An enclosed tiled courtyard. A wrap around home, with fresh air and sun in the middle with some - Casablanca dream - rough flowing simple shade apparatus.
Short of that, maybe an attractive high stone wall surrounding a small to medium sized tiled courtyard.
Again, some simple shade system. Nothing mechanical or motorized. A pole, pull on a track colorful cloth awning. One that can be taken down, washed and changed out. Different colors for different seasons.
A safe place for our boys (dogs) to hang out and breathe fresh air, and for their people (C&S) to sip cold drinks on hot days and hot coffee on cool mornings, with wool hats, wrapped in throws.
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A good sized open floor plan kitchen with a big island of some sort. A space to gather round. A space for a small group of family and friends to sit, have dinner and drinks. Come eat with us, party a little, and then - go home.
A comfortable space to lay out tapas, take out tapas picked up from a local favorite Mom & Pop Cantina, located just down the street, around the corner.
Ample counter space to prep, to dice and chop. A place to spread out plates and dishes, vegetables and meats, cutting boards, knives, cooking tools. Ample space for two people to work side by side and prep.
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At least three bedrooms, one to use as an office, two for sleep, two full baths. Modern bathroom fixtures and counters. An open layout walk in tile shower in one bathroom, maybe a nice soak tub, or even maybe a jacuzzi (??) in the other bath. Jacuzzis aren’t all that expensive, are they?
Nothing too formal or fancy. OK, maybe a little shmancy, but basically just warm tones, open space.
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A Den, I like the name, the concept of “Den”. Create Your Own - Den.
One wall, one Whole Wall, solid floor to ceiling, end to end, bookshelves. I love bookshelves.
Maybe one of those attached to bookshelf wall, a sliding ladder. A ladder of some sort to climb up and reach, the best books, on highest shelf. Old childhood stories. Forgotten classics. Way up high, dreams… cloud top treasure.
I want books. Old books. A few new books. Foreign language books. Curious books. I want to shop and pick up old books, marked up books, books with writing in the margins, notes scratched between the lines. Books that hold secrets, tell stories beyond their printed words. I want to stack shelves with books that hold wonder.
A big screen TV built into a nook in wall, hidden behind some sort of slatted pull down, like the ones used on old wooden roll top desks, but neutral in color, hidden space, blend into wall.
I don’t want to be “drawn” to SCREENs. I want screens to be available, but hidden. Screen time (in my ideal world) should be highly limited and deliberate. Monkey not See, Monkey not Do. Have screens. Hide screens. Limit screen time. Less screen time.
A couple of big plush armchairs with hassacks, is this wrong (?), should I not say this? Upholstered wombs.
Warm chairs that hug and hold you, wrap around you. You sit down and sink. And you want to sink and to - forever - stay there. To never get up again. To never get out.
Womb chairs. There. I said it. It IS right. It is perfect. And YOU want it. You can feel my words. You know what I mean. I nailed it. Gold medal. I connected.
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Good floor stand lamps for reading. Built in(to) wall and ceiling lighting for ambiance and function. A big coffee table, maybe with a shelf underneath to store throws and pillows. A couple of old carved wood side tables. Fine places to set book and drink, notepad and pen. Mantels for paper and ink. Maybe with lowly shelf for computer screens and phones. Perhaps they could be hidden in some pull off top, built into plush upholstered hassacks. Hide-aways.
Screens must know their place in My Perfect House. Screens, Come Only When I Call You. Otherwise, screens, stay away from me. Be gone. Hide. Screen - stay hidden.