Objective of this Sub-Forum

Dear Meena,

Your new dream house sounds great! I wish you all the best with its construction and finish.
Don't you think it might be a little unwise to have rain water spluttering into the room if you avoid glass to the french windows? Give it a good looong thought :)
True, wanting to be close to nature is becoming everyone's ideal these days and it is great if it can be achieved.
As to the open plan bathrooms, it sounds very inviting. But I am a bit picky especially about bugs and insects and one has to assure me that they will not intrude my private space absolutely if I am to agree to such an arrangement!!
Once again, I refer to my sis and her recent holiday experience in Kumarakom, Kerala where she said the resort had open bathrooms in all the rooms and the pics looked fantastic with a coconut tree trunk shooting up to the skies next to the bath!
L, Kamla

Hey Kamala,

First congrats on starting an Ideal sub forum On Home! I seemed to have missed it, since you know why?....i have suddenly become a soccer fan and running around with friends catching the action on big screens and generally having a gala time. So actually no time for Home Sweet Home!( which happens to be in a mess today, by the way!?)
The best part always is in the beginning when we plan the house , build it to uit our need and pockets...ha ha! But the maintaining , uhm , well that's another beeeeeg task! I always feel that people in India are lucky with the availability of manual help, be it a servant , gardener or driver....but the stress one goes through in their absence has to be seen to be believed, ha ha! All from experience! I also recently shifted to a 5 bedroom house, which was actually not necessary , since most of the time i am sitting in ONE ROOM , ha ha...but the cleaning of bathrooms and vacuuming takes my life out...not to mention the gardening....so each to his own!

Anyway all wonderful posts till now, enjoyed reading everyone's views.
Lets continue with more ideas and thoughts on IDEAL HOME ! I am sure Kamala , you will rise up to the occasion!

My friend had built a double storeyed house in Ernakulam. It has a drawing, dining, one bedroom and kitchen in the GF and 2 bedrooms in the first floor. Stairs go in a semi circle from the dining area. There is a balcony and a small service area in the first floor. Flooring is marble. The dining room has a high ceiling, because of the stairs.
BUT, only my friend and hubby live there, they are issueless and they do not entertain much. Friend travels 45 km by train for work and leaves by 6 am, hubby leaves by 9. She comes back by 8, cooks dinner and cleanes the house before going to bed. It is difficult to get servants there, and the wages are very high too. So she does the cleaning- first floor one day and ground floor the next day. They both are strict clean people and spend their time cleaning, cleaning only. They have a phobia when people visit them, even close family is not welcomed much. We always feel very tense that we should not dirty the house.
I feel such living does not have much meaning. A tiny house can accomodate many people if the heart is big, what say? And such ornametal houses, which do not spread love and affection, is only a building and not a house and least a home.
With warm wishes,
varloo
PS- Vidya, what about your experiences in various types of houses? When is it coming up?

Hi all,

Thanks Kamla for the Hindu link. It was a great article. I totally agree with Ms. C's thinking. It is not practical to have such huge houses unless one is living in a joint family. But nowadays, with the nuclear family, it makes sense to go for smaller places. As Sudha rightly said, all of us living overseas, know the difficulty in maintaining the house with out help. Even with all the gadgets, it is difficult. Especially so with the young ones around. I feel i am constantly cleaning the house everyday. Wiping the walls clean of all the pencil marks , removing stains from the carpet etc........

But still, homes with aesthetic beauty appeal so much to all of us.

Meena, good luck with the new house. The idea of an open bathroom is very appealing. I have seen quite a few , but left to me, i would not go for it. I am conservative that way..

By the way, i love watching Home and garden TV. They have some great tips for everything.

Couple of website for home imporvement ideas, cleaning tips etc:

www.hgtv.com

www.diynetwork.com


More to come soon.

Vandhana

sorry Kamala, I messed up in my excitement.
we are undecided about the roofing part of our open garden - whether to cover it with glass OR to use grills for security. the french windows remain intact with glass. Thanks for the handy tip.

Vandhana, thanks for your wishes & for the links. Did peep in those websites & they seem to have so much in the offing. As for open bathroom, I can enjoy it when on a holiday; and to watch it on TV but personally a big no, no.

Varloo, I feel sorry for your friends. Both work & spend their life cleaning the house & no entertaining people - really sad. I've seen a handful of such people who built big houses but don't really enjoy them / share, etc....
with servant problem being the biggest problem now, its difficult to maintain.

Chitra, Yours was the most practical post on Ideal home. I think we were all going on a "high" ride discussing about the house & you did pull us down from our dream ride. This is why I always say, We need you around.

Sudha, our luck too seem to be fading. Its so difficult to get good maids / gardeners, etc. these days. when I was young, I remember we had a handful of maids & they were kind of part of the family. Now we don't get proper part-time servants. If there are more villas coming up on one side then there are equal no of apartment complexes. Most prefer to live in flats than individual houses - all reasoning out on maids / security problems, etc. Future definitely doesn't look good.

Hi Sudha,
Nice that you took a break to peep into this forum. I hope you did not miss a goal?!!
Thanks for the encouraging words Sudha. It is upto all of us to make this forum rock! So get busy after the football fever is done with:)
As you may have noted by now, not everyone gets lucky with manual help in India. Also it is true that pollution is high and the houses there need a lot more dusting and sweeping and swabbing ..even twice daily. We may not have that help , but we do not need to vacuum or clean everyday in the western countries. Also, we do not keep our windows open like in India and hence the dust is lesser. I prefer to do my work anyday myself instead of being dependant on the servants' mercy!
So what's growing in your garden..have you got a veggie patch?
A tip from me...is your's a laptop?? If so, carry it into different rooms on different days... that way, the rooms get to see you......ha ha ha

Love, Kamla

How true Varloo, a house which is only a show piece and a possession will never exude the warmth of a home. The sooner we realise this , the better for our family!
L, Kamla

Vandhana, while talking about links and tv programmes, have you watched the make over programmes? I love those where they come and take over your house and give it a face lift all the time keeping your wishes and taste in mind. I wish they can visit my home one day?!:))...On the other hand, no, thank you, I like whatever it is I have, bad or good, it is mine....!
L, Kamla

Now it makes sense to me! I got a bit worried:))

L, Kamla

Hi Kamla,

Yes I love the make over programs. My most favorite one is the Decorating cents where you get a new room for under 500 bucks. Some of the ideas are really nice. But i agree with you, i would never want anyone coming to my home to do a make over. I would much rather do it myself. In fact in the process of making over my son's room. Only the painting needs to be done, and iguess I will have to wait till the younger one is in school before attempting that. Other wise i will have blue colored carpets in no time!!

Vandhana