A room of my own

This is my living room. It's where I spend most of my free time when I'm at home and where I sit with friends when they visit. In the centre of the room there's a coffee table and on it there's an ashtray – I don't smoke but some of my friends do!

Under the coffee table there's a really lovely rug that I bought when I was on holiday in India a couple of years ago. Next to the rug, on the left you can see the sofa, and on it there are some cushions – they have the same pattern as the sofa. I don't sit on the sofa much; I prefer the rocking chair which is on the right next to the window.

I like to have lots of light in the living room so there are two lights – there's the lampstand next to the sofa, and hanging from the ceiling in the centre of the room is the overhead light. I also have a choice of heating. In the centre of the far wall there is a lovely fireplace that is very nice in winter. When I'm feeling lazy and don't want to go and get the coal and wood, I use the electric fire, which is next to the fireplace.

Above the fireplace on the mantelpiece, there's a vase of flowers and a postcard from my brother, and on the wall there's a painting of a mountain. My living room is also my favourite place for reading, so next to the painting there are some bookshelves where I keep all my favourite books.