A pair weeks in the past, we featured a reader remark from Kristen: “I’m an introvert with a husband and 4 children, so I’m at all times looking for an area the place I might be alone. I joked to my husband that if we might transfer the again wall of our bed room ahead, we might create a tiny room for me. For my fortieth birthday, he did it!” Dozens (a whole bunch?) of readers requested to see pictures, so with out additional ado, right here you might be…
Simply outdoors Dallas, Kristen lives along with her husband, Jeff, and their 4 children — Avery, Sawyer, Ben and Shea — so, evidently, they’ve a busy family. When she went by a melancholy in 2015, she realized she had nowhere to be alone. “I used to be crying lots however didn’t wish to cry in entrance of my children,” she instructed me on the cellphone. “I instructed my husband, I would like a cry room, and I joked that we might transfer the wall up in our bed room and create a little bit nook.”
After some time, Kristen felt higher — “I bought on Wellbutrin, which was so fantastic, it’s modified my life,” she says — however Jeff didn’t overlook her request. The night time earlier than her fortieth birthday, the couple was mendacity in mattress when he pulled out a birthday card. “The entrance mentioned, ‘You’re my human panic room,’” says Kristen, “And inside he had written, ‘However you would possibly want certainly one of your personal.’” He had additionally included plans drawn by their designer buddy Rachel. “I FREAKED OUT!” says Kristen. “I used to be like, What, are you kidding me???????”
These days, the bookshelves of their bed room have a hidden door that opens to Kristen’s personal cozy, lovely alone-time house.
Paint: Eraser Pink. Blue chair: Nugget. Pillowcase: Sage and Clare. Smiley gentle: MoMA.
“My dream was to have the ability to fall headfirst into my room if I needed to,” says Kristen. “I needed it to really feel gentle and secure.” Her brother made the rainbow signal and Rachel embellished the house. After all, Kristen’s 4 children love the room, too: “There have been occasions when there are chips within the flooring and I’m like, somebody’s are available in right here!”
When she’s alone within the nook, Kristen reads or listens to books (current favorites embrace Good Materials, Anita Monte Laughs Final, and Shark Coronary heart), crochets, and knits sweaters. “Grandma life is my dream life,” she says.
One wall shows notecards from family and friends. “I noticed that Drew Barrymore had one thing like that, and I’m an enormous words-of-affirmation individual,” she says. “I’ve so many from my children once they have been little, like ‘Glad Mom’s Day’ however they will’t spell it.”
Kristen additionally makes sweaters for herself and her children. “I learn a ebook about knitting and taught myself,” she instructed me. She finds patterns on the Ravelry app and social media. “There’s an entire world of us on Instagram,” she says. “There are hashtags of various patterns and other people share their modifications. It’s such a supportive fantastic place.”
Her designer buddy Rachel Brasch helped pull all the pieces collectively. “She has an incredible eye for design and was so good at making my goals come true,” says Kristen.
And the way cute is their household? “Jeff is so candy, he’s actually enjoyable,” says Kristen about her husband. “He went by a melancholy when he was in school, so he was the perfect ever after I’d lie in mattress and cry. He supported me and by no means rushed me. He’s the perfect, I simply love him a lot.”
Thanks a lot, Kristen! We love your dreamy nook.
P.S. My sister’s house makeover, and a household’s downsized dream home in Sacramento.
(Pictures by Kelly Christine Photograph for Cup of Jo.)
