We woke with a triangular view out into the fields beyond our quirky AirBnb. The bed was on a raised sleeping platform in the eves. This allowed us a view directly out the window opposite where some huge horses were starting the days graze. From here we could look over the edge, past the beams, and down into the minimal living space.
It used to be a farmers barn, I presume. The walls are all sorts of a mix of rocks, bricks and breeze blocks slapped together over time as the use of the building has changed. Now its a funky 1 bed, self-contained, studio AirBnb. All the walls have been painted bright white straight onto the rocks so it is really bright but has an interesting texture. There is a big squashy sofa and they have hung an old rug behind it as a sort of tapestry. Close by is a small side table and a log burner on stone slabs. There is no telly, or radio or fake plants, its just an honest and basic and really calm space.
The other end of the barn has the kitchen and bathroom. This is below the sleeping platform and the style continues. The kitchen is a super minimal run of 5 floor standing cabinets with a thick wood worktop that returns to the floor at the end. In front of the worktop is a long and low window that slices through the wall with a massive chunky exposed wooden beam taking the walls weight.
The shower room is small, but perfectly formed. It’s been built practically with wet room boards and a modern shower screen and mixer unit. But some individuality has been included with the sink, which is tiny. Its tiny because I think it used to be a cows drinking bowl or some other agricultural basin made from a substantial grey metal, either galvanised steel or lead or something. The taps are just plumbing gate valves which meet in the middle to mix the hot and cold and then the pipe ends above the basin. Its quirky and simple and really stylish, if a bit useless for trying to shave. The towel rail is also made from really large bore copper pipe – this is definitely one idea I’ll be stealing. Towel rails are HUNDREDS of pounds and this looks great, is as big as you need it to be, cheap and is made from the same stuff as the rest of your plumbing so won’t contribute to any corrosion – ideal!
But the best / most awkward, but worth the effort, bit, is the staircase. Its sort of a cross between stairs and a ladder because its only got one huge chunky beam of wood at about 45 degrees. Into this, slots have been cut so thick planks can be held tightly making the treads of the staircase. You have to put one foot either side of the beam on a tread as you ascend and then because the sleeping platform is in the roof, there is not enough room to stand. So you end up on your knees, shuffling across the rug to the super comfy bed. It makes you work for your comfort. I really love it, as impractical and potentially dangerous as it is, it’s just super simple and looks really cool.
We had seen what the weather had in store for us today and decided to just lounge around and take a day off doing stuff. We have been on the move or doing one activity or another for almost 2 weeks now so today was all about relaxing. Lazing around in bed, I eventually got up and made a huge fried breakfast with all the trimmings.
We spent the day sitting around and watching the weather. Chatting and being silent. I did some blogging and we made a silly game to get chocolate buttons from our foreheads into our mouths without using our hands. I’ve been banned from showing the video of Aimi doing this, but you can see my attempt on facebook. Needless to say she looks just as much of a moron as I did, except she also manages a look of deep concentration and simultaneous constipation.
Then we watched Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark – definitely one of the best films of all time even with the plot hole that Big Bang exposes. My favourite is still The Last Crusade because Sean Connery joining Harrison Ford is just movie magic.
It was getting towards 4 o’clock and we still hadn’t had lunch, the breakfast was THAT big even I didn’t feel hungry yet. We had booked a table at a fancy steak restaurant called Prime so didn’t want to spoil our dinner. It was a good restaurant and they had done a good job of complying with CV-19 social distancing rules. There were large plexiglass screens between tables on wooden frames that made you feel like you were having dinner in an oddly public toilet cubicle.
I wasn’t focussed on the décor much because we had both made a bit of an effort to dress up and Aimi was wearing her eyes. I mean she always has them on, but she does something special with her makeup that is just stunning. It’s part of the reason I fell in love with her, staring into those beautiful eyes.
The steak was average.