My Palace: My home

Yes, you did read that right, palace and not place. But isn’t that what our homes are to us, our palaces, our safe havens, and our little paradise? Where we rest our weary souls, and where everything will eventually be all right?.

Before you continue, I must declare one thing about myself that I am quite self-aware of, but is important for you as a reader to know for this little essay and the associated pictures to fall into place.

I am one of those high maintenance individuals where everything must be my version of perfect. And it’s not easy being me, or being of these people – we tend to overthink everything! I really do wish I was one of those horizontal people who wouldn’t care if the coasters, the carpets and the cushions matched and give the right message.

What message could a coaster even give? I don’t know the answer to that, but I know it took me four months to find the right ones with the white marble and the gold edging, and since they arrived, my physical world is in harmony.

Back to the crux, my search for cosiness and comfort is an elongated one as it does not end in the house where it started. In fact, it provoked me to relocate in middle of the pandemic (when we were in an easier form of lockdown of course!).

Why so? It is because I lived in a “corner” – a small mezzanine studio apartment which I had called home for six and half years.

When I travelled regularly with work, it was the perfect place to rest my head as I was hardly ever at home when in town. Regardless, I smiled each time I walked up the steps and turned the key to my flat, as it was my first ever home without flatmates!

The joy of coming back to a home exactly as you left it is unparalleled. For any independent and neat person who has made the transition, that should be relatable feeling. Apparently, some people can’t live without company. Go figure!

My studio was comfortable, functional and sparsely decorated. Therefore, when we went into lockdown in March, I started make small changes to decorate it and make it homelier: carpets, a larger fridge, plants, pots to put the plants in.

That wasn’t enough so I decided to finally become a proud cat mother; the lack of travel finally making it possible. I then got everything for the cat, including three litter boxes till I found the perfect one.

Fast forward from March to August, the final and fifteenth plant arrives. I lovingly hang it off the mezzanine railing, sit down and pour myself a glass of wine and look around the flat; and it hits me like lightning.

Crap. The issue isn’t the décor in the space. It’s the space. I need to move.

Now, that sounds unnecessary dramatic, but I had been holding off on moving from the flat I lived in as I was saving every penny towards a mortgage! However, with COVID came the temporary closure of my family restaurant, and I gladly repurposed my savings to assist them.

This meant my dream of home ownership was stretched further out, but on the positive side, it made my desire to have a bedroom I could stand up in a reality in 2020 itself.

I sought permission from my family before making this change as I was afraid of the expense moving home brings. I will not lie, I teared up when the encouraged me whole-heartedly telling me to live my best life and to finally find an adult abode! Turns out, they had been wanting me to move for years but didn't say anything as they knew I hard I was trying to save up.

So started the flat hunt with a very loose criteria in mind – a bedroom with a door, and a bathtub. I ended up in this lovely, slightly broken apartment (the broken bit was a surprise post moving in) that I now proudly call home, and finally feel settled in after four months of being here.

It took longer than I expected to feel at home due to a terrifying experience with the estate agents and the landlord and the state of the flat when I took over, but that is not to be expanded on as my mantra for 2021 as penned in the Dream Plan is "Out with the blues, in with the happy hues!”

Each room in the house has a special meaning to me, so I’ll take you on a quick tour and end with my favourite room! Why? Well, because I finally have ROOMS, when on video calls, my sister will instruct me to walk around the flat with random tasks, and then say things like “You have doors”, “Look, there is your tub”, “You can jump on the bed now”. Siblings eh, gotta love them!

I love to cook, and this kitchen is just utterly fabulous with a little breakfast bar and a proper gas hob – hello there grilled corn, welcome to my world again! The sheer curtains you see have been recycled from the old studio and hung up as I realised that the entire block had a view into my bedroom when both the doors open. No one needs to see the post -shower-towel dancing!

The bathroom is magnificent because I have a tub! Laura Mercier Honey Bath was my moving in gift to myself, and it’s worth every penny! The viscosity of the water changes, and I feel very Cleopatra-ish when indulging in the Saturday spa-day session. The whale is a toddler toy I thought would fascinate my cat, but sadly, I play with it more than she does.

What’s life without a little whimsy?

The entranceway belongs to the cat. I must say, I think the third litter box was a great investment, and she certainly thinks so, as occasionally she hangs out on top of it as well.

Yes, that is a Google Nest you spy. I got it for free, and the creepiest thing is when it alerts me to “motion” when both the cat & I are in bed. Some furious googling told me it detects wind and sound, so here is to hope that’s all there is, and I don’t have a friendly ghost lurking around!

Now, to the room that I spend most of my time in: the living room, and look how pretty it is! How can one not love the vibrancy of the plants, the comfy couch with the sequined cushions, the fireplace, the lovely bookshelf with a nice nook for my little kitten.

The hanging plants make for a lovely backdrop on video calls, and I get comments regularly, especially when the cat is trying to jump up and attack them!

(Yes, that is a security camera to monitor the cat when I am not at home. Ladies - if you're reading this and you're in your 30s, and thinking of getting cat. Beware - you will turn into crazy cat lady, everything they say about nesting is true. I am seriously contemplating cat number 2.)

This room is also my favourite room as my entire last flat was approximately this size (bathroom and sleeping mezzanine excluded)! But mostly, I adore the plants and how bright and airy and full of life they make the room look. And the sequins and sparkles of course!

Because of all my travels before lockdown, I couldn’t even keep a plant as I was certain of killing it from neglect, but now I couldn’t live without them now and have seventeen dotted across the house. (Two more added since August).

The work zone was the first time I felt comfortable doing an 8-hour day at home, before this, in the old flat I was sat on a sofa and my back aches were keeping me up at night!

It’s also extremely helpful in being able to switch on and off work mode. When I turn the laptop off and push the chair back under the desk at night, I get the sense of relief you would when you leave the office, and that is supremely comforting.

Finally, the bedroom, which is my sanctuary, but I make it a point to not enter it during the day. My way of finding peace at home during lockdown when we can’t go anywhere else for a change of scene. And you shan’t see it either, after all, a lady doesn’t just let anyone see her bed, much less those of you on Vocal who will read this (if I am lucky).

Also, for all you know, there is special swing in there that I don’t want the world to see; after all I don’t go by Filthy Frigid without good reason (wink, wink).

So, that’s it – my humble abode and this sadly might even be a eulogy to it. I’ve been hearing a funny dripping sound in the bathroom and a plumber came around to look at it today.

Turns out, not only is the hot water pipe leaking, but the situation is so dire that it is caving in the ceiling of the floor below. I sense a fight between my landlords and its owners, who ironically have just finished a massive refurbishment. Fun!

Ah well, maintaining mental peace is my wellness challenge to myself, so – bring it on! Potential second house move in 6 months during lockdown. What could possibly go wrong!