Personal space
Loretta Norrell
Where I live: High on a hill in the Pleasant Heights neighborhood of West Little Rock with my husband, John, my son, Michael, and our four sweet but stubborn cats, Yoda, Dexter, Schrodinger and Fendi. Occupation: Retiree
My Favorite Space: My foyer Why? It has an archway displaying five tiny rooms filled with exact replicas — down to the smallest detail — of people, furniture, accessories, even oil paintings, created by artists across the U.S. and Europe. I can feel myself completely de-stressing when I gaze at the very fancy French Rococo boudoir, music room, library and Victorian Christmas scenes. Floating above these perfect little worlds is a mysterious forest with fairies hiding among the trees.
These rooms started years ago when I impulsively bought a miniature Christmas tree at a doll show. Before long, an entire room had been added to go around the tree. Now, five rooms and many years later, I love to grab an unsuspecting guest and persuade them to pause for a minute in our foyer and take a look at my tiny little scenes. At first I’ll usually get the look that says, “OK — guess I’ll have to humor her,” but then it’s followed by a look of surprise and fascination.
If I could do one thing to improve this space: Make it larger, of course. I still have so many ideas swirling around in my mind: A scary witch’s den with a creepy old crone stirring a cauldron, or a turn of the 20th-century ladies’ millinery shop? Ideas are endless.