Ovarian Den

I am excited because I am going to make a lady room.

I was browsing my favourite local lady store, Chatelet/Nesters on Queen St. East

and I told the shop owner that I might have to divorce my husband and turn my whole house into a fabulous lady doily land where there were no dogs, no bits of bike, no voodoo beer cap man statues.

yes. this is on my mantle. One makes compromises for love.

 She said that “Every woman needs a Marie Antoinette Room”. I was stopped in my tracks. A room? Just for me? A room of ones’ own? What could be more delightful, more self-indulgent, and more sand and fur free? 

I posted a picture in a blog awhile back of my office/ laundry/junk room. 

And I’ve decided to clean it out and turn it into a lady room for me. 

This will be a long process and will require much shifting and Goodwilling. I imagine it will take a long time of saving to do this too. But as I do the grunt work I can think of things I want to do to transform this ordinary, rather dull, room, into my personal oasis of calm and feminine snazziness. 

So what goes on in a lady room?

Lady things, naturally.

Needlepointing, reading, coffee drinking, visiting, cat worship, blogging, dreaming, nibbling on wafer thin biscuits from Paris, jewelry fondling, handwritten letter writing, hair braiding, wet nursing, greeting card making, door shutting, Chopin listening, cello playing, sewing lesson taking, piano playing and plotting mayhem.

What instills this need to have a lady room? I’m not the only one, it seems Some peoples on the intermicnets are  calling these lady retreats “Mom Caves”,  a moniker with which I am not entirely comfortable. How about Uterine Lounge? Vagina Vault? Ovarian Den?

Ovarian Den. I like it.

Should it be all white with hints of soft blue and cream? 

Or lacquer red  with black and gold?  

Peacock blue with pink and gold accents?

too much, Ryan?

 Deep red with persian rug jewel tones?

A chandelier. There MUST be a chandelier. 

       

And all my needlepoint storage stuff.

And some neat accessories!

foo dogs. the only dogs allowed in the Ovarian Den

baker studios

crate and barrel

restoration hardware

horchow.com

horchow.com

this chair, different upholstery.
horchow.com

horchow.com

Here's the bare bones of the room. I'm hoping to expand the closet out, so there will be less floor space overall. The window on the right will be inside the future closet.

I want to have a big sliding barn door along that right hand wall, so that the closet is quite open when the door is opened all the way.

barn door, but I wouldn't have mine look so much like a fridge door.

I want a nice writing table - I have an oak pedestal table that I could paint white, or red, or black.

Freakin' doilies EVERYWHERE!

Ok. Maybe not.

I think I need a lady house. 

I'll keep you posted as to my progress. Aren't you super super thrilled? 

Virginia Woolfe said famously that few women published literary works because they lacked a room of their own, some personal space where they could work uninterrupted. I think the real problem was that that probably had dogs that never let them have a moment's peace. Still, generally, I am home all day, and can be in any room I like without fear of someone barging in a demanding I provide them with hasenpfeffer and a male heir. 

So why do I need a room of my own?

Because I am a spoiled little prima donna who will pester and nag and whine and tear at the flesh of your ankles like so many frenzied weasels until she gets what she wants.

That is why.

Asia and the awesome stuff from there I like.

I love traditional Asian design and stuff.

Particularly Chinese, Japanese and South Asian, but not exclusively.

If I could, I would live inside a red enameled Chinese jewelry box, wear saris and read novels written by Ishiguro and Murakami. All. Day. Long.

used to be William F Buckley's sitting room. Snazzy!

I would look awesome in this room

You can't help but look elegant.

This is cooler than your jacket.

Next time I get married, I'm wearing this.

Ishiguro, I heart you!

In my old condo I have my office painted by Lori Lemare and Lori Klassen of Lori Lemare Studios to look like that jewelry box of my dreams.

I have a few things from China, or inspired by Chinese design, that I love. Many were given to my grandmother by a friend of hers who was  missionary in China in the 1920's.

Blue and white traditional pattern tea cup (love this) small wooden box with etching, small dipping dish.

Plate and teapot bought in Shanghai flea market. Cat bought at Humane Society.

Chinese embroidered slippers. No, Bill B., they do NOT fit me.

Chinese slippers.

detail form embroidered Chinese shoe

filigree dish with Chinese lettering on underside

Ivory Mah Jong set. MUST learn to play!

very small brass dish with enamel paint

Small brass tray. I think it might be for incense.

small brass dish

detail from painted plate from Lori Lemare Studios

ivory domino set

My bed was hand carved in India.

paint treatment by Lorilemarestudios.com

Stir fried pea shoots put me into raptures. 

Photo  from neat blog about Asian food

Edamame is the best snack food. Naan bread is bread on 11.  I really can’t do Dim Sum, sashimi or curried goat.

                      This guy says it's awesome and he took this picture. I say no. Not for me.

 Guess I’m just a dabbler. But an appreciative dabbler, if that counts for anything.

Panda bears are the best kind of bears (koalas are a close second). 

Anyone who does not want to hug this Panda is evil and should die.

I want to hug this panda and am willing to pay a lot of money, plus pick up their poop, in order to do so. I want to go to this:

http://www.chinatravel.com/china-tours/cd-7/

Japanese silks, Chinese water colours, Indian tapestries and sari fabric. These things freakin' rule.

available from White Dog Vintage White Dog Vintage on Etsy

sari fabric

common theme, bird and branch. Heaven.

Silk fabric

not sure what this is but it's awesome

I have done several Asian themed needlepoints.

needlepoint slipper ornament. No, Bill B., it does not fit me.

At one point there was a dragon in every room of my house. I mean, like, in a pillow or a painting. Not like a real dragon. That would have been weird and crowded.

needlepoint carpet and stool voer. Stool is a Chinese rice chest.

I went as a geisha for Halloween once when I was little. Used a real kimono that we had in the house. A friend of my grandmother’s was a missionary in China back in the 1920’s and used to send my grandma all sorts of gorgeous things. We also used a pair of black tights to make my hair do. Desperate times call for desperate, weird - yet creative - measures.

I used to like the band Asia, but then I found out they had nothing to do with Asia or Asian art and culture so I totally stopped listening to them. Plus, they were pretty awful.

Viggo Mortensen, Jeff Daniels, Elijah Wood and some British dude, but it might also be Kristy McNicol.
.