Lost in space

Imagining our island in the sun (kitchen)

Blinds or drapes in the bedroom?

We've been taking advantage of a lull in our house construction to make up our minds about the kitchen layout, bathroom tiles and window treatments. Tough life, right? But it actually takes some mental gymnastics to imagine yourself in your future space.

I have always been somewhat spatially challenged. Give me a surface and I will clutter it. No matter how big the desk, I end up working in a cramped corner amidst a sea of paper. On the train, I can easily take up four seats. And the supermarket aisles are too narrow for me and anyone else's shopping cart.

I need room, but have little sense of space.  I judge distances not in kilometers but in the time it takes to get from point A to point B. My notions of geography are approximate. The confusion began as a kid when we moved north from Canada to the US (Toronto to Minneapolis). After a few years in America I knew where most of the states were but the rest of the world had fallen off the map.

The other day my husband Stefan and I were looking at a map of the European Union, and I asked him, "What is that big lake in the middle of Europe?" "Switzerland," he replied. 

Switzerland,  the EU's biggest lake

Room for a pool?

So when it comes to imagining the spaces we are creating in our new house, I am having some trouble. The floorplans make the rooms seem really big, but the reality feels awfully small. Compared to North America, everything in Europe seems small. Our house will have 180 square meters of living space -- a good size house in this country but probably small by many people's standards. The second floor will also have sloping ceilings, which I adds a level of complexity that deepens my confusion. All I know is that the triangular window treatments will be challenging.

As for the outside, we have planned to put in a lap pool on the side that gets the most sun. Unfortunately, our neighbours on that side have built their garage wall right along our property line. (How they received planning permission for that is one of the mysteries of the French urban planning system). So I have been out there in the mud with my measuring tape, trying to figure out if I can move my pool and still be four meters from their property line, which is the rule we have to abide by.

Within the next two weeks, our spaces will be further defined by doors and windows and we will have to finalize all of the plans. In the meantime, we are enjoying the breathing room.