never managed to make the smart blocks we originally intended for this chest. Ah well, that's what makes life interesting - the contrasts...