One of the following statements is true:
- Our house is called La Casa Perfecta for good reason. It is light, spacious and airy. All the rooms exude a feeling of peace and tranquility. Much thought has gone into the materials and crafting of both the building and its contents. It has been carefully designed so that its occupants achieve a strong sense of energy and well-being. Everything about the house is beautiful and life-enhancing.
- La Casa Perfecta is a 1960s bungalow in a cul-de-sac of similarly ugly bungalows. The rooms are tiny boxes filled with junk and there is so little light that everything in it withers, including us.
- La Casa Perfecta is a comfortable family home with an informal atmosphere in which everyone can relax and be happy. The house is simply decorated and nicely furnished, as well as being admirably energy efficient.
How did you get on?
And now to the garden of La Casa.
Here is Burlington Bertie looking out onto the garden in spring. You will see a couple of benches facing south onto the valley.
Here is Burlington Bertie looking out onto the garden in spring. You will see a couple of benches facing south onto the valley.
This is the view which causes La Casa visitors to oooo and ahhhh.
Here is the same view in winter, when the benches are covered in snow and the willow tree is a glorious shade of orangey red.
This also causes visitors to oooo and ahhh but that may be due to the fact that La Casa has no central heating. It does have a woodstove though.
If you turn your head around and look northwards you get an entirely different view.
See what I mean?
Keep focusing on the view to the south. Or east. The view to the east is very nice too. Here is our purple bench, which faces east.
There are magnificent rainbows over the marsh, reminding us that La Casa Perfecta really is somewhere over the rainbow.
Here is the same view from La Casa's sundeck, facing east.
Oh yes, we have a sundeck. Because Paradise Island has such a lot of sun.
Some summers it gets so hot that our benches spontaneously combust.
In the interest of balance though, the same bench gets a lot of rain.
Here is the marsh looking like The Slough of Despond.
You could do worse than look to the west, where there is a little summerhouse furnished with, guess what, a couple of benches. In spring the summerhouse is smothered in cascades of clematis flowers.
Oh yes, the westerly view is very pretty indeed.
Moving on down the garden now towards the three veg patches where we grow enough to
Before the orchard there is a substantial rose garden filled with an abundance of blooms from which I make amazing pot pourri in a full array of colours. No, just joking. There are five roses in total.
Near the roses you'll see a little pop-up bench from Ikea which folds up nicely and can be set up anywhere. It has even been known to pop up at festivals and no doubt has its own stories to tell. Another time perhaps. I'm still trying to show you La Casa's garden.
Here is the garden in October a couple of years ago.
A few things have changed since then though. For example the willow tree has got completely out of control and Frank, our pleasant pheasant, has flown away to the great Peanut in the Sky
The picnic benches have got in a bit of a muddle.
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| Picnic Tables by David Brooks, my photo |
Also, benchwise, we have some new benches; one small, one large, one yarn bombed.
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| http://uncustomary.org/ |
And last Christmas His Excellency mistook my £20,000 designer log bench for an ordinary log.
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/nov2874/15267764389 |
Don't judge him.
It was Christmastime. We needed a fire.
But enough of all that. To end this tour, here is the garden in all its glory at the height of summer.
And finally, you may notice how, by focusing entirely on the garden and the oooo-ahhhh view at La Casa Perfecta, I have carefully avoided showing you anything at all of the house.
So the question remains: is La Casa really Perfecta? Or did we just buy the house because the garden is so amazing?
OK, it's not great but my two husbands are working on it.
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| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodworking |
They just need to get their workbench in order and then they can proceed.
There is quite a lot to do.
And neither of them are keen on DIY.
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| War of the Worlds 1906, Henrique Alvin Correa |
They're working on the bathroom, which at present is not serviceable.
Eventually we'll have a nice toilet bench in there.
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| http://www.flickr.com/photos/guenther_haas/ |
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| Antique copper tub and Nottingham Brass |
IF we can get it up the stairs.
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| Art Nouveau staircase 1906, Ede Magyar |
In the meantime, we're using the ensuite.
Yes, you may have noticed there's a witch in there but we've got used to it.
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| www.etsy.com/shop/travelingoz |
Yes, you may have noticed there's a witch in there but we've got used to it.
Some of the rooms aren't ready yet. The floor scrapers are working in here.
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| Les Raboteurs de Parquet 1875, Gustave Caillebotte |
I don't even know what this room is going to be. We call it The Orangery.
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| Interior Brøndum's Annex 1918, Anna Ancher |
In the living room we'll have a grand piano bench.
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/tonz/2681073341 |
I love to play the piano.
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| Nude Playing the Piano 1915, Frank Snapp |
There's a comfy sofa/bed bench in the living room . . .
. . . and a not-so-comfy bed in the bedroom.
Sorry, I haven't made the bed yet today. I've been hanging the laundry out on the peg bench.
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| www.etsy.com/shop/LoveFurnitureDesign |
. . . and a not-so-comfy bed in the bedroom.
Sorry, I haven't made the bed yet today. I've been hanging the laundry out on the peg bench.
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/olga-d/33616424612/ |
Our pink sheets are best when they're line dried.
In the spare room I don't bother to match the volours
Bedroom 1909, Wassily Kandinsky
We also have a guestroom but it's no Taj Mahal.
Here at La Casa Perfecta our beds are so uncomfortable that our overnight guests seem to prefer benches.
We've just about finished the hall though. I just need to pop some decoration in there; it's a bit plain.
Here at La Casa Perfecta our beds are so uncomfortable that our overnight guests seem to prefer benches.
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| http://www.flickr.com/photos/ddrmaxgt37 |
We've just about finished the hall though. I just need to pop some decoration in there; it's a bit plain.
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| Opera Garnier, Paris, Charles Garnier |
And the dining room is fine. . .
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| My Dining Room 1909, Wassily Kindinsky |
. . . athough His Excellency thinks I need to tone down the colours in there.
Maybe something like this?
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| Interior with afternoon Sun 1895, Georg Nikolay Achen |
Well, there's just one more room to show you.
This is the kitchen at La Casa Perfecta.
If you're passing, come on in and have a coffee.
I can offer you a seat in the coffee cup benches.
Excuse the table though, it needs mowing.
Credits
La Casa Perfecta is perfectly situated in Fribble-under-Par on Paradise Island. Paradise Island is hard to find on the map, but it's not a million miles from the Isle of Wight. For more about Fribble and its unusual inhabitants, see Who's Who in Fribble-under-Par.
The north-facing view of the garden is an old internet image. All other photographs were taken by Miggy or my husband, His Excellency, or Miggy's Mum.
Ton Zilstra from Enschede in the Netherlands describes himself as a networked individual in a networked world. His photostream is admirably full of benches, including some stunning beach bench huts. He saw the grand piano bench at Queen Anne Park in Seattle in 2008.
Obviously Mungo and His Excellency are not ancient Egyptians. This image is from 1350-1300 BC, showing grave-chamber painter and sculptor Nebamun Ipuki. Woodworking is shown in many ancient Egyptian drawings and ancient Egyptian furniture is preserved in tombs. Ancient Egyptians invented the art of veneering and used varnishes and woodworking copper tools such as axes, chisels, saws and bowl drills. Dowels, pegs, and leather or cord lashings were used for joints. The photo and text here come from The Yorck Project in Germany via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodworking
Nov2874 has some lovely photographs in his Ride Around the Countryside album, including the burning log in the fireplace, photographed in 2014. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nov2874/15267764389 I am pleased to say that this log is not the expensive designer log bench I purchased in Japan. Phew! That's twenty thousand pounds saved then.
Guenther Haas took the picture Secondary Roll at the European Juggling
Convention 2011 in Munich in which he participated as a juggler. He also took Johnny on the Spot, the little guy who looks to me like a construction worker hanging from a crane. Guenther describes himself as a hobby photographer, mainly interested in long exposures, light painting and other exceptional or experimental, maybe even artistic, photography. Check out the light paintings and bulb pictures folders in his Flickr photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/guenther_haas/
The unusual bath tub is copper with decorations of Nottingham Brass. Not very practical but lovely nonetheless.
This is the kitchen at La Casa Perfecta.
Looks like breakfast is almost ready.
I can offer you a seat in the coffee cup benches.
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| https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Benches_in_Kiev |
Excuse the table though, it needs mowing.
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| http://hairkocornelissen.com |
Credits
La Casa Perfecta is perfectly situated in Fribble-under-Par on Paradise Island. Paradise Island is hard to find on the map, but it's not a million miles from the Isle of Wight. For more about Fribble and its unusual inhabitants, see Who's Who in Fribble-under-Par.
The north-facing view of the garden is an old internet image. All other photographs were taken by Miggy or my husband, His Excellency, or Miggy's Mum.
Ton Zilstra from Enschede in the Netherlands describes himself as a networked individual in a networked world. His photostream is admirably full of benches, including some stunning beach bench huts. He saw the grand piano bench at Queen Anne Park in Seattle in 2008.
Obviously Mungo and His Excellency are not ancient Egyptians. This image is from 1350-1300 BC, showing grave-chamber painter and sculptor Nebamun Ipuki. Woodworking is shown in many ancient Egyptian drawings and ancient Egyptian furniture is preserved in tombs. Ancient Egyptians invented the art of veneering and used varnishes and woodworking copper tools such as axes, chisels, saws and bowl drills. Dowels, pegs, and leather or cord lashings were used for joints. The photo and text here come from The Yorck Project in Germany via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodworking
Nov2874 has some lovely photographs in his Ride Around the Countryside album, including the burning log in the fireplace, photographed in 2014. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nov2874/15267764389 I am pleased to say that this log is not the expensive designer log bench I purchased in Japan. Phew! That's twenty thousand pounds saved then.
Guenther Haas took the picture Secondary Roll at the European Juggling
Convention 2011 in Munich in which he participated as a juggler. He also took Johnny on the Spot, the little guy who looks to me like a construction worker hanging from a crane. Guenther describes himself as a hobby photographer, mainly interested in long exposures, light painting and other exceptional or experimental, maybe even artistic, photography. Check out the light paintings and bulb pictures folders in his Flickr photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/guenther_haas/
The unusual bath tub is copper with decorations of Nottingham Brass. Not very practical but lovely nonetheless.
The gorgeous Art Nouveau staircase is called Reok Palota and it was built in 1906 for a building in Szeged, Hungary. The designer was architect Ede Magyar (1877-1912).
The Floor Scrapers (1875) was a very controversial artwork in its time. While painting royals, wealthy people and peasants was acceptable, painting ordinary working people was considered vulgar. This painting was rejected for the Paris Impressionist exhibition in 1875 but shown a year later, where it caused a stir. The artist is Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894). He painted Impressionist work that was more Realist than his fellow painters, and he also had an interest in photography.
The painting of the nude woman playing the playing the piano was done in 1915 by American illustrator Frank Snapp (1876-1927).
The empty room flooded with light is the annex of the Brøndum's place in Skagen in Denmark, painted in 1918. This was the home of artist Anna Ancher (1859-1935) before she married her fellow artist Michael Ancher (1849-1927). Both artists were part of the Skagen Community and produced many portraits and landscapes of this special place.
Peter Lambeseder in New Jersey believes that everybody deserves a second chance- even furniture. Saddened to see so much furniture with potential going to waste, he decided to start a furniture rescue, including the smart looking French provincial bench made from a headboard. LoveFurnitureDesign is his etsy shop at www.etsy.com/shop/LoveFurnitureDesign. The L.O.V.E bit stands for Limited, Original, Vintage, Eclectic.
The sleeping seal was photographed by Arun Venkatesan http://www.flickr.com/photos/ddrmaxgt37 Let Mikey the Mariner show you some brilliant ocean benches from around the world, or even just boats, or mermaids.
Olga has a whole album of photos from Belarus, including lots of photos of the interesting benches in the park in Gomel. Gomel has 11 parks and 58 public gardens and they have really gone mad on creative benches. One of them is the giant clothes peg bench shown in the story. There are also dice, an XYZ bench, a pencil bench, and a bench involving cheese and a mouse. And speaking of mice, Olga has photographed many lovely cats. https://www.flickr.com/photos/olga-d/33616424612/in/album-72157678371283153/
The yarn-bombed bench is from from Mary, who customarily celebrates all kinds of things, including benches http://uncustomary.org/ Mary makes human rainbows, decorates public parks, covers dumpsters with colourful stickers and yes, yarnbombs benches. Mary England is 25 and lives in Baltimore. She has a degree in psychology and used to work in a psychiatric centre but now she has time for creating and celebrating. All good wishes, Mary! And many thanks for the reminder about CAPS LOCK DAY.
Peter Lambeseder in New Jersey believes that everybody deserves a second chance- even furniture. Saddened to see so much furniture with potential going to waste, he decided to start a furniture rescue, including the smart looking French provincial bench made from a headboard. LoveFurnitureDesign is his etsy shop at www.etsy.com/shop/LoveFurnitureDesign. The L.O.V.E bit stands for Limited, Original, Vintage, Eclectic.
The sleeping seal was photographed by Arun Venkatesan http://www.flickr.com/photos/ddrmaxgt37 Let Mikey the Mariner show you some brilliant ocean benches from around the world, or even just boats, or mermaids.
Olga has a whole album of photos from Belarus, including lots of photos of the interesting benches in the park in Gomel. Gomel has 11 parks and 58 public gardens and they have really gone mad on creative benches. One of them is the giant clothes peg bench shown in the story. There are also dice, an XYZ bench, a pencil bench, and a bench involving cheese and a mouse. And speaking of mice, Olga has photographed many lovely cats. https://www.flickr.com/photos/olga-d/33616424612/in/album-72157678371283153/
The yarn-bombed bench is from from Mary, who customarily celebrates all kinds of things, including benches http://uncustomary.org/ Mary makes human rainbows, decorates public parks, covers dumpsters with colourful stickers and yes, yarnbombs benches. Mary England is 25 and lives in Baltimore. She has a degree in psychology and used to work in a psychiatric centre but now she has time for creating and celebrating. All good wishes, Mary! And many thanks for the reminder about CAPS LOCK DAY.
The colourful dining room is a joyful painting by Wassily Kindinsky - his own dining room in 1909.
The more serene dining room with lovely afternoon sun is a painting by Danish artist Georg Nikolay Achen 1860-1912). I was painted in 1895.
The painting of the nude woman playing the playing the piano was done in 1915 by artist Frank Snapp (1876-1927).
The lovely breakfast table was set up in a fisherman's cottage at the wonderful Zuider Zee Museum in Enkhuizen, Netherlands.
The coffee cups are in Kiev, photographed in 2015 by and entitled The Place for Warm Communication. The project is by Jacobs and the green is apparently their corporate colours. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Benches_in_Kiev?uselang=en-gb#/media/File:%E2%80%9CCoffee_Cups%E2%80%9D.jpg
The picNYC grass table is by architect Haiko Cornelissen in New York. It was a 2012 New York Design Week favourite. Not surprising. You can have a picnic anytime you want. http://hairkocornelissen.com
The coffee cups are in Kiev, photographed in 2015 by and entitled The Place for Warm Communication. The project is by Jacobs and the green is apparently their corporate colours. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Benches_in_Kiev?uselang=en-gb#/media/File:%E2%80%9CCoffee_Cups%E2%80%9D.jpg
The picNYC grass table is by architect Haiko Cornelissen in New York. It was a 2012 New York Design Week favourite. Not surprising. You can have a picnic anytime you want. http://hairkocornelissen.com
Our hall is actually the Opera Garnier in Paris. It was built in 1861-1875 by Charles Garnier as the Opera national de Paris, commissioned by Emperor Napoleon III and considered one of the masterpieces of this age.
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