Thursday, March 26, 2015

the wish list

In thinking of the house, I found I had many desires. Pinterest is all too enticing: we could have chickens! We will have fountains and marble statues!

Yeah, right. But poring over Pattern Language and thinking about what worked in the old cabin and what decidedly did not work, some thoughts keep coming up.

The house should face south, and there should be some sunlight. (this is difficult, the site is well wooded and I love trees).

The size needs to be small for economic and practical reasons, but not so small it is oppressive. People in the new house will be 3: a man fond of clutter and more fond of books; a young man who will need oxygen and other medical equipment and room for his toys and books; a woman who longs for a little space of her own away from the general rush of things (and who also has many, many, too many precious objects and books).

We settled on maybe 30 feet by, oh, 24? Thinking out size in terms of what sizes lumber comes in naturally might change that, but that is the basis.

Wish list includes such fantasies as an attached solarium with bath tub amongst the plants (again, remember, deep shaded woods. Somehow in my mind sunlight will magically break through).

Books. One of the primary items (remember, we are booksellers and if our store must close there are still shelves of orphaned and beloved books we will want to keep). The main area of this little house will in fact be a library. Shelves along the walls. Books everywhere. Comfortable chairs.

And light. There will be light from all sides (and in such a small space will this be hard?)

The roof will not leak!

Bed nooks. I like the idea of bednooks, which close up and sort of disappear during the day, but which provide cozy retreat. My nook and that of my son need to be very close to each other, because I must watch over him in the night and make certain the machines are running.

Machines bring up the need for electricity, which I am told will be far, far more expensive than I imagine (it will involve a generator, batteries, etc). I think of solar (but note: deep woods)

We need to have some sort of kitchen, though I have thought of using the original house as the cooking and pantry area; the new building will be quite close to it.

Compost toilet.

(and that will need to be close to my son's bed area, for his comfort, but not so to speak in our faces).

A porch. The approach to the building, from the road, will come to the front entrance, which will be on the north side of the house. I want a porch entrance, inviting, with plants. (always with plants!!)

Bay windows? A loft? I ponder and look at pictures and go off in fantasy. Reality is quite another thing.

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