Let There Be - My Next House

Not that I don't love my current house (I do), and not that I can afford another mortgage right now (I can't). I love my beautiful house which already retains most of the qualities I have ever wanted in a dream house. But bear with me, let my imagination run wild. Let me dream the dream, the dream of my next house. Big or small, let there be

- light. Supposedly, God created light on the first day. My next house has lots of large windows to bring in that first creation. If the property is wooded, clear a half acre radius around the house so no trees can cast shadows on or fall into the house. No need to dress the windows with curtains unless in the bedroom and TV area. Building codes usually do not allow an all glass house but design as much windows as the codes allow.

- privacy. Out of sight, out of mind. If I can not see my neighbors, I'm in the country of Ping, indivisible under God, invisible to Al-Qaeda terrorists and immune to swine flu. I'm a castle, a solemn nation, as indestructible as the United States of America and China combined. So the house should have more acreage than 1.5 acres where my current house sits because I still see the tip of the roof line of one neighbor from my house. Probably a 5 acre ground will do.

- sun and water. I love the sun. I love the sun so much that my parents named me after it. If it's in a sunny and warm tropical climate, it does not matter if my house is just a grass hut as long as it's on the water's edge that I can walk to the beach to swim all year round, and enjoy the warm breeze all day long. If it's not waterfront, it has to have an outdoor swimming pool (salt swimming pool with solar or heat pump heating, unlike my chorine pool with gas heating). Some water features around the house are nice to have too. They have to be far away from the yard though so I can add chlorinate in the water without the overflowing water damaging the plants. Lessons learned from my current ones.

- fire. Install at least two gas fireplaces: one in the living room so during Christmas season I can have the socks hung along the mantel (as seen on TV), the fire burning with the music playing in the background, and the aromatic soups cooking on the stove. The other fireplace is outside the patio by the pagoda. By the way, it can be a single fireplace facing dual sides inside and out. Even in the south, there are still a few chilly nights for outdoor sitting.

- double ovens in the kitchen. Double ovens are a must for a modern kitchen. I can cook my heart's content and party with my 100 closest friends occasionally (ok I'd admit to make that number I will have to go find all the homeless people on every corner of the streets and drag them home) without running out of the ovens to heat the food.

- granite slab countertops (with sharp contrast flowing colors instead of black color as I have now), stainless steel, or glass granite slab countertops. The kitchen opens to the dining area and living room with the hanging stainless steel chimney above the 6-burner gas stove and three hanging lights above the bar area.

- dramatic lighting. Make sure there is one beautiful light above the one-piece wood dining table that sits at least 12 (My current dining table sits 8. We had to patch it with another table during Thanksgiving dinners). Another group of lights hang low above the coffee table in the entertainment area. Lights should be considered a part of the art works too. How they look and where they hang define the dimensions of a space.

- grapevines. I love the big leaves and their curly vines. The grape fruits not only look and taste good but they also allow me to make home wines with the harvest. It's also such a romantic thing to drink wine under the thick grapevines with grapes hanging down. It would be nice to have a manageable mini vineyard.

- yellow bamboo. That thick trunked kind of bamboo trees roaring over 15 feet tall (as seen in China and in many magazines. Don't know where I can get them though). Plant a bunch of them on one side of the house. Use landscape spot lights to shine on them. Bamboos are one of my favorite plants (grass indeed). They are so low maintenance, yet giving a Zen look while allowing the soothing sound in when the wind blows.

- a romantic garden. The house is not a dream house without a dream garden. A best garden is to contain the essential plants to you and then let the nature do the job. Essential plants to me contain some climbers, herbs and purple/pink color flowers. Plant some disease-resistant China pink and white tea roses climbing along the arbors. Roses bloom for a long season, especially in the south. Plant some fragrant rose bushes surrounded by all sorts of herbs, and all my favorite plants including purple lavenders and hydrangeas. The rule of the garden is to repeat the same plants, and to group them so the garden has structures. Set the color tones to make sure they don't look too busy together. Pick some of the other native plants and scrubs to edge the garden. The garden should have more evergreens than perennials and annuals so the garden always looks good with or without the flowers blooming. Oh, I forget that this house is in the south. Never mind about the evergreens.

- minimum decors. The decors bring a combination of spa and hotel lobby feel, a feel of intimacy and openness. A large front wood double door opens up to a water fountain mirror in the middle of the entryway, dividing the living room from the entryway. Install some dimmer spotlights on the ground covered by glass along the hall way. Let the lights shine on the plants (cactus?) in the planters decorated with pebbles. The colors for all the walls are different shades of gray, white and a tint of lime green. The house is furnished in a minimalist style, leaving room for mental play and imagination. A minimally furnished house draws the eyes to the house, not the furniture. Need to place a few of large clay and wood sculptures and one stone Buddha statue, and hang a few extra large dramatic abstract painting canvases all through the house (I can pull some color paints on the blank canvases, Ola!) and a couple of framed Chinese watercolor scroll paintings (frame the ones I have). A splash of color comes from the art pieces, not the furniture or the wall.

- a round soaking tub or a claw tub.  Place it in the middle of the bathroom close to the large glass door opening to the outside. Modern and clean look European vanities (as seen in the Olympia Bath store). No door needed between the bathroom and the bedroom. Separating the two is a full glass tiled shower wall extending half way of the length. The roof right above the shower head is sky lighted so the sun shines through and you feel the warm sunlight on your skin when you shower. Sound also echoes well which is very important for someone who likes to sing in the shower.

- an outdoor hot-water shower and outdoor wired surrounding sound. Just as what I have now, the difference is since I live in the warm south, I can use the outdoor shower all year round. Outdoor shower is also one of the reasons why the property needs to be private.

I'm still dreaming so don't wake me up yet. Oh, last but not least let there be no mortgage. Let me match in and out of my bank free and clear, without feeling like paying visits to the real owner of my house. Let the epic battle against RMB yuan and US dollars be over. Once and for all, I'm free, free at last!

Oh, let there be. Let there be ...my next house!