When everyone was home, we had all our bedrooms in full use, including what is now the rec room. Seven bedrooms! {We actually have eight, because there are three on the third floor, but one of was used as a kitchen for a little apartment organized by the previous owner — for some Vietnamese boat people — isn't that amazing? Not having the energy to convert it back, I use it as storage right now. By right now I mean I always have.}
Okay, get ready for an intense remodeling experience! This is going to rock your world! Close all your Martha Stewart tabs! You don't need them!
Will's room.
In this as in everything, my idea is to use what I have where possible. Do you know how expensive bedding is? And let's not be buying cheap bedding, as in cheaply made. By all means try to get a bargain! Bedding must last and must withstand many washings.
The first bed, closest to us here, was Phil's when he was growing up; the other one was mine.
I made the green and white quilt for Will — it's all handstitched, and I totally stole the pattern for it from some catalog I got long ago — and the other one is my shirtings quilt that's all machine-quilted. I think they look nice together. Will's quilt isn't a full twin (if you know what I mean by that somewhat misleading designation), because I made all my children quilts that could be dragged around and used on sofas in case of illness or cuddliness. I find this size (“throw” size, not any set dimension, although mine got bigger as I got better at it — let's say about 40″ by 55″) very useful also in that it fits on the top of a twin bed and looks just fine.
If you want to begin quilting, I highly recommend that you go with “lap” or “throw” or “crib” size to start. You will be merely whelmed, rather than overwhelmed.
I've stacked up some suitcases and would love to find a little soft chair to tuck in that corner. The suitcase in the middle was my mom's and has her initials on it. I found the bottom one at a yard sale, and the wicker one we've had since I was in high school I think. On top is a wooden cigar box, and I do have a lamp to crown it all with. And an outlet to plug it in!
What's so glorious about these rooms now is the tightness of the walls and ceilings.
Do you see the batten idea in action? I can't tell you how much it delights me.
Before: Just not attractive, with crumbling plaster and stained walls. |
Before: This built-in desk thing seems fine, but was actually too high and deep to be useful. And I could never really get to the window to clean it – not without climbing. |
Moving the bookcase into the newly created space under the window opens up a bit more room in front of the bed.
Up on the third floor it's either freezing cold or super hot. So ceiling fans are a must for summer. I guess in the winter they will freeze…. Just kidding, I hope. Now that things are so well constructed, I'm hoping the heat stays in.
Do you think this is too much geometry in here?
I painted the closet floor in here and all the door thresholds with oil-based paint from the front door and porch! It's a red I love. |
The fabric for the bedskirts was marked down to about $2.50 at JoAnn's, and I really love it. I wish I had the patience to make them more full, but I don't and that's all there is to it. Maybe my lack of patience will lead to me taking them off and re-doing them by adding pleats retroactively, and won't that be efficient.
Bedskirts are really important around here because under each bed there is — another mattress! It happens that sometimes there are so many people here that they outnumber beds, and it's nice if they at least have a mattress to crash on. But those mattresses are unsightly, so bedskirts it is!
Sukie's room.
When we moved in, Sukie chose this room at the top of the house and painted the trim blue. I thought it was pretty, although our old dog, Tootsie, did a number on the windowsills, pretty much right away. Why do we even have pets anyway??
Before: Paint gets old. |
Before: Getting ready for the work. |
After: All white! Fresh! Clean! No gaps in the seams! Remember this black thrifted bedside table? |
My idea for this room was color. It started with the iron bed, which I just wanted to paint red in the worst way. Then, when I found the green (pseudo) quilt, I questioned my decision. But then I decided that this was my ticket to COLOR!
Sukie had gotten me this mocha fabric for Christmas one year — eight yards that were the only thing I liked in a quilting store nearby, and fortunately, on sale for $25! Not that I know how much my gift cost 🙂
I just think it adds something to this ensemble. When I was discussing my bedskirt plans with Natasha, and telling her about my color idea, I mentioned that my vision included ball fringe. Well, Natasha lives in a place where textiles, trims, and all things haberdashery are so very abundant; and besides, she is the sort of person who enjoys getting you the things you want.
So she went to an amazing haberdashery and got me a whole bunch of ball fringe! And sent it to me!
I promised you ball fringe and I deliver!
Not only is the skirt pretty and adding pizzazz, and not only is it hiding stuff under there, but when you come up the stairs you can see right under the bed! So I really needed to make one.
Papasans are a little passé, maybe? I was about to give this away, but actually I think it works there. |
That is Sukie's hope chest in the corner there, found at an antiques shop in the city. The bookcase, rug, and table are hand-me-downs. |
This room got a ceiling fan as well, and another time I will show you what's around the corner there. Not quite done yet, thank you power failure!
And I haven't put one thing on the walls of any of this space up here, so that's a challenge before me. I'm looking forward to it! I hope you like a clash of colors in here as much as I do. I'm very pleased with this room! It makes a good guest room for our married couples (although obviously there's plenty of room elsewhere, and I have my eye out for a sofabed for the rec room), and now it's clean and fresh, thank goodness! I am very grateful for that!
{By the way, where do you put your married children? Or stay when you visit your parents? I know that most people don't have 7 bedrooms. Do you send them to hotels? Pitch tents? Give them the bunkbeds and tell them to stop whining?}
Michelle Reitemeyer says
I'm embarrassed to say that both my parents and my in-laws give up their master bedrooms for my family when we have visited. They both reason that between us, various little children who want to be close to mommy in the middle of the night in a dark, strange home, the German Shepherd and all the luggage, their room is the largest and best place to shove us. When they come visit, they (both) usually stay at a local motel. We'll have family for Thanksgiving, and the extra children will bunk with their cousins, my two sisters will sleep in my sunroom on a mattress and a cot (one sis is unmarried and the other's husband is deployed), and my brother will get the couch. I do sometimes boot the children for adults to have proper beds, but with only 3 bedrooms, this means children are in the common rooms late at night when the grownups want them far away, in bed, while we play cards and talk. Our parents definitely prefer to leave the hubbub here and go to their quiet motel room for an earlier bedtime.
Betsy says
We've stayed on air mattresses, gone to B&B's, slept in different rooms (when you have 3 small children who sometimes end up in bed with you, even a queen-size mattress doesn't quite cut it!). We love to visit family and don't mind the accommodations, though it gets a bit rough when one is very pregnant! We are in the process of re-locating and are seriously contemplating shooting for a 4 bedroom house because we love to have people over and we want to be able to accommodate missionaries and the like.
Thank for sharing the re-model! It inspires me as we also consider getting a “fixer-upper”. The idea is a bit overwhelming but exciting at the same time!
Anitra says
I hear you about 4 bedrooms! We have only 2 children (one boy, one girl) and 3 “bedrooms” (one makes for a much better office/den than a kid's room). Have definitely been daydreaming about either a 4th bedroom or an addition that closes up the third bedroom and creates space for an office/den elsewhere…
Mamalion says
Give them the bunkbeds…. We're going to have a really full house for Thanksgiving. I'm loving this, but there is the faint worry of where to sleep everyone. I love the idea of mattresses under the beds, but alas, we have trundle beds and storage drawers. Which reminds me- need to get a mattress before Sunday!
justamouse says
Just beautiful! Right now I toss my oldest daughter out of her room and put guests in there, and then she gets the air mattress on the library floor. We have a huge third floor, but the plaster has holes in it, and some of it is unfinished with a ceiling of slate shingles (it used to be a hospital! The town historian told me a Dr lived here and kept his patients up there). Talk about dust. So those are the projects for another year. The batten and ceiling fans are must haves, I agree.
nancy says
In the summer, my guests stay in our camper in the yard…which works out pretty well. the camper has water and a bathroom and small kitchen…In the winter, we have rented my neighbor's small apt when there is no tenant there or else had them stay with my husband's great aunt (who is very gracious about this) or a hotel or a rental cabin. We have very little room in our house and three children. If it is just one guest for a short time, they stay on the couch or roll away cot in the living room, but they get woken up by three little boys.
Colleen says
Love the green dresser! I think the whole thing looks great, actually, but that dresser is my favorite (the red bed is a very close 2nd).
I'm the only one of my siblings to have moved away from the city where we grew up, so my parents only have to accommodate me and my family and there are plenty of bedrooms for that. My husband and I usually end up in my old room, which is funny – and then my kids get to choose between the old bedrooms of their aunts and uncles. There for a while, the biggest issue was napping locations for grandchildren when everyone came over for a full-day visit. My Mom had a portable crib in every bedroom!
I also keep mattresses under beds (I feel so smart). It is handy when families with kids visit.
Thanks for sharing the photos!
Emily says
I just love your bedrooms! I was trying to pick out my favorite part to tell you, but it's all so beautiful and “me” that I couldn't! 🙂 When my husband and I visit my parents, we get my sisters' bedroom with a full size bed. After more of us girls are married, I'm not sure where we'll all sleep! They keep mattresses under the beds too.
Jenny says
Love the quilts and Suki's room – even at my age now, if I had an attic room I would be forever daydreaming about being a Victorian servant! I recently went on a patchwork course and I am working up the courage to start my first quilt project. It is a bit intimidating though!
Our guest room has been rather taken over with all my craft stuff …… I will sort it out eventually!
I'm having a giveaway!
Lisa G. says
Everything looks very, very nice!!! And it isn't too colorful at all, because of the pale walls. And in the first room, I would not say that it's overly geometric. It's all just right – very comfortable and attractive looking. What a relief for you. (I'll say nothing about the ball fringe except that I want it.) 🙂
Kathryn says
Just beautiful – this is what I want my house to look like someday! I love that nothing matches, strictly, and everything has a story (always a story about a good deal :-)) Sadly, our guests are consigned to an air-mattress in our loft right now. My parents have replaced our twin beds with a variety of full and queen, and converted one of the bedrooms into a bunk room with two sets of bunkbeds and space for a few blow-up mattresses. We actually fit 8 adults and 7 kids (all under 5) in their 4 bedroom house over Easter last year.
Laura Jeanne says
So beautiful, really. Excellent job! The red bed teamed with the green dresser is just gorgeous. And I love the pillow cases. I love red in general, but I am too timid to use it in my own decorating–I always stick with bland colours like pale blue or pink. This post is really inspiring, though! I think I need to be a bit bolder with colour.
wanderingsue says
Ha, my folks run a motel. So you generally get a pretty sweet room, but if you stay over a night when they're booked out you have to shift out, then it's a mattress on their family room floor!
Have you seen Fi's post at Inner Pickle about her local quilt show? Someone commented to the effect of, what on Earth do you do with SIX quilts, and it made me think of your gorgeous New England home. And now, here you are with more, treats for me!
_Leila says
Well, I just went to see it! She's so sweet 🙂 And yes, what on earth would you do with six quilts, because no one needs something pretty on their bed, or sofa, or chair… 😉
freckled hen says
Everything is really lovely, Leila! I love the crispness of the rooms and the colors you chose. I heart pom pom trim but never seem to know how to use it…I love it on the bedskirt. This reminds me to thank you for the links you gave me over a month ago (gasp) about what to do with our blue floored entry way. You made me look at the floors with a whole new outlook which was perfect timing as there is so much I want to do to our big old house but that is always outdone by the so much that needs doing.
_Leila says
You're welcome! Use what you have 😉 If possible…
Lori says
Definitely not too much geometry! I love all the angles and lines. The batten treatment is great and reaffirms my belief that we can successfully paint the wide paneling in our “project room” and get a similar effect.
Love the red iron bed!
_Leila says
Lori, you can DEFINITELY paint paneling. Check out our den/family room! Half the walls are paneling (don't ask).
For the third floor, the guys used very strong primer on everything. Brian (my right-hand man in everything that requires a quick fix on a low budget) knew that I wanted it to last and to be sealed.
Lisa G. says
Lori, we also painted paneling in our living room. It was the cheap stuff, and a dark walnut color. We painted it light yellow!! If yours is dark too, a tip – the Benjamin Moore fellow tinted the primer with the paint color we were using and that covered it better. I love the way it looks – cottage-y.
sibyl says
I so love this post. What a beautiful eye for color and composition you have! If I were you, I would add almost no art to the walls. The cool bareness is so restful.
This is such a fantasy for me. Our house, as much a blessing as it is to us, is very small for a family of eight. I would just love to have enough room in a bedroom to put a twin bed in the middle and be able to walk around it to get it made. As it is, both the boys' bedroom and the girls' have bunk beds shoved against a wall and practically no floor area clear. And it would be so awesome to be able to redo a whole floor at a time! (Not that you did it quickly, but still.)
Thanks for letting me enjoy this redecoration vicariously. And maybe someday I can take a quilting class.
Jamie says
My parents have a big farm house (only 5 bedrooms though 😉 Only two rooms have twins and the rest have doubles (there is something smart about buying a double if you have room for it I guess) so usually there is a big bed for the grown ups..unless all the siblings are home. Than one couple gets stuck with 2 twins..but whatever! We're all just happy to be there.
Patty says
I love the color and the red iron bed! I seriously have to try some spray painting. You make it sound so easy! 🙂
Becky says
When we were first married we were often shunted wherever. Newlyweds tend to be fine with a single twin bed in a pinch. I agree it is when you start adding pregnancies and babies that it gets complicated. My parents bought a crib but a co-sleeper might be more useful. It's nice to not have to worry about transporting a baby bed. The pregnant lady always gets first dibs on whatever bed lends itself to the best support. As our children get older, we switched to these little tents for the children called peapods. They are just perfect for traveling since they fold down flat and allow you to tuck children into the same room as their parents without them all having to be in one bed.
Anna says
It's lovely. 🙂
Most everyone we visit has a guest bed or a pull-out from the couch. Beyond that, we live near and SIL stays in the guest room; or at my parents, my sister is close and we stay at mom and dad's. There's just two kids in each family, so that will likely be enough for a long time.
Now, us? We have four kids, and five bedrooms, so if we stay here we should be alright. I actually have a mattress pad under the bunk bed to prevent stuff from getting lost under there.
Andrea says
Oh…this is so lovely.
I'm so freaked out by using color in my home, I have so many neutrals. I wish I had an eye like you.
Also, what a blessing to your married children that you can accommodate them! My MIL has plenty of bedrooms, so when we visit my husband and I get our own room, and there are bunk beds for the children (I have four, so far – five any minute now…).
At my parents' house, four of my little sisters still live at home. So, 2 of them get kicked out of their room, and we double up on bunkbeds plus a trundle: my big girls on top, my husband and a child on bottom, me and a child on the trundle. It's tight. I'm always so happy to be visiting, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for our large family to sleep in my tiny childhood bedroom!
Since we live in the middle of nowhere (literally), almost nobody comes to visit us. However, we do have a double bed set up in the baby's room, which is handy not only for rare guests, but also for the family in general (naps? escaping with the newborn at night? etc).
Dawn says
I simply love the whole thing. You did great. The thrift finds makes it even more perfect.
Blessings,
Dawn
Jamie says
Ok..now I need to ask…besides making it yourself, where have you found “quality” bedding? I've definitely bought stuff that is junk and am now regretting it. Good advice to buy quality…. Thanks!
_Leila says
Salvation Army, TJ Maxx (only you have to be picky there), the hated BB&Beyond when you have a coupon and can get a sheet set. Do not buy Walmart sheets. Target has good flannel sheets — nice thick flannel that doesn't pill.
The great thing about thrifted sheets is that you can find percale, which just has the right “feel” to me.
RubberChickenGirl says
Why “the hated BB&Beyond “?
RCG
_Leila says
BB&B never has what I want, and nothing is ever really reduced. Their linens don't excite me! It's a huge store full of nothing I really want!
Margo says
you are BRILLIANT to keeep mattresses under your beds! I am so going to do that because I foresee kid sleepovers in my future.
Leila, Sukie's bedroom is absolutely beautiful. It's fresh and charming and casually chic. I am so impressed! Most people try to match things so hard they forget to use their eyes! I adore the greens and strong red with the brown skirt. . . and wheeeee a lemon yellow bookcase off to the side! It so works, too, because the walls and floor are neutral. I love it. Very inspiring.
(by the way, I have an old apartment kitchen in my house that is currently kind of storage – a weird catchall room. My husband and I can't agree on what do with the space. We're working on it.)
Twinkles says
I love your posts so much …… your photographs are wonderful.
When we visited the in-laws, we slept on the floor. And when the in-laws visited us, we slept on the floor. 🙁 Big, mean and pregnant – we slept on the floor.
Ginger says
Lovely, Can we come for the Holidays too?
My parents had trailers….so it was one part First Come First Serve….which of course induced a little motivation to arrive early and two parts who has more children at the time….for the rest it was blow up mattresses and or the couch.
when I was a kid though and we visited my Meema's for Holiday family sleepovers, all the kids piled into one room with sleeping bags and the adults were also scattered on all available floor space throught their tiny home….It was a child's dream come true to have a whole family sleep over….What fun it was.
Emily b says
Leila, everything is gorgeous! I am a country home rather than martha Stewart girl myself so your style is right up my alley. (though I think Martha would have liked this redo, as well!) bravo.
Alanna says
I love the iron bed…perfect color combo!
When we visit my parents, my sister gets sent to the pull out couch in my dad's office and my family takes over her tiny room. Hubs and I squish into the full size bed, the three year old loves sleeping in his superman sleeping bag n the floor, and the baby has the most room of all in the pack and play. We're squished, but I could never imagine staying at a hotel – we would miss precious family time!
Kendra says
Is it just because they're older that they're rooms are so tidy? Sigh.
_Leila says
Um, Kendra, they are NOT HERE. That's why their rooms are so tidy 🙂 Also they were just redone. The rooms. 🙂 Also, I didn't show you the closets 🙂
Tamara Murphy says
Beautiful!!! Thank you for sharing all the lovely photos … love it!
Sara says
It's beautiful! It's what I always imagined your house looked like upstairs, and I'm sure you're thrilled with those walls and ceilings. So clean and tight. The boys' room is perfectly geometrical with the quilts and rug and wall lines! And Sukie's room is full of lovely colors. I want to come visit!
My inlaws use air mattresses and the kids old rooms for my family of 8. Of course, then none of the other kids can come home!
Joy says
So clean and fresh and comfortable looking. What child wouldn't want to come and stay?
BTW, I love this: “You will be merely whelmed, rather than overwhelmed.” LOL. That made my day.
Thank you for sharing your home with us.
Barbara says
Beautiful bedrooms. Love the light. Love the ceilings — really great ceilings. Love the floors. Makes me want to ditch my 30 year-old colonial and go find an old farmhouse! It reminds me of my grandmother's house when I was a child — I always loved those sloped ceilings. They make the room feel so cozy, and interesting.
I really love that blue and red and green quilt and love that you included detail on the sides — so clever!
_Leila says
BethanneB — I did take photos of the making of the skirts. It isn't quite just a square of cloth, because there have to be openings for the bed legs, but it's pretty simple. Just think about how you need a rectangle of cloth (any cloth AT ALL — it won't show) for between the mattress and the box spring or base, and then three rectangles that hang off three of the sides. Those hanging parts need to be hemmed. You need to know how long to make them hang down (in Will's room the beds are actually of different heights). That's it!
Joyce Ackley says
I love the bedrooms! They look so cozy and warm and homey. I like the mix of fabrics and patterns. I especially like the little drop leaf table between the twin beds and the green chest in the other bedroom. The only thing that grabbed me is that the lamps seem too small and low for the bedside tables. Try stacking two or three books and putting the lamp on top. You'll be surprised with the result, I think. Simple fix.
_Leila says
Joyce, good idea. I do that in my own bedroom 🙂 And the red bed is really high.
Anitra says
We _are_ the married children.
At my mom's (“2 bedroom” apartment, only 1 bed) and at my dad's (2 bedroom cottage), we take the bedroom (double bed and room to accomodate a pack & play, twin air mattress, etc. so all the kids can sleep with us). My mom sleeps on the couch in her overcrowded living room; my dad & step-mom have a pull-out couch in their spacious living room.
At my mother-in-law's house, there are plenty of spare rooms. Since we've had kids, we usually end up in the actual “guest room”, but we've slept on couches in the past.
When we have friends stay over, they either sleep on the pull-out couch in our office/nursery, or WE take that and let them sleep in our bed (where they are less likely to be awakened by our early-rising children).
Amanda says
We keep mattresses under beds too 🙂 I figure it's always good to have that extra space for kids' friends, maybe someday cousins/second-cousins, etc. Eventually I'll ask my handy DH to make a trundle box for each mattress but for now they're fine.
I love how clean and fresh those rooms are, the white walls really help the quilts and colored dresser pop without being overwhelming. It's giving me some ideas for our new rental…hmmm
EiLL says
I have such a feeling of accomplishment viewing your 3rd floor. Thanks. You picked out my favorite colors, and I always wanted a big round chair to curl up in to read a book (or just hide). I just have one question – what exactly is the product you used on the ceilings and walls? Where did you get it? I NEEEEEEED IT!
The married children get to sleep in a room with a door. The other kids don't mind bunking in the computer room or living room, so long as they get to be with everyone as much as possible. One double bed or 2 twin mattresses on the floor work for our married children if they really want to stay. As we have gotten older, we prefer to stay in a hotel and let our kids stay overnight at their grandparents or cousins when visiting.
Natasha says
It looks really amazing!!! The walls are beautiful. Glad the trim worked out… can't wait to see what you do with the rest of it. Something brilliant I'm sure.
Kristi says
Auntie Leila, I love these rooms! Beautiful! (I will say, though, that I think Will's room could use something non-geometric. Since you asked. Perhaps some prints above the beds.)
We live in a boring but dependable ranch home now (Texas), but for DH's job may move next year somewhere commutable to NYC — and houses around there are twice the price for half the space — and still fixer-uppers. We are not handy and I'm apprehensive. Would love to have some home charm, though, and your home inspires me! Thank you.
womanofthehouse says
The blue and white checkerboard rug is fantastic with those quilts! And red and that shade of green is one of my favorite color combinations. It all looks so fresh and airy!
When our married daughter and her husband visited us in our old house, they stayed in the (finished~similar to yours) attic on an air mattress. Not ideal. In our new house, they will actually have a guest room and a bathroom all to themselves. It will be so much nicer!
Jackie says
How delightful! I love all your colors and geometry and ball fringe…it makes me smile.
As for staying with parents, my parents have day beds in every bedroom except theirs, so hubby and I sleep in one room and our kiddos share another. Even if we did visit while my (still single) brother was there, it would be no biggie.
When we visit my MIL, she has a queen in one room, a daybed in another, and several very comfortable couches. My kiddos sleep in an oversized chair and a papasan. Somehow, it all works. Also, all the kids are rarely there at the same time. Seniority applies to the queen-sized bed, though. If hubby's elder sister is there, she and her beloved get first dibs…it's only polite, after all.
Maria says
Thanks for sharing! Lovely rooms! When we stay at our parents' we usually end up in the office. My parents have a murphy bed in theirs (well, one day it will be a murphy bed–they have the kit to tuck it up in the wall, but so far that part is uninstalled so it is always down). My in-laws have some reasonable blow-up mattresses they put in their office. We've also slept on hid-a-beds, and in a pinch, two sofas pushed together face to face. It has never been a problem to find a place to sleep. However, none of our siblings are married yet, so this might get trickier as time goes on.
Deirdre says
A triumph, Mom. All this is a decorating TRIUMPH!!!!
Honey says
You are amazingly talented at pulling pieces together, Leila! It is all beautiful; I wish my bedroom looked that great. However, I must admit that I was a little disappointed that “third floor rehab” has nothing to do with tips on how to recover from a particularly difficult day while locking yourself in the attic.
RubberChickenGirl says
Did you ever describe what you used for the walls and ceiling? Is it real board and batten or whatever you call it? Did you put wood panels on the walls or just trim it out? Was it expensive? Is that dumb question? :O)____RCG
_Leila says
The boards are panelling, the battens are wood, the ceilings are wood tongue-in-groove. It was reasonable in cost – that's all we can afford! Hopefully we will recoup on heat, and it desperately needed to be done.
Amy says
I love your third floor bedroom makeovers! Can I come and stay with you? I really like the contrast of the white walls, beadboard ceilings and pine floors.
Gracechurch Property says
Simply wonderful !! Love all of the work…and the way it's hung. I definitely like the style in all the pictures. Very clean and classic! 🙂
Erin says
Beautiful! You should come to my house and decorate…but I’m afraid then you’ll have to use all my old mismatched stuff 🙂
We live near my in-laws now, who live in a row house that was originally three apartments. When they bought the house, they lived in the bottom one, and as they had children they took on fewer tenants until they lived in the whole thing. So there are a couple of closets with kitchenettes in them. Being in the South, the kitchen itself is in the basement. So, when we would stay we’d do as you do and take over the top floor, which has two rooms, a bedroom and a sitting room, and come down to share the kitchen and dining room as a family.
We haven’t gone home to visit my family overnight since we had more than one child, but we’ve been offered an aunt’s pop-up camper if we come in summer, and I’m sure some family or friends with extra bedrooms would put us up if otherwise – I know we’d never be allowed to stay in a motel, they’d all consider it a personal affront!