“Check out these natural home design ideas, courtesy of this stone house by Alexandre de Betak. Hidden away in a small village in Majorca, “Cave House” is the epitome of home – earthy, welcoming and comfortable all at once. A stone facade serves as an apt introduction to this lasting material, which makes many unexpected appearances at every turn inside as well. In the living room, the small-scale pebble-inlaid floor makes a subtle yet striking focal point. And the natural step-stone paving the way into the bedroom is so striking, so memorable. The home’s character comes through also in the natural exposed wood beams across the ceilings, irregular edges and the rough look of plaster walls, and features like alcoves and niches that look like they were shipped away right into the “cave”. The kids’ beds are located in a structure all its own, each a separate mini-cave in the main enclosure.”
More at the source: Trendir
It’s very nice but, I wouldn’t want to try to stumble into my bedroom after one too many drinks……hiccup*
That’s a perfectly functional threshold, Carroll.
Having a raised threshold at the bathroom doorway is a very practical and wide design decision. If there ever is a bathroom plumbing leak, a plugged up shower drain, a sink overflows, or simply some overly playful children splashing more water on the floor than on their bodies, a raised threshold prevents the spilled water from flooding the rest of the house and keeps it contained in the bathroom.
Besides. Give your husband a chance to prove his manhood and impress you. Carrying his girl over the threshold should be a challenge worthy of your admiration. If he carries you over a threshold that looks like this, and doesn’t fall and break either one of your necks, you’ll know you have a very stable husband!
http://www.trendir.com/house-design/natural-home-design-ideas-5.jpg
Those bathroom thresholds are effective, as you say, but they do take a bit of getting used to. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tripped on ours. There’s another threshold (drop off) in the middle of the house where the builders goofed. The floor just drops down one inch or so. It’s particularly bad when walking around at night in the dark. And of course nothing is square, but that’s another story.
I hear you.
Of course, there is another perspective to this discussion.
The Universal Design and Handicapped access perspective.
A bathroom threshold need not be the rock of freekin’ Gibraltar. Just a small raised area right under the door, it can be small enough that a wheelchair can easily roll over it.
I would guess… and it’s only a guess… I have no data to backup this position… but I guess that most people that build their own natural home, do so with the intention of retiring in that home and living there for the rest of their lives. (Have you ever conducted a poll or a survey on your blog?) I don’t wish for anyone to have mobility issues as they get older, but it’s inevitable that many will.
It makes a huge amount of sense for each of us to plan ahead and design our own retirement home while we are still able bodied and able to build it. If we design and build a home that we can still live in after the years take their toll, it will save a lot of money and stress later on in life. We each will be less likely to be forced out of our home, simply because we struggle to step over the threshold, or climb the stairs.
Done correctly, a handicap accessible home will be indistinguishable from any other home to the untrained eye, and be just as attractive.
The simple solution is to add a slope at the threshold. This way water can’t flood adjoining rooms and you won’t bang your toes on the threshold.
I went to the site and in my opinion having that much rock in front of the door is a little too much. Since I’m a man, I certainly wouldn’t want to take the chance of a stumble with her in my arms, cracking her head all trying to be charming. Even an Irish American wouldn’t want that to happen to his love.
Looks like they have an exposed aggregate floor. Good choice.
http://geopolymerhouses.wordpress.com/2011/07/01/exposed-aggregate/