My new digs

My New Digs (AKA Reading and Writing Area)

It doesn’t really matter where I do my writing…in my recliner, dining room table, car, even in the bathroom (yes bathroom), but I have to say that the idea of a dedicated area for writing and reading is kind of nice. I’m sure that every writer and reader out there has a certain spot or place where they feel comfortable letting the creative juices flow. I felt that I needed such a place.

I had a small office before, but that didn’t work out. Long boring story…but now however, I finally have a place. A place all my own. A place in the house where everything is mine…all mine (That sounded dastardly and more selfish than it actually should). A place where I picked out all the paint colors, the furniture, the décor, the lights and so on.

When I moved into the house back in 2014 (My wife had bought it a year prior…then she met me, fell in love, we got married, I moved in, and so on) the basement was one giant room shaped like a “T”. I made one wing of the “T” into a wood shop (Smelker’s Craftsmith Co.), the other into kid’s rooms and storage. The rest I finished with some walls, paneling, painted the ceiling and floors and made it into a cozy little area. The kids enjoyed it as a living space for a number of years, but now all the kids are grown, and the space has just sat empty for the last few years.

So, I finally made the decision at the beginning of 2025 that I deserved a nice space just for me. Now, that doesn’t mean I was going to hang a sign that read “No girls allowed” (Well truth be told…I did…it says “No Girls Allowed, Unless you Bring Food!”), but I wanted the cliché “mancave” a space where I was enveloped by my things, the things I loved, the things that brought me joy as well as a space where I felt warm, comforted, quiet, quaint, relaxing and somewhere my creative juices would flow. The basement living area was now just the place…it just needed some tweaking.  

In February 2025 I hatched the plan. I told the wife that I needed the space and she said “go for it”. I began writing down thoughts and ideas, figured out the theme, looked up paint colors and decided on how I wanted to lay out the room. I took measurement and began ordering items from Amazon…a lot of items…seriously way too many things from Amazon…a desk, desk chair, electric fireplace, shelving, lights, signs, decorations, etc. and then two flatbed truck deliveries from Lowe’s for shiplap, MDF boards, flooring, paint, tools, small frig, etc.
​
Finally, after many days and many weeks of work and toil…April 1st, 2025 it was finished! …and that’s no April Fools Day joke. It’s done!!

It’s not going to be for everyone…and that’s just fine, because it’s for me. Sounds a tad selfish perhaps, but come on, just about everyone has or wants a space just for them. My space is called “Happy Flannel Hollow” and it’s all about the outdoors…but indoors. As in, it has the feel and look of the outdoors, cabin or lodge. I wanted to feel like I was in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. And it’s something I have wanted for years.

Most of the area has dark green walls (called Aged Pine), one with natural wood shiplap wall, black trim and doors, faux pine and fall maple trees, greenery with pinecones, a giant moose picture, leather loveseat, fishing gear on the wall, wood plank flooring, electric fireplace, bookshelves, antique radio, lots of comfy buffalo plaid blankets and pillows, desk, all new lighting, and a shelf and cabinet for my cigars, pipes and bourbon.
One thing you don’t see…and you won’t see…a TV. I wanted this space for relaxation, contemplation, reading and writing…no TV. I needed to make sure there was no distractions. Because, yes, I get distracted easily. HA!!