January 27, 2017
Sometimes I look at a Houzz photo and it evokes a story in my head. Houzzers, does that ever happen to you? There’s an entire made-up cast of characters who live there. I imagine their dynamic and what they’re reading and eating. And if I spy a spot that’s super cozy, I imagine it’s a favorite napping place. Six of the coziest, most seductive napping spots inspired the following fictional tales.
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What makes it cozy? Tucked away on a potting porch and partially camouflaged by plants, it’s the last place anyone will look for a napper.
In my head, this is the favorite room of a busy mom with a green thumb. It’s a little escape from everyone else’s needs and from technology, where she can pot plants, plan her garden, and get dirt under her nails. No cellphones, tablets or laptops ever enter this space. And when the sunlight is hitting the built-in bench just right, she takes a whiff of some lavender, curls up like a cat, and basks in its beams.
What makes it cozy? There’s room for two. And that view.
A family winds down and enjoys quiet time together during its vacation. After a day of hiking or fishing, everyone gathers here and reads. Sometimes Dad shares a tidbit he’s just read in the newspaper, while the daughter, completely engrossed in The Nest, has tuned him out completely. Mom and Dad are propped on either end of this long built-in bench. They start off sitting upright, then slowly slide down until they’re finally horizontal and dozing off into naps.
What makes it cozy? Privacy curtains, pine walls, plaid bedding, and a secret-fort feeling.
Extended family has gathered for a weekend at the lakehouse. Around 4 p.m., everyone scatters for a little quiet time. A 10-year-old boy escapes to one of the inviting hallway bed nooks. With the curtains pulled, it feels like a secret fort. He begins to play a video game, but is distracted by a few deer hanging out right outside the window. He turns off the smartphone and gives in to his sleepiness.
What makes it cozy? Fluffy daybeds, loads of throw pillows, and a roaring fire.
The Sonoran desert is stunning, but sometimes this man dreams of living in the French countryside. He retires to the lounge, devours a chocolate croissant and picks up a Peter Mayle book. As he settles into the custom button-tufted cushions and places a bolster pillow under his head, his eyelids get heavy. He drifts off while dreaming of spending a year in Provence.
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What makes it cozy? Soft textiles, buttermilk-colored walls, and fluffy bedding. It’s a shepherd’s hut.
Originally, shepherd’s huts were rolling wagon shelters used by shepherds so they could stay with the herd. In my mind, the shrewd homeowners here rolled one into their backyard to use as an escape pod.
Her mother-in-law is visiting and has been slyly criticizing her cooking, her homemaking skills, her new haircut. She tells everyone she’s headed out for a long walk, then sneaks out to the shepherd’s hut, where she has a teakettle set up and her collection of travel guides and maps. “This too shall pass,” she thinks, as she marks the route to Chianti with a red pen, takes a deep breath and closes her eyes.
What makes it cozy? Quilt, antiques; it’s in a shed.
“I’m so mad! You’ll be sorry! I’m running away from home!” screeches the second-grader. He throws some Chex mix, a chocolate milk and his favorite Lego set into his backpack and storms out the back door. As his bemused parents peek out the window, they see him pause in front of the garden shed they outfitted for guests.
“Well, I want to run away, but I’d better stay near here, because Barnaby will miss me too much,” he thinks to himself as he ponders his beloved goldendoodle. “I can pet him out here and he won’t tell my secret, and if I lie on this bed, they won’t be able to see me through the window.” Tuckered out by the tantrum, he’s asleep within minutes.
