Sure, not everyone has the time to design an amazing vacation home like I do. But then again, most people have real jobs and work for a company that wants them to produce a measurable amount of productive work. I, on the other hand, am a slave to myself and, frankly, my own worst nightmare as a boss. I show up late, watch funny cat videos (with my co-worker Mr. Whiskers), and drink on the job (while operating heavy machinery). Well, if you count my desktop as heavy machinery….
So you can imagine how I quickly jumped onto the chance to read a recent article from The Washington Post titled “Three Tips to Avoid Headaches when designing a vacation home”. I won’t ruin the article for you but the first tip is to be wealthy enough to afford a vacation home you can design. That wasn’t one of the tips but it should have been because who has a the time and money for a vacation home?
Now, I have designed numerous vacation homes in my mind, and have even made drawings in my sketchbook (of lost hopes and broken dreams) so that I don’t forget my ideas. My designs vary from the recycled 20 foot ocean crossing storage container home, to the midrange 1000 SF cabin, to the 5,000 trilevel overlooking Lake Chelan. In fact, half of my future vacation home will be a “man cave” in the style of industrial chic while the other half will be whatever my wife wants. Really, we both have to live there together so I have to be sure to make her happy. Because we know if she isn’t happy, then I won’t be happy.
My next thought is: Is this a “vacation” home or my “retirement” home? Are they one in the same? Because I basically hate people, I would like a home out in the middle of nowhere. A small town or city feel to it. I really don’t want to be social. One other idea: I’d like to have an outbuilding that is a simple Japanese style dojo. Which then makes me wonder if I should have a home with a courtyard in it and thus more in the style of an Asian country home.
As an introvert, living in a rural setting would suit me fine. Yes, I do like to hang out with dear friends so my vacation home will need a few guest bedrooms. Or better yet, cottages for guest to visit.
In the meantime, I’ll work and see if I can’t finish the rest of my working career.
