Dream Home: Part I

Well, it’s in the foothills somewhere. Not exactly the mountains, but they’re there. Right where I can see them. It’s a place that doesn’t see snow often because I hate the cold.

The house has a sort of rustic “log cabin” type feel to it, but it’s a multi-storied house. Probably cedar. Stone fireplace/chimney. The hearth is a half-circle, also of stone. The floor in the living area and the kitchen is split-brick. However, there’s a nice, big Turkish rug in the living area to add some warmth to the room.

Leather couch and chairs, probably in a neutral color or a rich brown. Simple but elegant. I want it to feel warm, welcoming, and comfortable.

There will be a library/study. There should definitely be a window in the library. Maybe a bay window, the kind with a seat in it. The walls are lined with shelves to hold an obscene amount of books. Wooden desk. Elegant in a lawyerish sort of way. Big leather desk chair—must have wheels and spin.

There will be a separate, smaller office space somewhere in the house for filing cabinets and the desktop PC(s), probably upstairs.

There will be a game room on the ground floor, directly under the master bedroom. This is because there will be a compartment at the back of the “his” walk-in closet—this must have a door that closes it off—because it contains a fire pole that makes for expeditious access to the game room. However, the pole shaft & landing are concealed behind an unobtrusive panel, which swings outward into the room when pushed. Strong magnetic closure makes it very difficult to open from the outside. (This satisfies my intense desire to have a “secret passage” of some sort in my house.)

The game area will have a pool table. It will also have shelves and a table for board & card games. It will also have a couple of chairs so guests can sit and read if they want.

The game area has a sliding panel that opens to a spiral staircase that leads down into the basement-level entertainment room. There is also regular access to this room via a door that opens to the rest of the basement area.

This basement entertainment area houses a large, flat-screen TV mounted on the wall, surround-sound sound system with various music players—including a turntable for records. Let’s not forget the gaming consoles, either. My PS2 and PS3 will most likely be sitting right next to an XBOX (probably due to some male presence or another).

The living area is going to open to the dining room, for which I haven’t made specific plans yet. I don’t really have any details worked out for my kitchen yet, either. I’m hoping to have input here from a man who likes to cook. Then I can persuade him to come cook for me sometimes. ;)

There will be a small sun room with porch/terrace-ish furniture (probably wicker) and a small fireplace in it (once again stone). The chimney is built into the wall of the regular house so it doesn’t mess with the structure of the sun-room.

Guest rooms will be in the basement.

The master bedroom and bath are upstairs. That’s as far as I’ve gotten with the planning in that direction, but it’s up next, for sure.

I write like
Cory Doctorow

I Write Like by Mémoires, journal software. Analyze your writing!

"Hello? Hello? I think the phone just went dead..."

"Hell no, dude. We need to get out of here. I've seen this movie."

Alice slammed the phone back on the base and grabbed her purse. "I know I don't say this often enough, but you're right. Let's go."

"Way ahead of you," Ginny barreled for the back door with her friend right behind her. They heard the front door get smashed open as they bolted into the wet grass at the back of the house.

Alice slipped and went down in the mud, cursing all the way. Ginny hauled her up by her dress's skirt and they staggered to the back gate as they heard the racket of the house being ransacked.

"What the hell did you do," Ginny panted as they burst through the gate and hauled butt down the street.

"Nothing! At least, nothing I know of!"

"Wait a second, why are we not in a car?"

Alice tugged on her friend's arm. "Because both our cars are out front, and we don't know how many of them came to the house."

Prompt from The Writer's Book of Matches, page 154.

I write like
J. K. Rowling

I Write Like by Mémoires, journal software. Analyze your writing!