"What to do about Harry Potter . . ."

Greetings,

And no, don't worry. This is not a long, laborious missive about our favourite young wizard. What we're dealing with here today is that little extra room in your home. Maybe it's a little off the beaten track. Down at the dead end of the hallway . . . it could be a lot of different things - An extra bedroom? Do we need a home office? Maybe we should create a dressing room? And there's such freedom when you're not confined by any pre-conceived notions about the room.

And we had such a space in a recent project here at the office - a lovely one bedroom cottage. It had a little 'bonus' room that really could have been anything. Cons: A few too many doors. Small - 9 feet by 11 feet. Pros: A good sized closet. And a beautiful window - great for afternoon sun. It was small, and without clear purpose - so we started (in almost a designer/client shorthand) to call it 'Harry Potter.' Like the little cupboard under the stairs that Harry called home for the first part of his life.

So clearly all it needed was a little bit of magic . . .

The drama of a dark, moody paint colour . . .

Several layers of lighting . . .

Comfort with flexibility . . .

Scot Meacham Wood Design

Presenting - The Dining Room. And we solved several problems all at once. Firstly, we needed a space for more formal dining and entertaining. Dinner for four or five is simple. But, the table actually folds away - and the chairs are pulled from other parts of the house. So the space can also used as a dressing room - the closet actually holds most all of one of the homeowner's clothes. And the black lacquered sideboard serves as extra storage.

The banquette is great for seating year-round. And since it's at the far end of the house - when the table isn't present - it's a great little retreat. A quiet place to read, snuggled in a nest of down pillows and a cashmere throw. Maybe an afternoon cup of tea.

Or when needed - the perfect place to entertain.

Cheers,

tartanscot