Dream Home

OK-as much as I think I want a gold-encrusted palace, complete with grand staircase and seashell bathtub, I have to admit that my perfect husband and I are probably not going to make enough money to pay for the staff to clean it. I really would like to have a palace with a ballroom and chef, valet and groom; but I will be realistic on this post.

I will need a home that is:

a) easy to clean

b) has no carpet

c) has a porch with a swing

d) has many windows

I think those four demands are easy to meet. After all, we do live in the Midwest.

Did you know that Emily Post wrote a book on houses called The Personality of a House: The Blue Book of Home Design and Decoration? It is amazing and I highly recommend it. It is SO practical that it affords one the creativity of Picasso, after all possibilities are known. It talks about how much room you'll need for the amount of guests you intent to host regularly. It mentions how to drape curtains in order to make a window appear larger. I seriously cannot believe such an awesome book exists!

So, anyway, I got some ideas from that and all of the years my mom got "Better Homes and Gardens," and have come up with a practical blueprint.

We will most likely be living in or around Cincinnati. Drew and I want to live in the country unless we get a really nice place by the river, allowing for a city row house, turn of the century three-story, or loft. I want people to come visit us a lot and stay over for the weekend so we'll need extra bedrooms. We need a place for all of Drew's stuff, the books, and cat boxes. I want two full baths and a basement would be nice. The house has to be animal-proof/safe with skylights for them to warm themselves under. Even though cleaning windows is a big pain, I want a lot of them so light can come into every part of the rooms. I don't want carpet because of cat hairballs. I like wooden and comfortable furniture, shaker or distressed style. I like quilts, paintings, and large glass-work.

Of course if we were to live in a different climate all of this would change.

I would want the outside to tell what the inside style is. The highest compliment someone could give my house is to call it "comfortably, magically, unconventional."