I kept this a secret from everyone until The Matriarch came home because I wanted it to be a surprise. (And she reads the blog every day so i could not even whisper it) So after we picked her up from the airport and dawdled home I took her into the Coupe and introduced her to her finished (mostly)Tiny Retirement House. The Coupe.
This cabinet is designed to divide the two rooms but provide storage. It has two sides, this is the bedroom side.
And this is the kitchen side. It was built by Jeff Jenson of Kempton and his fellow carpenter Tate. Two very talented young men. They do this for a living. Very, very beautiful work. The Matriarch was stunned and once she had found her voice was thrilled.
You can see how we chose knotted and gnarled timbers allowing the wood to have a voice in the work.
Tiny but perfect. There will be a high beautiful fall of sheer cream curtains that can be pulled across the bed if you don’t want to make your bed. In New Zealand we call this a Granny Flat. However Granny is not ready to retire quite yet so until then it will be a guest house. If you want a writing retreat or simply a retreat in the summer, let me know.
Earlier yesterday all the dogs and I went for a walk.
Boo is still learning to share the stick. You hear people talk about learning to be a good loser (as in not a sore loser) but Boo needs to learn to be a good winner. He does tend to rub it in when he has won the stick. (You know the type.)
By the time we had been up to the airport and back it was dark. And doing the chores in the dark was a bit dicey because this:
Had turned to ice. Though I think it will be warm up again today, and the wind will do its best to mop the water up.
Have a lovely day.
Your friend on the farm
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
82 responses to “A Surprise for The Matriarch”
Splendid, simply splendid. That’s very much what I’ve been planning to do with the end walls of our living space in the condo we have for our eventual ‘retirement’—whatever that will actually be—we rent it out for now, as-is, and will customize it to our taste if and when the time comes. Mr. Jenson should be most highly commended for his marvelous work.
Oh, the glory of that writer’s retreat! I live on ten acres, but about half of it is liable to flood (if it ever rains again!) and so that doesn’t leave a huge chunk that would be available, but I’m hoping that someday I might be able to have a wee writing place built upon it. Until then…the dining table it is!
Books to read on one side, cook books on the other. Brilliant!
The Matriarch is so lucky! The cabinet is beautiful, and the wood looks as if it is still alive. You could wake up and find it has sprouted new leaves in the night. (still catching up after my time in the wilds)
It’s beautiful! 🙂
the divider turned out as beautiful as you planned! Just beautiful
I’ve heard these little spaces called “mother-in-law suites” by builders down here