227. into white...
i built my house from barley rice,
green pepper walls and water ice,
tables of paper wood, windows of light,
a simple garden, with acres of sky,
with everything emptying into white....
c. stevens
i was discussing houses with a close friend last night, and i was reminded of my own plans for my country home (note the descriptive term, there will not be just one)
i want a barn conversion, long, wide and tall, a proper hay barn. the central section will be full height, with glass ceiling, and a huge 3 sides of sofas. the remainder of the usual sorts of downstairs rooms would be at each end of the building - dining room, kitchen, study, library, snug. above those would be the bedrooms, one end for the master/mistress bedroom, walk-in wardrobe, wetroom with a double bath, and a shower head 3foot by 3foot, like you were standing in the rain. the other bedrooms above the other end.
but it's the little details i love, the huge banquet table that lifts out from the floor under the main room, complete with bench seating, for the serious dinner parties, the huge 6foot open fires at each side of the main room, the curtain system that allows it to be open plan, but closed off easily, the liquid crystals in the glass roof that allow it to be opaqued at the press of a switch, the spiral staircases up to the top floor, the full wonderful audiovisual delight of the snug, and the complete absence of a tv in the main room, designed purely for enjoying company.