While working on my trash to treasure project and the floral arrangements recently, I was mulling a decision over in my head, and have decided to go for it.
Above is the photo in the magazine with the plans, of the wooden shoe workshop I'm building. Growing up in The Netherlands, only one room in our house was heated, and that was the living/dining room. It had a coal-burning unit in the centre of the interior wall of the row of houses we lived in. Our house was free-standing on one side, with large garden there, while on the other side were perhaps four houses with front gardens, while the rest of the row houses on the street fronted straight on the sidewalk.
It had occurred to me that heating stoves are usually placed in the centre wall of a room; think fire places in North American homes. So why is the heating stove in the workshop right behind the door in a corner? It just didn't make sense to me.
My decision has been to put the stove in the centre of the right-hand wall, and place the wooden shoe painter, currently in the cramped little hallway, by the window to the right of the door, so he'll have natural light as well as heat from the stove in winter. The coffee and tea making table will move to the front of the roombox on the right, on the other side of the heating stove, along with the quartered log sections. That way they can be cozy while having a tea break. So that means that the other equipment, along with the log sections, will move next to the wall dividing the workshop from the hallway. The bench currently in the hallway will move to the stair wall, and there will be some shelves on the interior wall to hold finished wooden shoes. That way, a customer coming in the invisible door in the imaginary
"front wall" of the box will have a choice of klompen sizes, as well as a bench to sit on while trying them on.
It makes much better sense to me! Now I'll have to see how it all works out in the newly arranged wooden shoe workshop....
Sounds great, Marijke. I always love the point where everything falls into place in my head after pondering it for a length of time. It re-energizes me and makes the process fun again. - Marilyn D.
ReplyDeleteI always think of practicality when building or decorating. The reason I had a really hard time removing steps in one project and always needing a bathroom for my little people. lol
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a much better and more realistic arrangement! I can't wait to see the changes and a comparison photo of yours and the original!
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in a country, in an area where the winters are mild and the summers are long, stove were only necessary for water heating in the bathrooms. I don't have much to say on the subject but I do think it's lovely to see a beautiful well-made stove in the middle of a room.
ReplyDeleteI love your shoe workshop project and will enjoy seeing the progress.
Hugs, Drora
Rearranging the wooden shoe workshop to my "point of view" will also make the project more personal. I love working from good plans others design, but do like to add personal touches! Thank you all for your encouraging comments.
DeleteThat definitely seems more realistic. I remember reading that the central stove/fireplace would have the chimney going up through bedrooms and the heat rising through it would keep the upstairs rooms reasonably warm.
ReplyDeleteI had been concerned about the position of that stove for some time, Sheila. Also, creating sawdust that close to a fire seems dangerous, as does storing those dry logs!
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