Preparing to drop

Today we cleared out the last of the furniture from our room prior to the ceiling coming down tomorrow.

Bedside tables slid into place in the study alongside the chest of drawers, and our 6-foot sleigh bed followed them, disassembled into its constituent pieces which we distributed around the room where they will be most stable and least hindrance in the coming weeks. The mattress was the hardest to find space for. In the end we decided it would have to go on the last few square feet of visible carpet on Nikki's side of the study, meaning she won't be able to reach her curtains until we move back into the bedroom.

This left just enough room on my side to deploy the new sofa bed in preparation for our first night's "camping out" tonight.

The empty room echoes eerily, as empty rooms do. Although we weren't planning to do this room next, the unexpected chance say goodbye to the final example of the previous owners' décor - the once-ubiquitous rag-rolled flame colours - is definitely welcome, and the room will be much warmer once the fireplace is removed and bricked up. Those wanting to return houses like ours to their former Edwardian glory may hiss and make the sign of the cross at the thought of ripping out an original fireplace, but the fact is that this one is not original. It's not even a good reproduction.