RESIDENCE

[thisroughmagic]

Stephen currently lives in his family's cottage. After his grandparents passed it was rented out, so for the last 25+ years there hasn't been a Barden in it at all. Mostly it homed college students looking for a little distance from school at a cheap (shared) rate. As such, it's been well used over the years and it shows. It's far from disrepair, but most twenty-somethings don't know or care when the exterior was last painted or the porch refinished. They also don't care about the upkeep of the garden, which Stephen will be focusing on once he's more settled. Everything can be expected to undergo a slow redecorating the longer he stays.

There are three bedrooms: one master, one guest, and one converted from the attic space. Two full bathrooms: master and guest, both on the bottom floor. Two floors: main floor has the living room, kitchen with breakfast nook, master bed, master bath, guest bed, guest bath; second floor is the attic bedroom and a small closet-sized true attic space. The bedrooms have carpet, the bathrooms tile, and the kitchen and living space have wood. There's a window seat that faces out toward the front of the house. The whole house is southern facing, so it's bathed in sunlight most of the day. Directly opposite it is a fireplace. The shower in the guest bath makes an awful noise when first started that fades once the hot water gets going. There's an odd board right next to the front door that groans loudly, sometimes when a person steps on it, sometimes when no one touches it at all. There's some blackened stones on the fire place from when the last tenant let their fire get a little out of control. The attic is prone to spiders.

Stephen doesn't have much in the sense of design sense. All of the furniture, what there is of it, are inherited pieces or picked up from Goodwill and refurbished. Everything has a purpose; usually to hold books. There are no throw cushions or paintings. The space is cozy, not cute. Even though it's a bit spartan, every piece is well cared for.

Also there's a lot of books. More than you're imagining.