Creating a stress free space in your home
Have you heard of Virginia Woolf’s essay called “A Room of One’s Own”? It was published in 1929 and I confess I’ve never read it, but I have always loved its title.
Having a room—or even a wee space—of my own was always something I longed for as a child. My big family lived in a very small house: the three older girls shared a bedroom, the boys lived in a caravan out the back, and the little ones (including me) slept in bunks in a cupboard-sized “sunroom”.
Virginia Woolf wasn’t talking about shared rooms and caravans—she was arguing that “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction” (Woolf, 1929, p. 4). That is, women could write extraordinary literature if they had the same resources as men (access to education, independent incomes, men’s social advantages etc). I certainly don’t disagree with her argument, but as a child I knew nothing of Virginia Woolf or early feminist theory—I had somehow just heard the title “A Room of One’s Own” and desired the concept.
I loved reading as a kid (still do) and so finding a quiet undisturbed reading spot was a high priority. If you’ve ever tried sitting up in the bottom bunk in a shared room, you know it’s neither comfortable nor quiet! So eventually I found a high tree branch where I could sit hidden for a couple of hours with a library book and, if lucky, a snack stolen from the kitchen.
When I left home, it was to the glorious experience of a room of my own, even if these were in a series of old cold flats. Now I have my own home and have created a few little spaces of my own around the house, most recently a mini library. (See photos.) I use these spots mainly for reading—but sometimes I find myself just sitting gazing or thinking.
Maybe one day I will even read Virginia Woolf.
Lis Roche
Learning Advisor
Reference:
Woolf, V. (1929). A room of one’s own. Hogarth Press.
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