Dream House



As I get older, I find that I have a deep-seated desire to build my own home in the country. I call it my Edifice Complex. Of course, the economy has not been at all cooperative, so it may be tough to pull off.

But, I figure if I write about it, it stands a better chance of coming true.

The house above is in Bali. The New York Times featured a slide show of pictures of this amazing home.

My place would start with location. The place must have Redwood trees. That is non-negotiable. It would be great to have water and rocks as well.

As far as the architecture, I favor the work of James Cutler. He designed the home of Bill Gates, as well as a number of other places in the Northwest. His work uses a lot of wood and lets in a great deal of light. Cutler is also a master of placement - where the house sits on the lot.

Unfortunately, he might be outside my financial reach. There has been amazing progress in the area of prefab homes. I have seen a number of articles and examples. Perhaps I will try for one of them.

These homes offer all the things I am looking for - open floor plan, lots of windows and wood, and expansion possibilities. I would also love to convert a firehouse or an old bank building - the brick wall and high ceiling look is a favorite of mine. They can be hard to find, though.

What do you think?