To Do or not to Do? ~Henry VIII

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Ancient Egypt. Sand blows mercilessly outside in the dark of night. Men in robes stand over the body of their dead Pharaoh, performing the rites of mummification. The night stretches on and the men become tired, hungry. One of them takes a break and prepares some food on a nearby slab. The other men have him killed for desecrating the sacred rite, but later, are so impressed with the idea, they copy the it down in Hieroglyphics.

A thousand or so years later, a wealthy family is holding a dinner party. The husband, a famous archaeologist, has just uncovered the stone tablet detailing the incident, and with the thought on his mind, he decides to entertain in his kitchen, with servants folding clothes nearby. The idea is not a hit and, in fact, scandalizes the guests, causing the ruin of the archaeologist’s family.

But the idea lives on. Passed through rumor and underground intelligence, these multi-purpose rooms pop up in scattered clumps. Under fear of persecution by the Roman-Catholic Inquisition, which places the use of such rooms directly below Witchcraft in terms of heresy, these people create secret doors for all the storage and appliances in the room, so they can be hidden within a moment’s notice. Unable to trust even their friends, the spread of these rooms is stunted. However, a prominent member of the English court of Henry VIII is shown one by a friend of a friend and carries the idea back to his king.

The famous rift between England under Henry VIII and the Catholic Church, though allegedly because of his stance on marriage and his desire to divorce his wife, was actually due to the inclusion of some of these rooms within newly built manor houses. The church wanted them out, the King wanted them in, they parted company. But after years of fiddling around with the rooms, the King grew bored and they fell out of favor.

But today, a need arises…

Ok, so… maybe parts of that history aren’t true. But they seem like they should be, even if they aren’t. And really, that’s what matters most, right?

The truth of these rooms, known as “Do” Rooms, is that, in concept, they’ve been around since forever. Obviously I’m not a historian, but it’s likely that families have always had rooms that have pulled double-duty in the purpose department. But only recently have they been perfected and been the kind of room you can show off to friends. Functionality not replaced, but hidden, behind form. Which is to say it’s pretty AND useful.

Wait for it…

A sitting room, maybe a tv or radio for maximum amounts of “chilling.” But hidden behind stylish walls are shelves and bins, washers and dryers, desks and others, differently shaped desks. Work can be done, then closed off. The future is now.

Boom! Everyone else just get goosebumps, or just me?

The “Do” Room defines what it means to be an average (maybe even above average) American. Of course we do laundry and have hobbies and need to store things around the house, but we also like to entertain. To have a room where all these things can be done at the same time, without embarrassment, well… I think that just might be the American Dream, as described by William Shakespeare (citation needed).

You need one of these rooms. It’s not a question, it’s a fact. So schedule a remodel and have us draw up some plans for you. Or if you’re one of our many current clients, have us add in one of these awesome, schizophrenic rooms. Don’t let Henry VIII’s sacrifice be in vain.