Day 346. Wishful Thinking

I’ve wanted to live in a loft since I was about eleven or twelve years old.  I don’t know where I got the idea.  A real artist’s loft.  Not a modern take on a loft.  And it’s always alluded me.  I’m still wanting.  And waiting.  Not that I haven’t looked.

It’s not something I dwell on.  Certainly don’t think about it everyday.  But since reading Tuesday’s WordPress Daily Prompt, I can’t get it out of my mind:  “You win a contest to build your dream home.  Draft the plans.”

Yeah, what I’m talking about is in an old warehouse, or factory.  Twenty-foot ceilings, inside.  Minimum.  Brick walls.  A wall or two of big windows, preferably rounded at the top.  Concrete floors.  Or wide, scuffed up, old plank flooring.

They’re pretty big, too.  The lofts I’m dreaming about.  Anywhere from about fifteen or sixteen hundred square feet up to more than five thousand.  Don’t panic.  I don’t see myself in anything as huge as 5,000 square feet.  There was a time I did.  But I’m over that craziness now.

In an ideal world, I’d find something with ‘raw’ space.  In other words, nothing had been done to it.  I’d love to be able to create exactly what I want, rather than living with someone else’s ideas.

Some lofts are two stories, some even more.  My preference is to have everything on one floor.  And other than bathrooms and storage space, there’d be no other walls.

Obviously there’d be an open kitchen, with a large island, separating it from the dining area.  It would be terrific ‘prep’ space, a perfect spot for me to eat when I’m alone and a great gathering place for dinner guests to munch and drink and talk to me, while I’m cooking.  Instead of a laundry room, I’d have room to install a washer and dryer under one of the kitchen counters.

That’s the beauty of designing your own space.  You can put whatever you want, wherever you want it.

If you haven’t already visualized it, the dining ‘room’ would flow into the living room, which would flow into my office, which would flow into my bedroom.  I love my bedroom furniture, so I’m not looking to hide this area from public view.  But I think it would be nice to have some kind of room divider.   Something useful.

What I’d like to have, between my office and my bedroom, are floor to almost ceiling height bookcases.  There’d be two sets of them, backed up against each other. They wouldn’t go from wall-to-wall, there’d be space on either side.   On the office side I’d have all my work-related books, business books and some of my favourite novels.  And my office supplies, stored in interesting boxes.

On the bedroom side, I’d keep more of my favourite books, knick-knacks, collectibles, family photographs; stuff, in other words.  My memorabilia.  Reminders of the people who have passed through my life, the places I’ve visited, the things I’ve done.  I’d have a FABULOUS bathroom.  Big, huge soaking tub.  Equally huge glass-walled shower with a rain shower head AND a hand-held one, as well.  Double sinks.

Well, you never know.  I could meet the man of my dreams.

My bedroom would also have two of the most incredible walk-in closets you’ve ever seen.  Racks for shoes.  Cubby holes for handbags and hats and sweaters and T-shirts.  Hooks for belts.  Special drawers for lingerie and jewelry.  Separate hanging areas for dresses and skirts and blouses and pants and jackets.

Why do I need two?  The man of my dreams, of course.  And it’s good for re-sale.

Seeing as how this is a ‘dream’ home, I’d also like to have some outdoor space.  Nothing overly large.  Just a nice, terrace where I can have some green and some flowers.  Maybe a small water feature.  A place to have my morning coffee, while I contemplate the world.  A place to unwind at the end of the day, with a glass of wine.  A place to have dinner, with friends, on a lovely summer evening.

That’s just about it.  Ample coat closet.  A powder room somewhere near the entry way.  A broom closet; or, as my cleaning lady refers to it, her ‘office’.  A pantry.  A general storage area where luggage, for example, can be kept.  And guest quarters next door.  A separate bed/sitting room with a small kitchenette and a bathroom, fully furnished with a TV and everything else a visitor would need or want.  Like being in a hotel.

Only one thing left to do:  Move in.