The Art Of Naming Our Mermaid-Esque, Victorian {The Scarlette Rose Cottage}

A few days back, I posted about how Jeffrey and I are converting a one-room little vacancy on my folk's property into a little itty bitty cottage for The Carter Settlement. Its the beginning of my dream coming to fruition in the having of a real non-profit foundation. I'm not entirely sure what will transpire when we find our forever property; however, I'm living in the now and enjoying this process extensively.

I'm not sure however if you've also noticed on the categories drop down some time ago I added The Art of Victorian Mermaid Interior Design. I have done that for several reasons. One in which, because once Jeffrey and I move to our forever home, I plan to share my restoration process, and now presently I am going to share the transforming of The Scarlette Rose Cottage. It's a win-win, folks. 

So to keep me on track with this beautiful little voyage I'm swimming into, I want to begin with the first project, which is the naming of the cottage. 

Let me begin by giving you a bit of a history lesson if you will. 

Like I've stated many times over on this blog how much I absolutely adore Beatrix Potter, feel eerily connected to her, and find many similarities between us both. She is also my spirit guide. I know she inspires me with writing my little children's storybooks. If you have any hesitation in that belief, just collect one of my books, and I guarantee you will feel Beatrix Potter in my books. If one does indeed believe in reincarnation, you will tether the ideas of my having a deep resonance with her.

{Speaking of which, I am nearly on the last bits and bobs of The Tale of Sawyer Lamb, and it has turned out to be the sweetest storybook, I do believe I'll ever write in my lifetime.}

Okay, so let us begin with the naming of the cottage.

I first began noticing folks naming their homes back when I was but a tiny girl. My grandparents on my mother's side had the name of Bishop's Cottage. My paternal grandmother {and where I live presently} had the name of "Carter Village", with several dozen cute little cottages, in which my grandmother made her living. Picture this: Beatrix Potter where she bought up over 4,000 acres, to preserve the landscape. My grandmother was precisely similar, in that she always taught us that land is the best way to invest. Always buy up real estate, Raquel. 

To name one's house is an old British custom which began with the gentry calling their manors, halls, and castles by names of association. The tradition gradually spread to the masses, and everyday folk began naming their homes, too. Traditionally, the house name is based on who the house was tied to or the location of the home.

There are rules if your property already has an existing house name and no allocated house number, and if this is the case, you can contact your local council. You will need to notify your council board of your intentions of changing the house name in writing before you can use the new house name for your address. If you don't feel much up to going to this extent, {and I wouldn't advise it if you aren't planning to live forever at the same place} you can just add your number and the house name to your address, solely for fun. Because as long as your number has already been listed with the county, you can simply address your home the way you choose.

However, I am planning to go the distance when I purchase our forever home. This was one of the charming particulars when I lived in California. In Carmel, California, did you know that's the only way their homes and businesses were listed? It's true. They don't have addresses, just the naming of the locations and what the place is tied to. I quite like that idea. 

In the introduction of street numbering by the act of Parliament, in 1765, every home built in a town and city had a designated number followed by the name of the road. 

A house name makes a home more personalized for the occupants living there. Where I am now, is my folks home, because this property was initially owned by my grandmother and grandfather {Carter} way back when the actual street was created, it bears their name, Carter Road. "Carter's Cottage" I just love that, don't you? Even although my folks' are allowing me to convert one of the cottages on their property, I decided that it's the most logical step to name the cottage, Scarlette Rose Cottage. After my very first children's book, The Tale of MerryMaid Scarlette Rose. Why? I'm sure you can guess. It's because I like the idea of everything being about Scarlette, just as everything is based on Peter Rabbit, regardless of Beatrix penning many storybooks. Peter is the mascot. Scarlette is my mascot.

The colours I chose are for several reasons. Firstly and most importantly, I used a colour pallet that was authentically from the Victorian era. I went with the Sherwin Williams colour palette of their historic colours-Late Victorian Interior and exterior. Now the reason I am going with reds, whites and greens is that historically the Europeans paired reds with greens. Another tidbit of information is that my folks have a red rusted tin roof on the cottage, and it's relatively new. I won't be removing that, and I want the cottage to conform to my folk's colour pallet on their cottage {which is the main house}. The main cottage was built when my father was just a baby. Heres a photo of my parents home. At one time it sat on a few dozen acres, in which my grandmother owned. Now my folks own it.

The other reason I chose to use green, is that my hero Beatrix Potter used green to accent her home, too. If you look at this sign from Sawrey, these are the same pallet of colours as I have chosen, so they all tie together rather nicely. 

I hope you glean some information from this post and it also inspires you to perhaps ponder the idea of naming your little humble abode. Leave me a comment below, I'd love to know if you have named your home. 

Most affably yours til my next swim, Raquelxxx