There Is No Place Like Home
They say "Tell me who your friend is, and I'll tell you who you are", "Tell me what books you read, and I'll tell you what kind of person you are". But my favourite saying on this topic is "Show me your home, and I'll tell you who you are". Though I wouldn't like to be judged that way, because I might not be the only person whose home is somehow different from what he or she is dreaming about.
I wouldn't say that a person who lives in an inaccessible bothy in the woods with minimum of furniture and lots of greenery inside is actually a recluse. He doesn't necessarily avoid people, he might just be looking for some fresh air to breath and freedom to do whatever he wants and not to be judged by his neighbours. And a log cabin does not necessarily mean the person lives there alone.
There is no bad home as long as somebody feels home there. Some people prefer quiet neighbourhoods and immense mansions, while others look for hectic places to live in, with narrow streets and bars bursting at the seams around. And from what I've seen, it's not always a question of how fat the wallet of an owner is. It's a question of choice. For instance, Montmartre is one of the noisiest areas in Paris, but the rent there is one of the highest in the city even for a decrepit musty studio apartment. And so is a rent in a quiet private part of 16th Arrondissement, a district of Paris. Tastes differ, and something that's fitting for you may look quite undesirable for another person.
Apostles of New-Age philosophy suggest that you should imagine your dreams in all the details to make them come true. So let me share with you the idea of my dream home. I would ideally have a big flat in the centre of a big city and a nice house with a panoramic view, for instance, on the seaside or the ocean coast. A secluded one if possible. Though with all that climate change thing and the tendency of natural disasters to threaten the coastal lines it might be very perilous. That's why I have a loft, that's my plan B.
My flat has very high ceilings, minimum four meters high because my place should be spacious. I'm not claustrophobic or something, I just like dancing and doing yoga at my place, and for that, my friends, I need some space. The huge windows stretching from the ceiling to the floor are free of any shutters or blinds to let the natural light fill the apartment, though some decorative drapes may suffice. Some part of the wooden parquet is covered with a carpet and lots of big cushions, but no tapestry of any sort on the walls because it frustrates me.
The kitchen is big and with lots of crockery and flatware in the cupboards because I adore cooking. And if my kitchen happens to be connected to a living room there should be a cooker hood to take all the smells off the stove. A big, round dining table is a must! But if not, I can always go for an Asian style picnic on the floor of my living room in front of the windows.
There is no TV set, but a big library with my favourite books and one of the walls is white to project movies on in the rainy gloomy evenings. One of the walls is red just because it's my dream to have a red wall in my flat. And don't judge me, my favourite colour is blue, and has always been.
I haven't quite decided yet on my bedroom, but there definitely is a bed with bed linen of a good quality.
As for flooring in places like kitchen, bathroom or toilet I prefer tiles to the lino. It feels spick and span to me that way.
Bathtubs are not very eco-friendly from the point of view of water consumption. And even though I'd like to have one, I'll probably opt for a shower cabin in my apartment. Then I have a bathtub in my house on the seaside, of course.
Actually, the same dreams I have about my cabin on the seaside. The most important is an uninterrupted view from my cabin's window that gives on the sea.
That's probably as far as my imagination can go right now. But nothing makes me feel more at home than a sort of creative mess I make around.
Vocabulary:
- inaccessible – difficult or impossible to reach
- bothy – a small simple house with one or two rooms
- log cabin – a small simple house made of logs in the countryside or in the mountains
- mansion – a large house, especially a beautiful one
- greenery – green plants that are growing somewhere or used as decoration
- recluse – someone who lives alone and avoids seeing other people
- immense – extremely large
- hectic – full of busy activity
- bursting at the seams – so full that there is no room for any more people or things
- decrepit – old and no longer in good condition
- musty – smelling unpleasant and not fresh
- fitting – suitable for a particular situation
- panoramic – a panoramic view allows you to see a large area of land or sea around you
- perilous – very dangerous
- drapes – curtains made of heavy cloth
- tapestry – a thick heavy cloth that has pictures or patterns woven into it. Tapestries are often hung on walls.
- flatware – knives, forks, and spoons that you use for eating with rather than for serving or cooking
- parquet – a floor made of blocks of wood
- flooring – materials such as wood or tiles that are used for making or covering a floor
- spick and span – very clean and tidy
