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Do you have a picture in your mind of your dream house?
Mine is full of light – floor to ceiling windows looking out onto beautiful countryside, possibly a lake. In the garden I can see my husband, a young Colin Firth, taking care of the shrubbery. Inside is bright and colourful – not too cluttered but definitely not one of those minimalist apartments where everything is white or made of marble and you wonder how anyone ever has a cup of tea and a sit down without making the place look messy.
I have to admit that I’ve always had a bit of a secret hankering for a lift too, either one that opens onto my penthouse apartment, like the super cool people have in all the films, or perhaps one that travels up through the centre of my huge house, taking in the views of my priceless artwork as it goes. Colin and I could smooch in it. It would be terribly romantic.
(A girl can dream can’t she?)
Me checking my make up before stepping out into my penthouse apartment.
I think my love of lifts comes from when I was younger, and a brand new shopping centre called Angel Place opened in my small home town. In the middle, just in front of Safeway, it had a block of two lifts to take you up to the car park level, both made completely of glass.
It was the first time I’d ever even seen a glass lift, let alone been in one and it was VERY exciting, travelling up to the car, getting to look down on everyone going in and out of Iceland. My only experience of glass lifts up until then was reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and so they had a magical quality to them. (Kids were easier to please back then.)
Not these unfortunately, but aren’t they beautiful?
Of course domestic lifts aren’t just about looking cool and living out your childhood lift fantasies, they can actually be very practical, especially in homes spread across several floors. Wouldn’t it be amazing never to have to drag a heavy vacuum cleaner up and down the stairs ever again? They’re also a great way to make homes more accessible for wheelchair users or just for people who find the stairs difficult to manage.
Getting a lift installed in your home can be pretty straightforward and doesn’t have to take up masses of space – some are as small as a wardrobe! it’s definitely worth investigating if you want to add value to your home and make it more user friendly.
I can’t guarantee that Colin Firth will step out of it, but you can’t have everything.