A Royal Dream

I have always been a dreamer and had a vivid imagination. It may be embarrassing to admit but I have been planning my dream house since I was very young boy. I come from humble beginning and I would escape into my imagination station to construct my perfect dream house. I was always obssessed with anything to do with royalty, especially castles! I was fascinated by the elegant wardrobes and how they had these castles that were gigantic and some were only for vaction or just to show off. From the shere contruct and the architectual details I was immediately engrossed. That passion and obssession is still burning inside me today and I cant get enough of it. It has even inspired my biggest journey and life changing moment to end up where I am today. I remember I would often here people joke and say " I'm the king of my castle." and I would think "Wow, wouldn't it be grand to have my very own castle?" Many were built, sustained so much and still remain in tact all these centuries later. So what that says to me is that castles were built with a quality and technique. Castles are such a foreign concept in the USA and any real ones from a historic perspective don't actually exist. So you can imagine the looks and comments I would get from friends and family when I would spew out in excitment my dream of having a castle someday.

That dream is still very alive in my heart today and so this opportunity to share it with willing participants is absolutely fantastic! As I have matured so have the plans for my dream house. I do believe if you can concieve it than you can achieve it. This dream of mine has inspired me to do some very fun and unique research for the perfect location and style of my castle. My obsession has actually inpsired a world trip that I specifically targeted the most beautiful castles ever built and explored breath-taking landscapes to which I could potentially build my perfect dream house. So needless to say I have done my research in hopes that one day I can make this fantasy my reality. So in a perfect world of possiblity I would like to find a castle that was already built, even a ruin that I could restore back to its original glory with my own spin on it. If such castle wasn't available to buy I would just find the closest idea or style of castle I like and replicate that in the building my own. Now you may be thinking, where would I build the dream custom castle? I been scouting for locations actively for the past five years and I have found some very ideal locations for my building site. The location is just as important to me as the castle itself for many reasons. Ideally I want a place that is serene with absolutely beautiful natural surrounding that will inspire happiness, peace and tranquility. Also I really want to try to blend with the enviroment as oppose disturb it. So I would like to build using natural stones from the region and use the same century old building techniques with a modern touch. The other most important thing is that my surroundings should inspire and allow me to do the things that I love to do. Things like long nature walks, biking, horse back riding, writing, or creating music just to name a few. Another must is it needs to be near some sort of water source so I can do water sports like rowing, kayacking or simply tubbing down a stream. Does such a place exist you may be wondering and the answer is yes, absoutely!

So I have done the very difficult task of narrowing it down to two locations. Mainly because their close proximity to the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen and the amount of sunlight each place recives. I want solar energy so that is importaint. So place number one is on the island of Sardina, which has absolutely breathtaking beaches. Also the local stones are plentiful and perfect for building my dream house. They even have their own marble stones! So I can really make my castle nice and fancy like the royals did many years ago. The other location is on the small but wonderful Island of La Palma in the Canary islands in Spain. I chose this location because it has the most amazing lush nature, super fresh air, beautiful beaches, and the most astonishing view of the solar system on a clear night. So much so that is has its own observatory at the top of the island. Not to mention the island has the best bananas I have ever tasted in my life! This would inspire me to bake some delicious banana bread in the brick stone oven of my dream house. So now that I have my magical location, Lets get to the logistics and design concept of my dream castle.

The idea is that from the outside the castle would keep its historic look, shape, towers and fully function as one would in that time and if possible even have a moat. However on the inside I want to add some simple modern touches to add to the functionality, style and practicality for my life. I plan to make my castle completely green and solar powered to the point of being completely off the grid and self sustainable simular to how it would have been in the olden days. I want the castle to feature stunning craftsmanship and detailed stonework using local recyled stones so that is strong but also looks amazing. I dont want to rule over that land but just have it be high up in a position to take advantage of the surrounding views and advocate it's defense against unwanted guest for optimum privacy. Like something you can see but cant touch unless you have a special invite.I want to have a green roof, which means it would be covering in living vegetation and grass. I want to be able to use it as a rooftop garden to both relax, sun bathe and grow local fruits and veggies. I want use a smart irragation system I discoverd in Israel that will collect rain water and disperse it evenly to the designated places so no water is wasted. Luckily as an adult I have ventured into the field of interor design so this would be the fun part where I can create my magical fantasy on the inside that is really going to set my castle a part from the rest. It will be the perfect combination of classic historic charm and some modern sophistication. I want my castle to be beautiful inside and out but also be a protective fortress if it need to be. There are some things it must have that will include the new with the old style. I want solar heat and cooling. I want to run tubular system beneath the floor that cool in the hot summer days and warms during cool or winter nights. I definetely want to have wooden beams and exquisite wood craftmanship throughout. I do want many rooms that will each have a theme and a purpose. I definitely want a grand hall a great room and Great dinning room, extensive garden on the grounds that will be perfectly manicured and a stable for two horses. Some fixed features of the house will be the ultimate filtration and sewage system that I have seen featured on luxury cruiseliners that filture the water back to usable and if possible drinkable water. Bill Gates has even created a toilet system that can do this. I also want a bidet and self cleaning compost toilet in every bathroom to cut down on toilet paper and utilize for soil. My castle will be filled with secret passage ways and corridors strategically placed throughout the castle that only I know about. I also want to have a safe room somewhere is the castle that will protect its occupants for a long period of time and be and escape just in case of any unfortunate events.

Now you may be asking why would one man need so much house and so many things for one person. To be honest I would need this amount of space for good reasons and purpose. For starters, I am one of 8 kids and It will take a castle to house even half of my extended family. I want to have balls, holidays, charity events and other functions to engage the community have my family and friends around me. I want to use it for retreats for doing things like creating music and art. Other than an interior designer I was previously an entertainer so I would love to host the most fabulous parties and shows in a royal fashion.

Some of the other finer details will be for the me to know and one day you discover. I can't give away all the secret plans to to my dream castle house fantasy. I wouldn't want a copy cat. In closing I am truly grateful for the entertaining opportunity and platform to share my dream fantasy house. It almost makes it feel that much more realistic to talk about it again. So maybe one day you will hear the story of a very green, grand and modern day castle that was once a little boys dream and now a reality. Cheers to a royal dream of becoming king of my very own castle.