I have this revolving daydream – a summer house / cabin / cottage – a retreat, where I picture myself dawdling, and maybe writing a bit, far away from my daily routines.
It has to be situated at a place where visitors are so scarce that getting a sporadic caller will be a pleasant event rather than a disturbance.
So I’m placing this house on an inhospitable former military training field which has been put on the market for budgetary reasons.
On the north side there is an air force base, and to the south an industrial area – none of them too close, just close enough to be something to rest my eyes on.
For some reason I imagine this place being located in Sweden.
In an attempt to get academical about my choice of location, there’s one thing that comes to mind:
During all my travels, I have never met a Swedish person that I didn’t like. I can’t really think of any Swedish man or woman I have met who I have disliked.
And, of course, there’s another thing: My distant great aunt was Swedish… I almost forgot.
She gave me a toy monkey for Christmas. That was the only time I saw her. After a hasty divorce from my grandfathers brother, she had no reason to hang around.
I have still got the ape. It’s called “Apan från Sverige” (the monkey from Sweden). It has push buttons on its hands so they can be attached together,
enabling it to hang from a branch, or, as it used to when I was a kid; hang on my bedpost.
Today the pushbuttons are worn out, and the limp arms are barely fastened to the shoulders.
(I guess that’s what happens to Swedish monkeys when they push thirty…)
Why construct an offbeat house?
Well, both because it’s a challenge and because it’s what I want – something designed exclusively for me – by me.
I’m not an architect, obviously, so there will certainly be a number of architectural blunders to point a finger at here, but this is how I would like it to be.
I know, placing the bathroom on the ground floor and the bedroom on the top floor might not be a brilliant idea, but I want my bedroom to a be sort of an eagles nest –
from where I can observe my surroundings at an elevated position.
Besides, I can’t remember the last time I had to use the bathroom at night.
Anyway; probably the best thing to be said about this project is that it will never be accomplished ( unless I should win some fortune in a lottery).
Okay,
so here goes:
In this post I will concentrate on the exterior.
The Scenery
The first image is a murky evening shot of the location, taken from behind the industrial plant.
In the background you can see the antennas close to the air field.
The bright teal-ish light in the upper middle comes from the swimming pool.
It’s not possible to spot the summerhouse itself on this downsized image, but the light from the swimming pool marks the location of the summer house.
Sunset – the road is narrow and bumpy.
The soft danish voice from the GPS tells me I have arrived at my destination.
Sommarstugan – as it is called in Swedish.
Evening.
A fire is burning in the fireplace – not because it’s cold, but it adds a nice, mellow light.
Early morning.
Autumn.
Still smoke from the fireplace.
The pond.
Clouds are forming – the wind makes the water ripple
A curious eagle on surveillance.
Visitors.
The poker house.
An old gazebo-like building that came with the property...
… as did the tennis court.
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In the next post I will show some interiors.
cec