Life in the Sunshine

If I could build a house with unlimited funds it would be in a tropical place. Somewhere where you wake up and automatically go outside. Being born and raised in Canada I've been bracing for cold air my entire life. I don't like winter and the thought of it approaching and not being able to escape this year fills me with dread. Growing up I had a list of hot countries that I wanted to travel to. I tacked pictures of thick jungle up all over my bedroom walls and fell asleep listening to a cassette tape of rain forest sounds. My first trip to Mexico was exactly what I had been dreaming about. I walked out of the airport and the heat and humidity hit me and that was it. I've been spending as much time as I can in the sunshine ever since.

To build my dream home I'd spend a year traveling the world looking for the perfect spot. It would be on a hillside surrounded by jungle but overlooking the ocean. The house would be multiple floors so I could be in the treetops and on the ground at the same time. I love modern architecture, but I also love the open and airy tropical style, so I'd combine the two. The main structure of the house would be concrete with walls of glass to let in the natural light. To the front of the building where the tropical breezes blow in it would be open to the weather.

I'd have two buildings side by side connected by a bridge like Frida and Diego's house.

One side would be the house and the other would be a replica of a New York City loft. The bridge would be the portal between these two completely different worlds.

I would build an artist space with exposed brick on the walls and high ceilings. It would have the feeling of an old factory or repurposed warehouse. Here we could paint and build things. I'd have a potter's wheel and a kiln. I'd make a dark room for developing photos. Any creative idea we had we'd have the room to do it, but we'd also have our own creative spaces.

Facing the ocean my husband would have an acoustically perfect, soundproof music studio so he could record and make music at any time of the day or night.

I'd have a place where I could write, a quiet office in the trees.

The front of the house would be mostly glass. The glass would be storm proof and could turn from clear to opaque if we wanted to "close the blinds" in a sense. I'd want to let as much nature and sunlight in as possible.

I love to watch, and photograph birds and I love how loud and colorful tropical birds are. Having huge windows and an open to nature design would be like living in a reverse birdcage. Rain would be magical in a glass house as well.

The house would be full of family and friends so mealtime would be a social event. I love to barbecue, and I've always wanted a kitchen where most of the cooking is done outside.

The outside part of the kitchen would have a large table for family and friends to eat together. The inside would be casual and easy to hang out in.

The master bedroom would be surrounded by sliding glass doors so we could sleep with them open or closed depending on weather. Being woken up by sunshine and birds is a beautiful way to start the day. The glass would be storm proof and turn from clear to opaque here as well.

I love swimming in the ocean so I would have a private walkway that would lead from our door, through the jungle to the ocean. I can see sandy children running up the path after a long day at the beach. As the sun begins to go down twinkling lights would light up the way.

When I was really little we had an outside, solar heated shower inside of a solarium. I remember it being one of my favorite places. I'd have one, open to the air where we could wash the sand and salt water off after being at the beach.

After a full day of art, food, and beach we'd pick a movie and watch it in our screening room. This is my dream home and my dream life.