Back in September, I took Kiddo#3 to a birthday part at a classmate’s home, and while there, I thought, “God? When I get to Heaven, this is how I want my house to look.”
Jesus said that in Heaven there were many mansions, so I thought it would be fun to share where we’re all going to live once we get there.
On earth, of course, our dream homes are limited by certain factors such as distance to family, cost, the fact that the locale you want doesn’t exist, and the need to commute to a job or drive into town to get groceries. I’m presuming Heaven will have none of those needs. (I’m willing to be proven wrong, of course.)
This house, for what it’s worth, was surrounded by woods. It was a two-story log-cabin style building, and you walked in to find cathedral ceilings and a central fireplace. The central fireplace is very important to me because it makes a house feel homier in my mind.
The bedroom upstairs was a loft, half the house. The kitchen was tucked under the stairway. There were hardwood floors and as far as I could tell, it had great acoustics. (Which could be either a blessing or a curse when I take real violin lessons in Heaven. Apparently violins don’t make sounds in Heaven until you’re at least at Suzuki Level Three, and that’s because God loves us. But I digress. There are very talented musicians in my life whom I would hope would play sometimes when they visited.)
I’d put it near a smallish-size lake where I could take out a kayak in the mornings, and in the lake I’d have a floating dock as well so I could swim out there and back again, or just lie on the water rocking with the lapping wavelets. And of course, there’d be easy access to a stable where I’d have my horse boarded.
I had a dream once where I saw my guardian angel’s home (that was cool.) In my novel Seven Archangels: Annihilation, the archangel Gabriel keeps a library. Saraquael has a tiny home that’s crammed with books and cats (and as a funny aside, the woman whose home I patterned it after recognized it when she read the book. She said it was fine if Saraquael lived with her.) In The Guardian, Tabris had a sparsely-furnished one-room log cabin above the frost line in a mountain range.
Now it’s your turn: if you had carte blanche for designing your own home, what would it look like? Location? (Or would it be on wheels so you could move your castle around?) Climate? Size? Furnishings? Special amenities that you’d have to have otherwise it wouldn’t be Heaven?
My dream house would be right in here in New York City. I can’t leave. It would be big enough to start a family…and have a nice backyard and place to fun. I am NOT a woodsy, quiet person. I need noise. Just me.
As for looks…I don’t like the modern design. Give me a colonial or tudor any day.
However, I would want it to be the most technologically advanced possible. Flat screens, Wireless Network, appliances…the whole nine.
And I would want a hot tub. And a home gym. And a poker room. When I was working for WPLJ, I used to play at a DJ’s house. He had a full size casino regulation poker table. That was SWEET.
Well, it being Heaven, I think we can twist the laws of physics, just a bit. There would be a king size bed, with a cozy night stand. The night stand would be so small you could lay your arm across it, and it would hold a huge library, only showing the book I wanted at any one time. In the living room there would be a nice rocking chair and a castle wheel. Next to the wheel would be a small wicker basket that held 2,000 pounds of fiber. Next to the chair would be a matching basket that held at least an much yarn. Whatever I wanted would just come to my hand.
In the back would be a swimming pool that could convert to an ice skating rink at the touch of a switch. The innermost room would be soundproof, with high grade video and audio recording equipment, a bible that opened to whatever passage I needed, and a wifi connection that didn’t drop mid-interview.
The craft room would have a good sewing machine, an abundance of knitting needles, a quilt mat with a rotary cutter, and a perfect southern exposure.
The tea room would convert from British style to Japanese style at the touch of a switch, and would have the kind of tea/coffee assortment I stock now, only it would never run out of Jamaica Blue Mountain on the coffee side, or macha on the tea side. It would size to the company, so two people over would yield a cozy room, when there were twenty guests, it would be big enough for a party.
Every room would face East, so that I could listen to the channels Sirius has on satellite but not wifi connected, even the craft room, which would have a southern exposure for lighting. The inner recording room doesn’t need that.
And there would be no telephone. My cell phone and Skype are more than enough.
In
Oh, yeah, there would be a visiting quilting teacher. This would be a person who loves to teach quilting, and who would show up to teach quilting classes in my craft room. I’d have lots of friends over, and we’d learn to quilt together.
I’d be a visiting knitting teacher to show up to teach knitting classes for other residents of Heaven.
Oh, and we’d have a very happy pet musk ox in the back yard.
I’ll go with Ivy about the rules of physics.
Each kid gets his own room, large enough for play area, with enough shelves that putting things away is easy (but even in Heaven I don’t think getting them to actually do it will be easy), and extra dimensions so they don’t have to disassemble their tracks / planets / doll houses to put them away. Not an infinite number, since taking things apart is good preparation for the next use, but you get the picture. The rooms will also have desks. Big desks, so you can spread out properly (and actually reach the book that got shoved way over there); similar multi-dimensional aspect.
Sound proofing. Lots of sound proofing.
Computers in main rooms so we can monitor kids’ internet, but see above comment.
Computer and networking guru on instant call. Compatability issues will be a thing of the past, and I can relax, assured my network and computer and everything else are fully protected from the latest, and oldest, nasties.
Totally wireless. I hate dusting around wires. For that matter, dust bunnies that march out the door by themselves. I wouldn’t have it self-cleaning. I finally have things almost under control, and it feels good to say, “I did that.”
I’ll get a duplicate of Ivy’s nightstand and library and craft room. Similar craft basket. Drop something in, and the needles get sized and sorted. Mending basket always has the right needle and thread on top.
In the country, but walking distance of everywhere (except places I spend too much money). A bit of a drive to the grandparents, so visiting them is special. The school will be half a mile away, so my daily routine has exercise.
A magic laundry chute. Drop clothes down, and they reappear in closet — but not instantly, since the kids need to learn to plan. Too small (or otherwise unworn) clothes would disappear from the closet and reappear in the charity shop.
Timers. They’d never go off in the middle of picking up a stitch, but when they do go off they’d actually make me do what I’d planned.
A meeting and storytelling room. Cosy, but also large enough to host a concert. Heaven-space connected to craft rooms and libraries of everyone there.
I’ve already got my violin teacher lined up, but you can come over and teach me quilting afterward. 🙂
You need a stash room that also changes size and dimension to accommodate 45 million skeins of yarn.
Jason, I’m hoping to get to Heaven so I never have to live in NYC again. 😉
Given that in Heaven you get to mess with the laws of physics, I would say the scenery and rooms would change as I need them. But a few ideas:
Japanese-style, lots of huge windows and natural materials. Being that Heaven has perfect weather, I wouldn’t need insulation, maybe shoji screens to keep out late afternoon sun, but that’s it. Floors would be hardwood or tatami, walls painted in traditional Japanese teahouse colors (matcha or terracotta), and ceilings would be wood.
There would be a huge art studio with a high ceiling, state-of-the-art sound system and lots of natural light. And maybe I’d learn to paint in it.
Scenery would be green, with lush foliage, distant mountains and sparkling ocean.
There would be an impressive wine cellar.
The house would be connected to a central communal library with glass ceilings and a tree growing out of the center of it.
The bathroom would be huge, with an onsen-style tub large enough for ten people and fed by a natural spring and waterfall.
And of course, there would be easy access to a boarding stable and a private airstrip.
And cats. Lots of cats wandering about.
The first room I thought of was the library: floor to ceiling shelves with one of those sliding ladders. Overstuffed chairs that are comfortable; good lighting.
The house would have to be near a body of water. A lake for kayaking would be nice, but I also enjoy the ocean. A hot tub that turns into a waterfall to a lap pool. Close enough–and large enough–to have friends and family over, but with hiding spaces for when I need time and space alone.
Redwood trees and mountains to hike in. Room for all the pets I’ve ever owned: dogs, cats, fish, hamsters, turtles–even DS#2’s mice. And they would all get along and be in their prime.
As for my craft room: I’m into rubber stamp art, papercrafts, and calligraphy which all seem to require large, uncluttered surface areas, yet have any and all needed supplies immediately to hand.
And how could I be happy without music and stories and room to dance?
I’m blogging a response FOR sure. It’d be too long to put it all in here!
Thank you for these Monday topics, btw. They help me get focus and inspire me to write! Even when I’m a couple of days late….
P.S. I’ve asked my gaurdian angels to say hi to yours tomorrow. May you have a blessed day.
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