WHEN A SPECIAL DREAM COMES TRUE - A Downstairs Tea Room

Our new home (actually it is 15 years old) is a cottage style rancher with a finished walk out basement.  No more second story  bedrooms with that flight of  stairs to climb to bed in retirement. I am 67 years old - things have changed and I hurt a little!  There are 3 bedrooms on the main level of the house.  Two are rather small but we don't mind.  This is a nice home for retirement which is where we are in the journey of life.

Going downstairs below:

Today, I am sharing my new personal tea room so we are going downstairs.  Are you ready.  I had to go down and hide all my husbands hammers, tons of tools, etc.  I am sure he won't be happy because he is working on his office and it isn't done so he had tools and boxes everywhere.  Some of you already know all my stuff so here it is in a different house and location.  The sign that used to be inside my store and the maid from my old dining room greet you at the bottom of the stairs where the rugs are temporary until I find some new ones.

If you turn left it's the large open room in the basement that brings joy to my heart and I say is a dream come true.   With the closing of my store, I had plenty of furniture and tables to use in this large room to create a personal tea room where I can have ladies over for tea and use for group hospitality.  

The buffet that was in my kitchen before and the food will be served on that table around to the right.  The pictures to the right are Catherine of Braganza, Queen Victoria and Anna the Duchess of Bedford  who I call the "First Ladies of Tea".

Another old sign from my store which is sentimental:

This week my hubby got out the chandelier from my old store window and hung it up for me.  There are tables set up right now to seat 27 ladies but I have to find 6 more chairs.  I could add a few more tables for 2 if needed.  The door leads to my husbands office which is "in progress".  You see my old dining room table below:

Remember I showed you this mantle which was in the garage when we were moving?

 This is my springtime tea room look but I can change it for various seasons, events, etc.
  The sliding glass doors go out to a patio and a koi pond.  I will show you that soon.....but not yet!  I have been digging in the yard as much as I can each day.  

I have a little seating area too:

 I plan to invite ladies - especially older ladies who are lonely or discouraged to come to afternoon tea. I even have a little play table for little girls.  The doll bed was one of two things I have from my birth father.  He made it for me.  We will probably be painting it pink.

  A small room at the bottom right of the stairs
will become a kitchenette where my tea dishes can be hand washed and stored too. We have
a refrigerator in there now and will be adding a sink to hand wash my tea set pieces.  There is a small bathroom just off the kitchenette which will be helpful for guests.  Later this week, I will also be sharing my "where I create" room on that side of the basement.  I never had a sewing-craft room before so this is a real blessing for me.  

 We also have an unfinished basement area for storage too which I am not showing you! Ha!  My husband plans to have model trains set up in there.  Right behind those 4 door panels over there. He has a nice "manly" office that he is very happy about too.

I know many of you recognize some things:

Our poor Victrola has a broken caster foot
 which we will be repairing.  We mostly
crank it at Christmastime.

This was also a small  mantle

 at my store for years: