Making a house a home
Saying goodbye to the west end.
The end of an era came in April 2025 when I handed back the keys for my flat in the west end of Glasgow. It was quite a wrench as a lot has happened in the 7 years since we moved in July 2018. At the beginning, we were a family of four adults and in the end there was just me. My marriage ended right at the start of the 2020 lockdown and the kids moved out (and back again) at various points in time but I absolutely adored that flat.
I had been a renter for the past twenty years but I managed to turn everywhere the kids and I lived into a colourful cosy home. My mother was an artist and although she died when I was young, I was surrounded by her paintings and always had pieces of my life with her like her rocking chair, and our old kitchen table. I know some people embrace minimalism as a way of life, or follow trends in interior decor, but for me it’s those ‘things’, the artefacts, treasures and heirlooms that make a home.
Certainly my ‘stuff’ tells my story. As well as treasures handed across the generations, there are mementos and souvenirs gathered over a lifetime. There are cards from the children, framed and on display, alongside their art works and countless photographs, every one invoking a memory, or a feeling and giving that sense of home.
When I moved into the west end flat every single wall was white. I enjoyed it for a while as I feel that all the artworks and artefacts add plenty of colour. But when lockdown ended, my ex-husband moved out and it was just me (and my cat) I needed more. The ceilings were 4m high and I knew there was no way that I could paint a whole room so I focused on adding colourful shapes in every room, until the whole flat was like a warm colourful hug.
As a stitcher, I also use my textiles - the handmade cushions and patchwork quilts to tell my story and make my house feel like home. Everyone who came along for workshops absolutely loved it, and at one point I even had the production team from Scotland’s Home of the Year round for a visit although I didn’t quite make it onto the telly.
Every stitch is full of love and as I closed the door on the west end flat, it was such a comfort to be able to bring all my precious things to make a new home here in Troon.
Bringing colour to the coast.
When I first visited Ed, he had just started to bring some colour into the house. It was a new build so he followed the builders’ instructions and left it all white until enough time had passed and he could start to put his own stamp on it. The living room was already this beautiful rich red, but with the addition of some new curtains, lots of handmade cushions and some more art works it became even cosier and so much more homely.
The kitchen had a revamp too with the sunny yellow colour of the walls, stick on tiles and a vinyl wrap on the worktop we made it so much warmer than the original white and grey. Adding all my shelves and colourful bits and bobs also added that sense of home, and made me feel like I live here too whilst elevating the space already so familiar to Ed and Caitlyn.
In the west end flat I had a full room dedicated to sewing, and a separate office/studio. We haven’t quite managed that here, but I’ve got spaces for all my stuff and can now create and craft with ease.
Honestly, moving house was quite a challenge, moving further away from my own children was really hard, and I was sad to give up all the space I had before which allowed me to set up Rosie Saves the Earth. I had plenty of room for all my stock, the living room was perfect for workshops and when we were getting wet with felt we played in the kitchen. It was centrally located for people to travel to and had the magnificent Cottonrake Bakery on the corner for the most delicious pastries.
Now that everything has settled down and I have more time to focus on Rosie Saves the Earth again I do hope to get back to doing more in person workshops. My collaboration with Denise at Honeybee Cottage to bring wet-felting classes back to life has been a brilliant start and I’m hopeful, that over time I’ll be able to do more.
Let me know in the comments below what you would want me to bring to life for you - weaving, slow-stitching, bargello needlepoint, mending clothes? What would float your boat, and would you travel to Troon to do it?