Mrs Black's This n That: CS Lewis

Wednesday, 18 July 2012

STORYTELLER ~ Old Wardrobes

We prefer living in old cottages and houses but there are a few problems you must overcome if you are a collector of many things. The main stumbling block is storage, unless you are lucky enough to find an affordable cottage which is larger than the norm. Old houses rarely have built in wardrobes or bookcases and many do not have the space to build them either. So my life has been scattered with a lot of Lion, Witch and Wardrobe moments with ancient quirky pieces of furniture stuck in hallways and corners in which to store our belongings.

A lovely bedroom, but hardly room for the books let alone the clothes!

I've always been fascinated by old wardrobes even before I had read the story, and ever since there lurks the possibility that such a piece of furniture might just be a portal to another world, even if only because it contains a treasured outfit with the magical ability to transform yourself once worn.

When we lived in a large house we possessed several of these beauties which had to be sold when we downsized. One of them is hard to part with though and sits in my studio, full of fabric and clothes waiting to be transformed into something more useful than what they are. I know I ought really let it go so it might become a portal for someone who can fit it into the house. It is kind of sad in the studio. But then after all the Narnia wardrobe was shut off in an attic.

To invoke Narnia and other wonderful lands a wardrobe must possess certain qualities. heavily carved, most likely dark wood and maybe a Green Man hiding in the carving. Large, probably without a mirror (well, that would be Through The Looking Glass surely?) As much as we love the shabby chic Rachel Ashwell, slightly French look of this one it does not stir the imagination towards Narnia. Versailles and certain Kings perhaps.

An open drawer is not the same kind of invitation as an open door. Nice as this chest of drawers is, and it even has a Lion for drawer handles.

This one has so many more possibilities.

And this one, well .... it is of course the REAL one.

I guess with summer being such a non event my thoughts seem to already be turning to my favourite seasons, Autumn and Winter. Isn't that naughty? Old heavy wood carved wardrobes seem to belong to the colder days and nights. While mine is still stuffed full of summer clothes that will not now be worn in this rainy deluge I am thinking perhaps it is time to get it ready for a good season by clearing it out and wallpapering it inside. In a paper covered with trees, like a dense wood.