The Comfiest Most Cosy Homes of All Part 2
Other people's most comfy, cosy, favourite homes.
Last week I wrote to you about my two favourite, most comfy, cosy homes. This week is a Part 2 because I’ve since received the most lovely little stories from my gorgeous Instagram friends, about their favourites homes and I can’t not share them with you:)
This past week, since reading about each one, I’ve enjoyed some quiet moments imagining myself sitting at the kitchen table of these precious places, tea in hand of course, taking in all of the comfy, cosiness that each one brings for those who dwelt within.
I’m listening in to the conversations of the household, as each family member goes about their daily routine. I’m taking in the delicious smells of dinner simmering on the stove. I can hear the kids laughing and playing outside in the garden. My eyes pause over much loved artworks and nik naks on the tops of sideboards and shelves. I’m drawn to the handmade treasures, and photos of loved ones and books with marked pages, strewn about the living room, and on bedside tables. I feel the love which has permeated each wall, and I am captivated by the little pencil marks on the door, signifying varying heights of littles over the years.
These precious spaces hold the stories of their inhabitants and I am absorbing every moment. I hope you enjoy hearing about these homes as much as I have.
Kirstin
My family moved a lot. I think I changed schools ten times, but my brother and I always swoon back to our favourite childhood home outside of Bermagui, on Wallaga Lake.
It was amazing. It was so colourful. My mum was very creative at a time when walls were white. The garden was incredible. My brother and I were no help, except when mum would speed home from town on Saturdays, the station wagon overflowing with plants, and she’d scream: Quick get them hidden under the trees before your father gets home!
I’m not sure why all the drama since he always helped dig the holes;)
I loved that we could swim in the lake if we took the surf ski, even though we were too young to go to the beach alone. My parents worked so we had so much freedom. It was amazing.
Our pets were awesome. I’d put ribbons all over the poor dogs.
The house had these massive decks that wrapped around the whole house. We were so happy there. I remember Mum making French toast on Sundays and fresh orange juice, and we’d hang out.
Sam
We used to live in a tiny, one bedroom studio that we called the cabin. It was on my mum’s property, and it was the cosiest little house. It had a wood fire and split-level lounge/kitchen. My husband, Dave, and I lived there while our daughter Isla was little, and we renovated it while we were there.
A few years later, after we had moved twice, the cabin was lost to the Black Summer fires.
We have built our new little shed home not far from where the cabin used to be. It feels like we’ve come full circle. We used the cabin as inspiration for this home because we always spoke about how much we both missed the cosy feel of the cabin.
Our home now is small, but everyone has their own space, and the ceilings are high on one side so it doesn’t feel cramped at all.
Small, cosy homes are really, really special.
Kathie
I am now living back in my childhood home. This house holds the best memories: happy and poignant. I’ve named the house: “Heimat’, the German word for ‘belonging’ or ‘home’.
You can find Kathie’s gorgeous account over on Instagram @katharinaheimat. She also shares stories around another place dear to her heart: Apold - the place she spent her summer holidays as a child. Kathie is a fellow nostalgic:)
Gabrielle
One of my favourite homes was the house my dad built in Aranda, Canberra . I lived there from ages 5-17 and everything was made by Mum and Dad. Fast forward to my mudbrick house made by me, and I find another of my favourite homes.
There is so much work that goes into a handmade home. That’s what makes them so unique and special.
I started my early life on the building site. Dad was a cabinet maker so he had to make everything: house, doors, cupboards and furniture. Mum was a homemaker; stitching curtains and creating a lovely home.
Fast forward 40 years and my partner and I decided to make a house of our own. 2000 mudbricks, collected secondhand windows and doors, and help from every member of both of our families made it happen.
Both of these homes are filled with such special memories.
Audrey
I moved to London not long after finishing nurse training where I rented the tiniest room in a nurses home. I loved it.! A few months later I met my husband.
A rickety old elevator in a Victorian building, 6 foot cast iron bathtubs, that you cleaned before and after using. A communal kitchen where apparently a roasting chicken and ‘toasted cheese’ was stolen while cooking!
Everyone’s forbidden boyfriends appearing in random dressing gowns when fire alarms sounded. I distinctly remember a large rugby guy in a thin static nylon pink dressing gown. It even had a ruffle!
We were next to the staircase that led up to a part of flat roof, painted white. It was the perfect place for a picnic on a hot summer evening, under the stars, in central London.
Everything essential somehow fitted into that room, with its heavy old-fashioned furniture. Our first join purchase, not long before we got engaged, was a tall fridge freezer for my tiny room. Fresh milk, crisp salad, and ice cream - such luxuries.
Such fond memories of that very basic but practical space.
We are now back in Scotland in our ‘forever’ flat with views of the rivers, mountain and the sea.
I wanted to include this last story, from Dorine. So many memories we have are wrapped up in childhood homes, or places from long ago. Dorine has a slightly different story to tell about a childhood home entrenched in memories and a rental she calls home.
Dorine
I own my childhood home, inherited from my grandfather. It had been drastically modernised and changed over the years, from what it used to be when I was little, so it almost doesn’t feel like the same place anymore. It wasn’t always a peaceful atmosphere for many reasons, but now it’s a place I look forward to going to. I could say that the atmosphere there has changed along with the house and us, throughout the years.
Since I don’t live there (my parents do), and I only go to stay for about 2 months of the year, it both feels and doesn’t feel, like home.
The apartment I’ve been living in with my husband for the past 11 years, although is rented, feels more like home than our actual home.
I love that Dorine mentions one of her favourite homes, her current one, is actually a rental. A building doesn’t need to be owned to be called a home. Home is far more than a piece of paper with names on it. Don’t you think?
Okey doke, well I hope you’ve enjoyed that lovely plethora of stories about comfy cosy homes. This kind of conversation never ceases to warm the cockles of my heart. Must. Search. For. More.
Oh, and don’t forget that my 50% off stationery sale is happening right now. It ends this Friday the 28th so if you want to grab a bargain, now is your perfect opportunity!
Have a wonderful week ahead!
If you do happen to be new here, hi there! I'm Kim, and I love to share stories of home and childhood, and the moments that connect me with the people and places I love so much. I love the good old-fashioned art of letter writing, in particular, and of course, all things stationery. I have a gorgeous letter writing group for women, called: The Lovely Letters Project and I also create country style, illustrated (by my son, Lew) stationery subscription boxes called The Tea + Toast Club. I write about the connection between my precious Nan and I, in a letter format here: Dear Nan. I have a brand new offering to help women write their personal life stories called: Little Life Stories. I share all of these things here, over on Instagram, Pinterest and my website.
It’s really lovely to meet you!
Already part of the club? Welcome back! Love you long time! Hit that reply button to let me know you’re here. ◡̈ xox
I giggled at Kirstin's piece when she said, "Quick get them (new plants from the nursery) hidden under the trees before your father gets home!" But then he helped dig all the holes anyway. Hehehe!