Friday 23 April 2010

Tie a yellow ribbon...

Leyla has true to her roots led a nomadic existence bedroom wise. I nursed her for 4 months in this bed and for a short while she had her own nursery. Later Emin took her room over and when we finally decided to make one last go of our fractional, fractious & fractured relationship the au pairs arrived and so she has over the years slept with us, or in our room with us.
When finally the loft was converted she moved into Daisy and Kitty's old room with just the bits they left behind. She has none of her mothers homemaking skills and the room stagnated.
The bed you see had gone to her aunts but I was a bit mean and asked for it back, it meant we could dump the hideous but very useful bunk beds.
So last Thursday I hired a van and collected the bed and the desk which I had previously rescued from a skip at work
We went to Ikea and bought the book shelves and a new duvet cover. Kitty worked her arse off clearing, sorting and organising the room. She did it solely as an act of altruistic love because she felt Leyla had a raw deal, Daisy was less generously spirited as she has always wanted a room of her own. Emin felt guilty, but as I pointed out they have their own room at their nans house where they have until recently spent all their spare time. The chair too I rescued, it is THE most comfortable chair ever, contoured to fit a generous arse. The map I stole from the old staff room.

The self portrait is by Leyla.
The room is awesome and she was rightly speechless when she finally came home at 2.30am last night. Then when finally she had taken it all in do you know what she said? Where is the mirror? How bloody vain is that?
I collected them tired from Heathrow last night, Leyla gave me the gift of nits brought all the way from back Cyprus, I have left explicit instructions that someone is to comb her hair through with conditioner before sending her back to school. I have not stopped bloody scratching since she came home....


2 comments:

materfamilias said...

I love Leyla's room! You did a great job (hardly deserving of lice!). she probably just wanted the mirror so she could see her happy smile at having new digs.

La Belette Rouge said...

LOL!!! I LOVE the fireplace filled with stuffed animals. Someone has the eye of an artist.
xxoo