A couple weeks ago, we featured a reader comment from Kristen: “I’m an introvert with a husband and four kids, so I’m always trying to find a space where I can be alone. I joked to my husband that if we could move the back wall of our bedroom forward, we could create a tiny room for me. For my 40th birthday, he did it!” Dozens (hundreds?) of readers asked to see photos, so without further ado, here you are…
Just outside Dallas, Kristen lives with her husband, Jeff, and their four kids — Avery, Sawyer, Ben and Shea — so, needless to say, they have a busy household. When she went through a depression in 2015, she realized she had nowhere to be alone. “I was crying a lot but didn’t want to cry in front of my kids,” she told me on the phone. “I told my husband, I need a cry room, and I joked that we could move the wall up in our bedroom and create a little nook.”
After a while, Kristen felt better — “I got on Wellbutrin, which was so wonderful, it’s changed my life,” she says — but Jeff didn’t forget her request. The night before her 40th birthday, the couple was lying in bed when he pulled out a birthday card. “The front said, ‘You’re my human panic room,’” says Kristen, “And inside he had written, ‘But you might need one of your own.’” He had also included plans drawn by their designer friend Rachel. “I FREAKED OUT!” says Kristen. “I was like, What, are you kidding me???????”
Nowadays, the bookshelves in their bedroom have a hidden door that opens to Kristen’s own cozy, beautiful alone-time space.
Paint: Eraser Pink. Blue chair: Nugget. Pillowcase: Sage and Clare. Smiley light: MoMA.
“My dream was to be able to fall headfirst into my room if I wanted to,” says Kristen. “I wanted it to feel soft and safe.” Her brother made the rainbow sign and Rachel decorated the space. Of course, Kristen’s four kids love the room, too: “There have been times when there are chips in the floor and I’m like, someone’s come in here!”
When she’s alone in the nook, Kristen reads or listens to books (recent favorites include Good Material, Anita Monte Laughs Last, and Shark Heart), crochets, and knits sweaters. “Grandma life is my dream life,” she says.
One wall displays notecards from friends and family. “I saw that Drew Barrymore had something like that, and I’m a big words-of-affirmation person,” she says. “I have so many from my kids when they were little, like ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ but they can’t spell it.”
Kristen also makes sweaters for herself and her kids. “I read a book about knitting and taught myself,” she told me. She finds patterns on the Ravelry app and social media. “There’s a whole world of us on Instagram,” she says. “There are hashtags of different patterns and people share their modifications. It’s such a supportive wonderful place.”
Her designer friend Rachel Brasch helped pull everything together. “She has an amazing eye for design and was so good at making my dreams come true,” says Kristen.
And how cute is their family? “Jeff is so sweet, he’s really fun,” says Kristen about her husband. “He went through a depression when he was in college, so he was the best ever when I’d lie in bed and cry. He supported me and never rushed me. He’s the best, I just love him so much.”
Thank you so much, Kristen! We love your dreamy nook.
P.S. My sister’s home makeover, and a family’s downsized dream house in Sacramento.
(Photos by Kelly Christine Photo for Cup of Jo.)