Written on April 13, 2005

I'm cleaning up old computer files and I found this post that I wrote but never published. The file date was April 13, 2005.

I'm thinking a lot these days about moving. Naturally, this means I'm thinking about geography and a dwelling. Both of these things have always been a nice thing for me to daydream about and I've been daydreaming a lot more lately. I suppose because I'm finally at a place in life that it would be possible for me to turn the daydreams into reality. Maybe. So I think and think and read and look at things and daydream.

Today before getting on the plane, I was daydreaming about homes and geography. So I stopped by the newstand and persued the architecture and home decor magazines. Finally, one caught my eye - Dwell - www.dwell.com. Their tagline is "At home in the modern world." The issue I picked up focused on prefab housing. I've always been in love with prefab. The idea of it is just fabulous - building something that is easily assembled somewhere else. The freedom of it is appealing - you can put your house anywhere. The affordability is dreamy. And the design is typically very, very good. Everything I've read about prefab housing basically is that people who were sick of regular-looking boring American houses wanted something that was beautiful and affordable. So they went out and designed something of their own. I really enjoyed the article in this magazine about the FlatPak House by Charlie Lazor. He designed a house that was fabricated in pieces then assembled on site in about 6 months. It's modular, has a ton of windows, simple lines, and is built of realistic materials. He estimates he can build these houses in 4 months for approximately $140 a square foot. Sign me up.

I've always wanted a beautiful home. To me, contemporary houses are beautiful. I simply love boxy buildings. I want lots of windows and wide open rooms. I love the minimalist look, but don't want to sacrifice my lifestyle to obtain it. So I want cabinets that are built into the walls so you can put your stuff away. I like stained cement floors and throw rugs. My ideal house has to have a courtyard so you can extend the living space to outside. Blurring the lines between interior and exterior with floor to ceiling windows and a courtyard is ideal. I want simple, square rooms. I don't need anything huge as I only imagine this house for me and Tiger (and family visiting, of course).

My ideal geography for this dreamhouse is the desert. Ever since I lived in Lubbock for college, I have been in love with the desert. I long for dry weather. High desert is so beautiful to me. The sparseness at first glance yet deep richness when you look a little closer. I love warm weather and sunshine. I love flat land and the abundance of sky. I love rocks and cactus and sand. I adore the desert after the sun has gone down and the air turns cool. I wonder if my love of the desert has anything to do with the fact I was born in Alburqurque, New Mexico. It's in my bones.

For the past six months I've been thinking that if I get the opportunity to move to the desert, I will. If I get the opportunity to pick my dwelling, I will build a prefab house. I think it's time I start seriously researching prefab instead of just reading about it here and there. The high desert provides a lot of unique challenges for an economically viable house, which I have only a tiny bit of knowledge about. For instance, I recently learned that termites are a pretty serious problem in parts of the desert and it's advisable to keep wood out of the construction. Plus, wood simply doesn't hold up in the sun. That's is why you don't see wood fences but concrete walls. But that's all I know about house building in the desert. I have a lot to learn.