Something useful for the holidays, perhaps?
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There’s always metamorphic furniture so the room can be transformed into an occasional guest room, but still retain the gothic aesthetic:
https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/metamorphic-furniture-the-original-small-space-solution-216606
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Those are great and really fun. For this purpose that last sofa bed would be perfect.
Our current guest solution is futon in the living room. It’s a black frame with a very purple cover.
I didn’t know about the more antique versions.
If you set it up right you could have space for a guest in the library or game room, that’s just seating most of the time.
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I bet you could squeeze an 88 key synth in there.
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Some richer Goths used stall-houses, bringing livestock into one room during the coldest parts of the winter. Would that help?
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I think we’re talking more about the Victorian neo-Gothic here.
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Puts me in mind of Greyhald Spold from Discworld, constructing an impenetrable box to hide from Death in… and forgetting to put in air holes…
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I love the idea of secret rooms.
But then I think about what happens when you’re chilling in your top sekrit command post and the house catches fire/collapses in earthquake/etc.
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I mean no space between the stones for erosion or drafts or such. Obviously, there’d be windows.
That’s why you include escape tunnels.
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Well then how are you going to hide from Death in it?
Silly.
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I sometimes wonder if the best option for people with sensory processing issues, photosensitive epilepsy, etc. might be to build our own communities to try to reduce exposure.
But we’d run into the general disability issue: the more we need, the less we can afford.
So first we need to build fully automated luxury space communism, then livable communities.
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My wife inherited this thingamabob from her father; who knows where he got it. I think it was built for use in a hotel in Denver, most likely from the late 19th century. It currently sits in our dining room. I occasionally glance at the mirror before I go out.
Note coathooks on upper corners. It’s basically a small self-contained washbasin/shoeshine stand/vanity. The shoeshine stand is down below:
And here’s how the sink basin folds down. There’s a reservoir tank up top that feeds into the faucet; the used graywater drains into the removable holding tank behind the shoeshine stand. And you can see a wee soapdish inside the front compartment of the fold-down basin.
And inside the upper cabinet is a shelf and space to hang some shirts, though it’s not very deep. Inside that velvet bag are my late father’s cremains, awaiting transport to his final scattering destination. Say hi to the Elsewherelings, Pop!
So this isn’t so much metamorphic as just a way to hide one’s morning toilette station inside a reasonably discreet piece of furniture. But I dig it. Just glad I don’t actually have to use it.
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Hide from Death? Pfeh.
I want to make Death hide from me.
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Usually my lottery winning daydreams don’t get this far, because I keep thinking about how amazing it would be to not have to work for anybody ever again.
I guess my ideal home would be somewhere near mountains, not too inaccessible, near enough to a decent sized city for a good variety of restaurants, shows and events.
Not too big a house. Relatively modern and green, stays cool in summer and warm enough in winter. A two-car garage that’s actually big enough for two cars. Decent sized kitchen (we have that now) with plenty of counter space and storage and a dishwasher that actually frickin’ works (we don’t have those things). Master bedroom with attached bath. A second full bathroom. Guest bedroom. A music room – cool and quiet, enough space for a few keyboards, some drums, my modular stuff, etc. A craft room with storage, workbenches, etc. for whatever we happen to be dabbling in at the time (painting, really basic carpentry, clay, jewelry making, etc.) A living room with enough comfortable seating. Screened porch. Screened swimming pool and hot tub. Patio area with a fire pit and a fountain. Decent sized yard for the dogs with a tall fence they can’t get over/under/through, and plenty of shaded areas. Garden, koi pond, a gardener/landscaping service to take care of stuff.
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That is just so delightful!
I can see the implied context: indoor plumbing is scarce, but people who know cabinetry (and have wood to work with) are plentiful. Plus travellers who are used to habitation a bit more established than what’s available.
This gives me ideas.
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This is an exercise I was taught in a workshop that I just took, so every day I am tapping into my fantasy home.
Common elements:
- Stone or concrete flooring that stays naturally cool and has radiant heat for cooler days
- Pool with infinity wall
- Comfort person to help me heal - massage me, take walks with me, make dinner with me - all our activities are really low key and mellow (my daughter’s fantasy includes this but they are all tigers; her tigers are also lifeguards)
- Passive heating/cooling
- Woods with a view or ocean front
- Super comfy and soothing furniture for sitting and lying
- Glass walls
- Privacy
- Nature noises only; otherwise quiet - no landscaping machines, no roads
- One level with everything completely accessible to all guests regardless of physical ability
- Small adjacent or adjoined building for guests with a small kitchenette so they can stay as long as they like - basically the same as a suite hotel layout but with more closet space and more cozy
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I wonder if the compound layout-- with walls on the outside and a small courtyard on the inside-- was an attempt to deal with urban noise bombardment.
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Not to minimize the astounding and almost-anachronistic accomplishments of the Inca, but I don’t want virtually seamless, I want seamless.
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But where will I find some Inca’s to build that?
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