My family spent Christmas through New Year's with my sister's family in Germany. Cae has lived there for 30-some years. She is a singer, recording artist, composer and jewelery artisan. You can read more about Cae's interesting life in her blog. Her husband, Eddie, is a Kammersänger opera singer. Between us we have 6 children, ages 17-27. None of the siblings living together anymore, so it's something special to actual get all of these far-flung souls together.
Keeping with the real estate theme of this blog, I wanted to write about three homes I visited while there.
The first is my sister's which is truly interesting. It's a large 3-level home next to a canal in a little village near Karlsruhe. Like most German homes it has a tile roof, stucco exterior and is built to last. What a pleasure to walk through a home where no floors squeak, and it is quiet from room to room. All of the homes I visited had what appear to be, and sound like, solid wood interior doors. The are designed with an over-lay so there is no light or noise that seeps through "the gap" as in American doors. Another feature common to most German homes are heavy exterior metal blinds. They are raised and lowered by a nylon strap inside the house, which is usually hidden by sheer or lace draperies. No need for heavy interior drapes because these exterior shutters provide all the privacy and insulation you need. When they are raised, they're virtually invisible. When completely lowered they make the interior room pitch dark. (Fantastic when needing to sleep at odd hours to recover from jet lag.)
My sister is an artist in every way and her home is one of her canvases. She has created a river of stone set within her driveway pavers. Her front door is studded with hand-painted ceramic drawer pulls which I think she got in England. To replace cracked tiles in her floor-heated ceramic main level, she layed in smaller stone grids. She used a small drill (I think its a Dremel) to carve a design in the stucco to frame the arched entry between her living and dining room. She created a round tile mosaic and had it embedded in the concerete wall outsider her kitchen window. I could go on and on. It's a wonderland.
Right next door to Cae is a newer home that was built slowly over many years in Italianette style. The owner is a lawyer and her father did much of the building. It's main level has large marble floor tiles, probably 14" square, set on diagonal, and as often is done, fully heated underneath. Italian chandeliers, a curved staircase, beautiful cream-colored kitchen cabinets. As in my sister's house, the appliances are modern but a bit smaller than the average American size. One of the bathroom's has a section of the ceiling above the huge soaking tub inset with hair-like strands with tiny lights at the end. They look like stars twinkling above the tub.
The third house where we stayed overnight was in a village of only 200 people and many more horses. This retired NATO military officer bought this 150-year old home which has a stable below and he rebuilt a two-level home above. It is nestled right in the town and the backyard is where 3 horses hang out during the day. The entry way is a bit aromatic as it is next to the stables, but upstairs everything is new, clean, sun-filled, open-beamed ceilings and two huge covered decks. Another feature it has common to many Germany homes is a two-sided banquet seating area with the table and then chairs on the other two sides. So cozy and comfortable. While in this town we all enjoyed a 4-horse drawn sleigh ride through the snow. Jingle bells!
