Recreating My Grandmother's Attic

I have very strong memories of my grandmother's attic.  First, the entrance. There was no inside access - no pull-down stairs, no hole in a closet ceiling to boost ourselves through.  No, instead we had to run around to the back of her house in the woods outside of Mendocino and climb a long flight of stairs.  Once at the top, we had to open two sets of double doors - first the screens and then the wood ones.

Second, when we stepped inside our senses were assaulted.  It was dark. Yes, there was a window at the far end but you couldn't see much until we switched on the lights. Then we had to be ready to bend our heads - we could only stand in the middle of the long narrow attic.  The ceiling sloped down on both sides.  The smell was that unique attic mixture of mustiness and dust with a little mildew from all the Mendocino fog thrown in. There were rugs on the floor and two twin beds tucked under the sloping ceilings.  This is where we spent the night if the house below were full of guests.   Beyond the beds were bureaus and a table with chairs.  The contents of the bureaus were our focus.  They were filled with glorious things - Betsy McCall paper dolls, toys from the childhoods of my mother and her two brothers, boxes of old greeting cards, books, blocks, dolls, trucks, old clothes - it was WONDERFUL.  I still remember the musty smell that would rise up as we turned pages of books and magazines that seemed hundreds of years old.  We would play by the hours up in that attic.

Spending the night up there created a mixture of feelings.  It was a little scary way up at the top of the house - especially as there was no immediate access to our parents below. But you had to balance this with the recognition that no one "down there" would know if we had the lights on into the wee hours of the night - and there were all those old-fashioned toys waiting to be played with.  There was one additional challenge to staying overnight in the attic - no bathroom.  We had two choices - go down the outside steps in the dark or use the chamber pot Nana provided.  We used the chamber pot.  There was no way I was going outside by myself.  Interestingly, what I don't remember is who emptied the chamber pot.  I can't imagine one of us carrying it down the steps.  Oh well, it's clearly lost in the fog of my memory.

I want my grandson to have a similar set of memories about visiting my house.  When he is older (and I am back in California), I think he will like to visit my house - it's a good "Grandmother Cottage" in a wooded part of Pacific Grove   But that's then and this is now - so what do I do?  Well, guess what?  I have an attic room here in Portland.  In fact, this room was the reason why I chose to rent this unit of my duplex.  I have loved making it a space for Wesley that is an updated version of my grandmother's attic.

Note the slanted ceiling and a bed tucked beneath it.  Also note the little door to the right of Wesley's bed.  It provides creepy under-the-roof access.  I truly hope he never explores it - but how likely is that?  I would have; assume he will do the same.  My fear is that he won't want his bed next to it once he sees what is behind that door.  Thankfully, he's not strong enough to open it now.

Here is the opposite side of the room - again, note the sloping ceiling.  I forgot about this slope when I chose furniture to bring from California.  I couldn't fit the tall file cabinet and a bookcase that I brought with me. There are our two rocking chairs where we read books together or talk about our days while we rock and rock.

This is Wesley's "desk" where we color, do legos or put puzzles together.  

These are the two bureaus filled with favorite toys of Stephanie and Lee - and yes, some of them have a slighty musty, a bit moldy smell - remember, Pacific Grove is foggy.  We have only gone through a few of the drawers - Wesley doesn't realize that other toys are waiting until he gets a bit older. My grandmother stenciled the bureau in this photo (you can see a little bit of the stenciling in the close-up below) and it was in her attic.

Now, look closely at that bureau - at the white pot on top.  Here's a close up.

Yep!  It's the actual chamber pot my cousins and I used!!!  Don't ask me how my sister Mary ended up with it but when I told her I was trying to recreate the attic, she handed it over.  I have told Wesley how we used it.  His eyes got quite big.  I assured him that he did not have to use it that way - my bathroom was just down the stairs.  I also want to assure all of you that I sterilized it before I used it to store toys.  Granted, it was a long long time ago but I wasn't taking any chances!

This little nook (to the left of Wesley's rocking chair) has my desk.  I love looking out at the front of the house when I should be doing something significant like paying bills.  Bah.

So, if any of you come to visit me  - this is also my guest room.  Wesley is willing to share and you don't have to use the chamber pot.  Just don't look inside that little door.