A Room Of Her Own
One of Virginia Woolf's most notable writings was
"A Room Of Her Own." At the time, she was referring to
female fiction writers when she said,
"a woman must have money and a room of her own
if she is to write fiction."
Virginia was correct when she said female writers need a quiet place
to create but it is not just writers. I think all women
need their own place of solitude and space
to reflect and refresh. Part of the fun of your own room
is decorating the space with the colors, the furnishings
and the items like photos, travel memorabilia. books
and all the things you love.
In 1997, I was watching The Oprah Winfrey Show and
she introduced Chris Casson Madden, the author of a very
interesting new book about women's personal spaces.
I went out immediately and bought her book.
Ms Madden believed that women, with their incredibly busy
schedules both at work and home, needed to find the time to
relax and regenerate themselves in both body and spirit.
They could have a place to paint, listen to music, knit,
read, meditate, or take a much needed nap.
In the book, Chris interviews a group of high profile women
and talks to them about how they defined their personal space and
how they spent the time in their sanctuary.
Your personal space might be a beautiful
daybed with lots of plush pillows where you
might curl up and read a book or a magazine.
How about this space? It's the big window
and great art on the wall. There is
so much light and lots of room for
magazines and books.
Or a beautiful sun room
where you can lie on the Shabby Chic
sofa and have wonderful dreams.
One doesn't need a separate room.
It can be a big comfy chair in the corner of a quiet
room. Maybe you could set up a screen or
some drapes to give you a little privacy.
Some of us might live in small apartments
where space is a premium. I love how
this person renovated a closet and
made it into a lovely little office.
A woman who loves gardening might
have a room of her own in a
potting shed or in a garden.
No matter how you might use your room,
you can find a place to be alone and dream
or work or just be.
Women need to give themselves a gift
of time and space.
Photo credit:
1,2 Meg Mitchell; 3 the peak of chic 4 mix and chic
5 janisnicolay.com 6 room remix blog
7 home sweet home 8 brabourne farm
Note:
I painted a Victoria Lady pillow based on
Virginia Woolf for my Etsy shop.
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