KERRY DAVIES

Peter Davies' room

This room has great light; I often think I should set-up a still life to paint in this room. The light pours in through a large, low seated window in the far corner of the room. On even moderately sunny days everything on the surface of the tops and shelves at the far end gets splashed with light. This room is tall and is the exception in our house; it was the only room able to cater for the two large chandelier type lights from our previous town house, so even in the night time, it can be flooded with light.

Though this room is now connected to the main house, it didn’t always. Once it was a stand-alone stone barn. A wall and one corner that would have faced the main house have been removed (except for the apex), and a RSJ disguised as a beam supports the remaining top of the wall. This whole side of the room opens into what was once the (outside) space between the barn and the main house. Now the space is covered with sloping roof clad with dark tongue-and-groove wood. A porch and back door have been added and massive dark grey slates set into the floor - this is now our Kitchen. From ‘the room’ you look across this kitchen to a snaking passage-way through to the main house - each doorway gets smaller and narrower.

This room then serves as our dining area and is ‘open’ to the kitchen as described. (The kitchen area drops down about 4 inches). The other three walls are painted English sky blue, and it is carpeted charcoal grey. Art works done by myself or my partner, Janet hang on the walls. In the centre of the room is a fairly large wooden table - Janet would describe it as 'French style'. Against the wall opposite the kitchen and positioned centrally and touching each other are two large wood and iron work shelved cabinets. These are the ones that get ‘splashed with light’. The shelves are full of books (mainly art books) and the cabinets are used to store place mats, tea-lights, candles, corkscrews etc. On the surface is a music player and three large green glass storage jars. Underneath the cabinets are baskets full of old vinyl LP’s and singles. Hanging above them are four of my paintings of nudes. Either side of them are two Rennie Mackintosh style high backed iron chairs. Of the other two walls – one has the two windows, the second window is rather strange in that it is very high up (about six feet of the ground) and touches the ceiling – the other has a ‘spare’ folding leaf table stored centrally against the wall; and in the corner nearest the kitchen, a very tall, narrow and open, modern light-wood cabinet with glasses, and plates, table clothes etc store in it.

This is probably the most frequented of rooms. We eat most of our family meals around the central table and it is here that we provide breakfast, lunch and supper for our guests. We run a painting retreat, and can have as many as 10 guests and ourselves seated for a meal. The ‘Van Gogh’ type dining chairs are usually stored some around the table and some against the two side walls of the room. Up against the left hand wall of the room, usually with a chair to either side, is also a small hand carved wooden bench. All of these and the two ‘Rennie’ thrones may come into play when we have our largest groups.

We have two black dogs and one cat. They are confined to this area and kept out the main house. The dog baskets are down on the slate floor in the kitchen area but they usually lounge on the carpeted dining area.

The room is often peaceful, always warm and cheerful and light. The Aga is always on, and the windows face South South West. Other times, when we have guests, it hums with the sound of multiple conversations round the dining table, and is only lit by candlelight. Or it can be very noisy - the decks are cleared and it serves as a dance floor for parties with neighbours and friends. More often now one or other of our daughter’s hi-jack it as a work-space, working into the night on their art projects with music blasting from their lap-top.

It is probably the most used room in the house. This is where strangers meet, friends catch-up and family just be.