Susan Feldman took a cue from author Virginia Wolfe when she and her husband designed their Lafayette Hill home.
"She needed a space to write and I needed a place to sew," Feldman said.
But sewing isn't the only thing Sue uses her room for. This is where she Skypes with her children, practices her yoga, and learns French. It's a room with furniture much more tattered than the rest of her home, in part because her beloved dogs are allowed on the couch here.
"Men have always had a place where they can go and close the door and I think that women need a place like that, too," Feldman said.
Tom Meyers of Cherokee Construction built the Feldman's house and says he spent a lot of time with Sue designing a spot within her home that she would feel was her own personal escape.
"It's frequent that we create those spaces in a home; it could be anything from a luxurious bathroom where you have a heated floor or it could be as easy as having a den with a flat screen TV and some comfortable furniture," Meyers said.
Of course, the real estate market and the economy certainly have made it a challenge for many people to invest in this kind of "in-home retreat". But Meyers emphasizes that this kind of sanctuary doesn't always have to be pricey.
"You know, you could have your retreat be a renovated basement. It could be a workshop or an area where they could do arts and crafts for the kids; it doesn't have to be fancy or expensive to be a wonderful place to retreat to," Meyers said.
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