I am quite aware that I am very privileged to live in this country, and to be one of those fortunate people who are not terribly poor and living on the streets. Indeed, I have an apartment, a relatively nice if boring car, and just today I purchased a double scoop of peanut butter cup ice cream in a waffle cone just for the sheer enjoyment of it. I am aware that I am lucky, I have my health and I have a place to live and possibly in a few weeks I will own a place to live - quite a bit larger than anything I've ever owned before.
Having said all of that, WHAT is wrong with architects today? WHY is everything on the market within my price range and ugly little cracker box? Why is there no sense of invention, art, or style about the houses on the market today? Oh sure, If I had a million dollars I could custom build something that would probably end up either being a rip-off of a Frank Lloyd Wright house, or something that looked like it was cooked up in Tim Burton's nightmares and would be completely unlivable, but it would be different .
I have gone out for several weekends now looking at houses and they all look the same. I suppose those trained in real estate or architecture would be able to point out the subtle differences in the various elevations - "Why this one has shutters dear!", or "oh, isn't this a cute Cape Cod style home?" By the way, Cape Cod style does not mean that it looks like something you would find at the seashore, it means the master bedroom is on the ground floor. Well, la-di-da. I'm sure people care about these things, and I admit that on some level I care about these things too.
After having been completely burnt out on seeing one crackerbox after another, just for kicks we went and looked at 1/2 million to million dollar homes, and you know what? They are no better than the more reasonably priced models. The only difference is that people stay out of your neighborhood through sheer intimidation, and the houses REEK of money. When you have a million dollar home and a Jaguar and a Hummer sitting in the driveway people can smell the money coming out of your house. All the potpourri in the world won't cover it up.
I really don't mind the more reasonably priced houses. I can't afford to hire a housekeeper anyway, so who wants to vacuum 6,000 square feet every week? What I would like, what I would BEG for, is a house with a little charm. Something that doesn't look like every other house out there. I have begun searching online for unusual homes, and I am having a hard time finding any. Sure, there are the standard houses that look like spaceships (go to: http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/remodeling/article/0,1797,HGTV_3659_1369251,00.html)
and a few other homes of note like the Hearst castle in California. Is there nothing else out there? Even finding them on the internet isn't that easy.
So, besides the usual bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen, what do you want in your house? If you could go crazy and design the perfect house for YOU, regardless of cost or homeowners association rules, what would you do? I'll have to think about this one myself. More on this later, once I come down from my ice-cream induced sugar high.