My post awhile ago regarding homeownership, apartment living, and our friendly neighborhood bat colony started me thinking about what it would be like to have unlimited resources to design and build a home. If I were designing my new home, I would …
… try for the landed “lord of the manor look,” i.e., heck why not go for a castle? Not a real castle, of course, with all that stone and dust, all those drafty floors and vaulted ceilings. But something very sturdy, lots of dark wood, ceiling beams, metal and tapestry hangings, etc. I would make sure it was totally bat proofed, bird proofed, and all-other-wild-critters proofed. Instead of stone flooring, I’d probably go either for quality wood flooring, heavy tiles (and I saw a place selling some nifty stainless steel tiles and copper tiles I would incorporate in the kitchen area and around fireplaces), and do it in some sort of “slip proof” surface for safety’s sake (my wife and I will be “Old Folks” in a few years; don’t want any falls).
… put my manor house on lots of forested land — but keep it within easy access of a 1) city, 2) mountain range, and, 3) ocean. Okay, I never said it would be practical, did I? Remember, I started all this with the caveat “unlimited resources.” I’ve never lived in or visited a part of the world which would meet all three requirements, though here in the U.S. I would be partial to somewhere in Washington state or Oregon. If I were staying near the U.S., I would go directly to Canada, specifically British Columbia, to scout out a location. Otherwise, if nothing suited me in the Pacific Northwest or Canada, I’d probably take my millions (billions?) and look for something suitable in Scandinavia or the British Isles. (Yes, I’m a cool-to-cold weather freak.)
Well, okay, none of this is likely to happen. But, a person can dream, can’t they?