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”
If I were the Matriarch, I wouldn’t be able to wait to move in. Though I wouldn’t be so keen on all that slushy stuff and ice.
V
No, the ice up to the front door is a little off putting.. c
Hello! I love your blog. Very beautiful. I am the woman that sold you most of this wood and look forward to you creating more. Very Beautiful work!!
To your wood worker too!
C, the Coupe looks wonderful! A very inviting place with a lot of character.
Beautiful cabinetry! Just curious – is there another corner for a wardrobe for clothes? The Coupe coming together wonderfully. 🙂 Laura
Also meant to say … I might like to come and play in the snow – just not in the middle of a Polar Vortex like you had last week. Laura
The bedroom that we tapped through to create an entrance from the house to the corridor for the Coupe is being reworked into a walk through wardrobe. We are going to call it Narnia!.. c
Yes! Love it 🙂
Brilliant naming!! And Marmalade can be the Lion – but who is the witch?
Me. I am the witch. Pale and Glacial! c
🙂 In that case – you do remember you left your broom in the Coupe passage 🙂 ?
And a feisty witch you are Celi!!! 🙂
My favorites!!!! Even as an adult! I love the magical realm! I am Queen Lucy the Valiant! Co-ruler of Narnia!!! 😉 LOL
Will I be staying in your hide away if I come to visit? It is perfect for me too!!! I would feel right at home!!! 😀
Bravo!
A perfect hideaway.. c
wonderful work done by two clever lads. It has character and it is well designed but where do you sit in the evening….what a wonderful resting place…the dogs enjoyed the snow and the run you can see that from their faces
I am standing by the couch to take the summer kitchen photo.
What a wonderful job, looks amazing! It has come together so well, has character, warmth and charm. What more could you ask for. Also love the use of pots and baskets, and is that a weighing scale I see? It has a basket on top? Looks like it is for weighing new babies!
It is for weighing new babies and in fact it weighed The Matriarch when she was a new baby. It is a lovely piece.. c
that is soooo cool !!
Oh, C! How perfect! The wood doesn’t just speak, it SINGS…
I absolutely love what you have done with the coupe!
That Coupe is just stunning. It’s filled with so much love, my God. And garden fresh tomatoes is right. That wood sings. Everything from folks songs to arias. It’s just beautiful.
I has come out beautiful! She must have fallen in love with it! Wish I had a Coop to tuck my Mom safely into.
Sharing is not one of JT’s better sides and never her Momma 🙂
Have a wonderful week!
Wow I love the room divider… specially that it is real wood, not something one sees too much of these days due to costs… if my book was not finished I might have taken you up on the offer… but to comer there just to do the editing would not work… I’d never get anything done .. I’d just want to help you with the farm work… love this post…
What beautiful work! If I was the Matriarch, I would move in ASAP. Beautiful surroundings, very little to clean, and a lovely Farmy to keep me entertained. Sounds heavenly. You have designed a lovely home.
What a lovely place you have made for the Matriarch ! I love it and I know she was probably speechless when she saw how lovely it is. Your vision for what you wanted came to fruition and it is simply wonderful. Stay warm.
Beautiful wood and shelves – Sheila will be sneaking in there 😉
Poor old Sheila is having such a time, the ice is so hard in her yard and she is determined to follow me about and she is sliding all over..so I am leaving some of the chores until it is thawed..her little short legs look so precarious sliding on the ice.. c
Poor Sheila…sigh…I pray that you have some nice sunny warm days and it melts it all!
I suppose she’s well cushioned and with a low centre of gravity, but she does lack natural fur pillows 😉
The Coupe is beautiful! Excellent job.