In July 1891, the first of the Sherlock Holmes adventures burst on the pages of the Strand Magazine with the case of A Scandal in Bohemia. Dr. Watson convalescing from war wounds had returned to London and was temporarily staying at a hotel on the Strand.
One afternoon while talking to Stamford, an old friend, Watson was asked, "What are you up to now?"
"Looking for lodgings," Watson answered. "Trying to solve the problem as to whether it is possible to get comfortable rooms at a reasonable price."
Stamford was surprised at the coincidence and told Watson that a fellow student, young Sherlock Holmes, "was bemoaning himself this morning because he could not get someone to go halves with him in some nice rooms which he had found, and which were too much for his purse."
"By Jove!" Watson cried; "if he really wants someone to share the rooms and the expense, I am the very man for him..."
That very afternoon Watson would meet Sherlock Holmes who would exclaim, "I have my eye on a suite in Baker Street which would suit us down to the ground."
As Watson recalled, "We met next day as he had arranged, and inspected the rooms at No. 22lB, Baker Street, of which he had spoken at our meeting.
They consisted of a couple of comfortable bedrooms and a single large airy sitting-room, cheerfully furnished, and illuminated by two broad windows."
Room layout from the last issue of the Strand Magazine, March 1950. Click on image for a larger view
As devoted fans the world over know, the pair would go on to become not only fellow lodgers but from these "comfortable rooms" they would embark together on many adventures into the world of Victorian crime.
Continuing our walk-through of the rooms at 221B Baker Street
Note the deerstalker hat and coat hanging on the peg. While Doyle makes no mention of such a hat, an illustration for The Boscombe Valley Mystery by Sidney Paget in the Strand Magazine in 1891 shows Holmes wearing a deerstalker.
Below are the layouts of the bedrooms
Room layout from the last issue of the Strand Magazine, March 1950. Click on image for a larger view
In July 1891, the first of the Sherlock Holmes adventures burst on the pages of the Strand Magazine with the case of A Scandal in Bohemia. Dr. Watson convalescing from war wounds had returned to London and was temporarily staying at a hotel on the Strand. 
One afternoon while talking to Stamford, an old friend, Watson was asked, "What are you up to now?"
"By Jove!" Watson cried; "if he really wants someone to share the rooms and the expense, I am the very man for him..."
