Someday, I dream of building my own home in the country. It's a pastoral dream, filled with ponies and haybales and verdant acres of rolling hills and dales. Ok, so it's not likely to happen, A) because Austin is too damn hot to be verdant, and B) because the prices for new construction make my eyes gog out like a cartoon character. And that horn sound happens, too. So, maybe what I need to do is cut the finishing costs on my dream home. I can live without fancy molding, polished concrete would be ok by me, and why not jettison the sheetrock while we're at it?
The Wall House by FAR architects does away with many luxuries to create an ultra modern space that hovers in the nether region of home/tent/cave. What I am not ditching in the name of cost are those windows, since I plan to lay in bed and watch the ponies graze my sun scorched estate all morning long.
OWI
Don't worry, I'll still take my books and cute furniture with me. Just cuz I'm living in a plywood hut doesn't mean I have to live like a nun.
I'm hoping the shower area will be a bit nicer, not that I don't find the rubber duckies and oceanic liner, uh, charming. This just looks like a mold factory in the making.
Well, that's better. Yep, those walls are plywood, cut and set in fancy pattern, so fancy that glorious lucite chandelier looks perfectly at home.
In living spaces, I appreciate the contrast in materials. This home of an art loving couple mixes high and low to the extreme. That console table would be an overwrought nightmare anywhere else; here it's kind of ironic. And the head is staring at me.
I found this beauty over at Roseland Greene. I've always liked wood on wood, but this is on another level. I have to say, the walls really set off the gorgeous credenza. Hmmm... everything looks better next to plywood?
Of course, if I tire of plywood in my country estate, I could always turn to particle board for a change of pace. What do you think? Grandma and Grandpa obviously approve, and I could just throw a bale of hay in the corner for the ponies.
It certainly looks like an aristocratic country estate, right? I might be a bit concerned about relaxing by the fire with a pipe, though. In any case, I'd double up on the fire insurance for this little tinderbox beauty.
Oh yes, I saved the best for last, yes I did. No joke -- I would move into this gorgeous Paris loft in a heartbeat. Except that I do not live in Paris. Wait, why do I not live in Paris, again?
I'll just steal the ideas for my future plans, because I bet this kitchen cost substantially less than my own remodel, and it's pretty fresh. Can you imagine it stained dark dark brown? Hubba hubba.
Sleeping under a big Texas sky with the ponies lowing in the fields below (ponies can low, right?), I would congratulate myself on living a modern life out in the country. As long as I can get HBO out there, I think I will be ok.