tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post3094477038315552824..comments2024-03-29T00:04:32.434-05:00Comments on Althouse: A house.Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger152125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-52087356690174272312011-07-08T20:12:40.423-05:002011-07-08T20:12:40.423-05:00The "feng shui" rules are basically thos...<i>The "feng shui" rules are basically those you'd use if you were designing a large house or fortress against external attack, particularly from the street.</i><br /><br />Exactly. Just as the Hebrew dietary laws against eating shellfish, pork, and various other things made sense 2,500 years ago in a society that had no knowledge of toxins, parasites, or refrigeration.<br /><br />The occupants of that house would be snack food in the event of a zombie attack.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-74489679602702844672011-07-08T15:01:56.769-05:002011-07-08T15:01:56.769-05:00The "feng shui" rules are basically thos...The "feng shui" rules are basically those you'd use if you were designing a large house or fortress against external attack, particularly from the street.<br /><br />So, my advice on good feng shui: start with a big dog and a loaded shotgun.Foobaristahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17695839524769425977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-20673562523910274302011-07-08T14:54:17.067-05:002011-07-08T14:54:17.067-05:00It must be quite expensive to live in what passes ...It must be quite expensive to live in what passes now for simplicity.Holmeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06948695292139416867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-9570898625034782782011-07-08T11:12:41.861-05:002011-07-08T11:12:41.861-05:00Oh, that is a horrible house. The interior is as ...Oh, that is a horrible house. The interior is as desolate as the land it was built on. <br /><br />People don't live in a house like that. It is uncomfortable and stark and leaves me very cold.<br /><br />I prefer my somewhat cluttered, lived in house on 80 acres of trees, pastures and hayfields.Beth Donovanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01291132590140624679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-18730010602993422482011-07-08T03:35:07.429-05:002011-07-08T03:35:07.429-05:00I've studied those photographs, and I've c...I've studied those photographs, and I've come to the well-considered conclusion that their house has absolutely atrocious <i>feng shui</i>.<br /><br />Fortunately for the Angles, I'm willing to make available the services and expertise of my associate The Crack MC and myself in conducting a thorough analysis and rectification of their abode, to balance their <i>qi</i> amidst the cosmic conflict of wind and water to which they have exposed themselves. It won't be a trivial task to realign the cottage with the area's geomagnetically induced currents, especially since the island is located so near the north geomagnetic pole, but I'm confident we can alter the polarities of the <i>wu xing</i> and harmonize the <i>yin</i> and <i>yang</i> force fields -- even if it ultimately requires us to reorient the structure on its foundations.<br /><br />We can do it. We're just that good. It may not be an inexpensive undertaking, but <i>we're worth it</i>. We can <i>absolutely</i> guarantee that positive <i>qi</i> will flow through the house, that the cosmic energies will be in balance, and that any and all demons will henceforth be driven from their property.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1898898609360844582011-07-08T02:58:00.926-05:002011-07-08T02:58:00.926-05:00Where's the mud room?Where's the mud room?ricpichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01321511130788764861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-5259936713800520752011-07-08T00:43:07.624-05:002011-07-08T00:43:07.624-05:00It would be much more appealing to me if they used...It would be much more appealing to me if they used the blue-gray exterior trim color for the interior trim, too. I've come to dislike stark white trim, maybe because realtors and decorators like it so much.Ralph Lhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07915708905660273961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-44772798299319007522011-07-08T00:35:54.285-05:002011-07-08T00:35:54.285-05:00The kitchen is built for short people--even the fr...The kitchen is built for short people--even the frig is under the counter. If they paid $450,000 for the lot, chances are there are other rich people nearby who will feed them after they sprain their backs.<br /><br />In Nova Scotia, I imagine summer heat gain through the windows is a good thing.<br /><br />I like the orange color in the office and the green master bedroom. <br /><br />I wonder if the rippled floors were intentional. My contractor made the sanders wait several days to avoid that.Ralph Lhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07915708905660273961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-90870539895217092732011-07-08T00:03:08.311-05:002011-07-08T00:03:08.311-05:00The child is exquisite. And, I think their daught...The child is exquisite. And, I think their daughter. Not their son. She looks so happy, too.<br /><br />Adoring parents.<br /><br />Quiet spot. There's no downside to this.<br /><br />Of course, it says "house on a hill." That's a hill? I thought you could park your boat on the side of the house. <br /><br />I guess if you live in Madison ... then the house is on a hill. I still think you can fish off their front deck.Carol_Hermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16629820011087370488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-11956251072055916122011-07-07T23:53:48.684-05:002011-07-07T23:53:48.684-05:00It's too cold. And a bit too Ikea.
I'd p...It's too cold. And a bit too Ikea.<br /><br />I'd prefer warm colors and exposed wood, particularly in a place as cold as Nova Scotia.Foobaristahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17695839524769425977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-45398238982475306982011-07-07T23:44:22.563-05:002011-07-07T23:44:22.563-05:00It looks like a Woody Allen set for Interiors 2: T...It looks like a Woody Allen set for <i>Interiors 2: The Shibboleth</i>.KCFleminghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00124201866124646626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-30354399662003004952011-07-07T23:19:19.931-05:002011-07-07T23:19:19.931-05:00Lovely. As several have pointed out, the owners a...Lovely. As several have pointed out, the owners are from LA, and it's a summer cottage. What could be more lovely, cooler, less stressful, quiet, calm, grand, serene, sublime, restful? Nova Scotia (New Scotland) on the sea in the summer. Heaven. Just what an Angelino/a in their right mind with a heavy pocketbook and no or few bad habits would want. Scotland! New Scotland! How do I love thee!David R. Grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16416692639208634879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-61344424673281978242011-07-07T23:17:48.998-05:002011-07-07T23:17:48.998-05:00Or the setting for a murder-suicide, rewritten by ...Or the setting for a murder-suicide, rewritten by Ann Rule.KCFleminghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00124201866124646626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-48781882313910642342011-07-07T23:13:33.917-05:002011-07-07T23:13:33.917-05:00Another Apple ad.Another Apple ad.KCFleminghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00124201866124646626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-41269782283183233082011-07-07T22:20:59.235-05:002011-07-07T22:20:59.235-05:00As I looked at it, I wondered, does that woman eve...As I looked at it, I wondered, does that woman even allow that man to live in this house? There's no shower in the bathroom; she says she <i>loves</i> -- what about him?<br /><br />Sure enough--the shower is <i>outside!</i> The poor man has to leave the house to clean up. <br /><br />In the article he says:<br /><br /><i>“Sure, the weather makes it a little challenging to use at times,” he said, noting that 100-mile-an-hour winds and driving rain are not unheard of here, even in the summer. “But the romantic rusticator in me sticks with it.”</i><br /><br />Also, as I read the article that goes with it, this is a clearly a summer house. And, yes, they spent nearly a million dollars on the house and the land.Fr Martin Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01375628123126091747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-57565795312935733202011-07-07T22:18:12.499-05:002011-07-07T22:18:12.499-05:00Well, thank you to Ann, who found and posted somet...Well, thank you to Ann, who found and posted something most of us would never have seen otherwise. And it did, as I suspect she wished, give rise to a multiplicity of opinions.<br /><br />Still, I want to know what Meade thinks.Lutherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08901441364329385474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-45644210784358375262011-07-07T21:31:46.641-05:002011-07-07T21:31:46.641-05:00Like if Bergman did "The Tempest" with m...Like if Bergman did "The Tempest" with modernist anomie, trading out the "Cries and Whispers" reds for sea-green pastels.<br /><br /> I love the living room, except the "octopus" "chandelier"--maybe it would grow on me, but right now it reminds me of the fleeing head in John Carpenter's "The Thing".<br /><br /> There were plenty of books, I think, in that giant bedding unit against the windows.<br /><br /> I thought the rugs looked like maps, whic I liked; and then the narrow hallway had actual maps. But, as Coketown points out, they are too NGie. I love contemporary maps too, but they should've had something in more sedate matte colors, like the pages of the Rand McNally "Classic World Atlas."<br /><br /> Maybe they're shallow people, but this is a photo shoot. A lot of it has a beaten quality (however faked) that I appreciate. Lots of stark Northern light, with allowances for softening blues (and incandescent bulbs).Luciushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03938166025093103574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-56239943240205861902011-07-07T21:31:42.060-05:002011-07-07T21:31:42.060-05:00as with all houses like this, seems a tad too cold...as with all houses like this, seems a tad too cold for me...not lived in or homey. Something I'd think would be welcome in the occasionally harsh climes of the maritimes.Lavahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12762489045435658511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-53257807693714247812011-07-07T20:14:02.940-05:002011-07-07T20:14:02.940-05:00I don't get it $350,000 worth.
No-no-no-no-no...<i>I don't get it $350,000 worth.</i><br /><br />No-no-no-no-no.<br /><br />The house cost $350,000 to construct.<br /><br />According to the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/07/garden/a-nova-scotia-cottage-that-reflects-the-landscape-on-location.html?_r=1" rel="nofollow">companion <i>NYT</i> article</a>, the house sits on a 54-acre lot that they purchased for an additional $450,000.<br /><br />And they must have spent at least $60,000 on designer furnishings, possibly twice that amount.<br /><br />In other words, they spent nearly a million bucks on a house that they inhabit for perhaps ten weeks a year, tops.<br /><br />What you're looking at is an exercise in ostentatious consumption, disguised as minimalist frugality ... but they <i>want</i> you to see through the disguise, otherwise the point of its existence is lost.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-588699991006879272011-07-07T20:13:33.137-05:002011-07-07T20:13:33.137-05:00george said Oh, and there is not a chance in hell ...george said <i>Oh, and there is not a chance in hell the owners of this house voted Republican.</i><br /><br />Agreed. At least now they have a place to immigrate to when the next Republican occupies the White House.<br /><br />I do commend them for adopting a baby girl, though. I am pretty horrified how baby girls are so unwanted in other parts of the world, especially China and India. Good on them for that. Now get her a toy she'd actually play with!Joe Schmoehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16648976007708771203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-24088501966983483642011-07-07T19:49:43.266-05:002011-07-07T19:49:43.266-05:00No.No.Hagarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03653025261513705773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-31972960956505599532011-07-07T19:45:23.897-05:002011-07-07T19:45:23.897-05:00That house would be hell to live in. These people...That house would be hell to live in. These people strike me as being very shallow and overly concerned with how things look. There isn't a comfortable chair in the place. The nightstand is already overladen and it is the only spot in the house that shows signs of having been used. There is not a work triangle in the kitchen meaning your labor will be maximized. The large windows are impractical and will leak heat like a mother. The building is completely exposed to the wind and elements. In short it was built by someone with more money than sense. I am building a one level, all brick house that is several times that size in TN and will not spend what that place cost.<br /><br />I think the exterior is lovely though. A Times photographer can do wonders for a place.<br /><br />And EDH is right, it looks like the child was chosen as just another accessory. I think we need lots more mixed families but as carefully as these people choreograph everything I get a really creepy vibe from the whole thing. Was he just another catalog selection?<br /><br />It reminds me of a Tim Burton film. I bet this couple suffers from some very deep seated pathologies. Their opposite would be the hoarders you see on TV but a neatness obsession, while just as debilitating to live with, doesn't draw the scrutiny of the police or mental health professionals as easily. <br /><br />Can you imagine a child having to live in such an environment? They probably have the tyke scrubbing the bathroom floor with a toothbrush. <br /><br />Oh, and there is not a chance in hell the owners of this house voted Republican. Anyone who values style over substance to this extent would go with Obama. For the type of people who like these sorts of places it really is a matter of the crease of his pants.georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11402720592452236525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-51762722886079342712011-07-07T19:34:41.803-05:002011-07-07T19:34:41.803-05:00I only hope the lovely roar of Harleys wafts up th...I only hope the lovely roar of Harleys wafts up the hillside in July and August when droves of bikers descend on the Cabot Trail.<br /><br />If you've never been to Nova Scotia, especially Cape Breton N.P., it's freaking LONELY. Also no sushi bars or organic bakeries to be found, and the only restaurants around close up early. It's pretty enough there, but damn it's desolate. Visiting there gave me new appreciation for the early settlers who actually stayed there instead of hightailing it back to Europe. Those folks had balls.Joe Schmoehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16648976007708771203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-49261272339826723772011-07-07T19:22:30.653-05:002011-07-07T19:22:30.653-05:00Damn. I love the building; I hate what they've...Damn. I love the <i>building</i>; I hate what they've done with it. If it were mine it would have more rugs, more comfy chairs, and about fifteen hundred times more books. (Wait was there even one book? Make that "at least four thousand books." And my 8000 or so classical CDs need space too. Sorry for all the <i>clutter</i>.)<br /><br />wv: rampen. Ramen for when you have work to do.Michelle Dulak Thomsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18041391162535875301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-12752786448194434942011-07-07T18:55:52.192-05:002011-07-07T18:55:52.192-05:00On the plus side, it's located in one of the l...On the plus side, it's located in one of the last places to fall to the Zombie Apocalypse. Fill it with Spam, guns, and ammo, then surround it with razor wire, and it would start to make sense.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12258486225193805658noreply@blogger.com