Do you remember as a kid how fun it was to create forts in the living room with quilts and blankets draped on top of chairs and tables?
Although it is not scorching by other North Americans’ standards, it’s pretty darn hot for Vancouverites here on the Wet Coast. (That’s not a typo). It’s been in the 90’s for over a week, and we are just not used to it! Hardly any of our homes have air-conditioning, as we only get “hot” summer days a few days per year. Combine this with some forest fires nearby which have created a post-apocalyptic looking smokey haze, hampering air quality and preventing us from opening our windows, and you have an extremely uncomfortable situation!
We are all scratching our heads and don’t know what to do! It’s too hot up in my little attic bedroom, so I slept on a blow up bed in the basement one night and I slept on the sofa (main floor) the other night. Not comfy. Looking at the forecast for the week ahead, I decided to take action. Thank goodness I have a basement: I just had to make it work for me!
I treated it like a design exercise. Space: I moved a large layout table in my painting studio corner out of the way in order to have a space big enough for a double mattress. Furniture: I took the two narrow mattresses that zip together from the folding sofa/bed in the guest room, upstairs (they are pretty comfy) and brought them down. Finishes: The walls are rough-ish flake board in my unfinished basement, so I found some draperies and staple gunned them to the wall so I could lean against the wall and not get any wood slivers. Lighting: I attached a little spotlight beside the bed for late night reading.
It’s also kinda cobwebby down there, so I took a hanging mosquito net and placed it above the bed for double duty. I discovered a tiny old TV that had a built in VHS player, and also found a box of old VHS tapes with Sex in the City episodes, so I put that on a couple end tables I had in the storage room. I added some sheets and pillows and presto: I have a little fort where I can relax and stay cool. I feel like I’m glamping!
It was a fun project for a quiet Sunday night. I had my first good night’s sleep in a week.
The Art Part of my Heart 