Comfort or style?

As you might imagine, as a builder I'm interested in architecture and design.  I was reading an article in the paper this morning about a lady who sold her tech company for $23M, then to celebrate she renovated a loft (to the tune of $2M) she said "to make her friends envious".  Then I saw the slide show of her new digs.  Ugh!  It was all done in an ultra-contemporary style.  I just looked at her "den" and wondered where she would sit to read a book or watch TV?  

Here is an example of what I mean.  Does this look comfortable to you?

Does anyone remember the 70's TV show All In the Family?  Remember Archie Bunker's chair?  It was this old raggedy thing that Archie wouldn't let anyone else sit in.  He said his butt print on the cushion was just right and he didn't want anyone else messing with it.  (NOTE:  That chair is today in the Smithsonian.)  I feel pretty much the same about my chair.

It cost a small fortune 15 years ago, but I think it will probably outlast me.  I know it looks like hell, but it is supremely comfortable.  That ottoman has been the favorite napping spot for 3 dogs (Tara Belle, Emma Belle, and now Lukie Boy).  I place my feet wherever the dog isn't.  

When I had my detached retina surgeries years ago I was told I couldn't lie down to sleep until my eye healed, so for a while this served as my bed, too.  The back cushion just envelopes me, and the bottom cushion...well...speaks for itself.

The table on the right usually has a book or a couple of magazines on it, a clock, and a good, bright (3-way) reading light.  Underneath I even have a jar of peanuts handy for snacking.  A lot of football has been watched from that chair, lemme tell ya!

Unlike the lady in the story above, I gave up years ago trying to make my friends envious.  All I care about these days is making my butt happy.  And my dog.  ;)

S

PS...I do let K sit there whenever she wants.  Archie would be appalled, but she deserves it, too.

Once I thought I wanted a career....

....but now I realize all I want is a paycheck.


Is it just me or has life become dramatically more difficult in recent years?  Thirty *cough, cough* years ago when I became a homebuilder it was actually fun.  I began in sales and did reasonably well, watched and learned "how-to" build homes, and finally joined with my brother in our fledgling family business.


Back then a contract was one side of letter-sized piece of paper.  Then it went to two sides of a legal-sized piece of paper.  Today it's 28 pages long.  We have to follow rules by OSHA, EPA, HUD, Fed banking regulators, Storm Water Run-off regulators, city mandates, state registration, etc, etc....Oh, and of course, the IRS.  And insurance audits, too.  Actually building the home is the EASY part today!


And homebuyers....*biting tongue*.  They see something online and tell me, "That's what I want!"  Except it won't meet current building codes.  Or it features a product made by a local artisan in Vermont and isn't available here, and I don't dare order it sight unseen and with no local support....but that isn't what my customer wants to hear.  They just think I can walk into Home Depot and buy 'em by the case. And they want me to negotiate a super-cheap deal on their behalf, but then quibble over my margin.


Please don't misunderstand.  I am SO grateful the Good Lord has given me work during these tough times.  I'll work diligently as always, but like that old B. B. King song says, "The thrill is gone."  I don't want the thrill to be gone.  I'm just not sure the thrill-kill genie can go back in the bottle at this late date.


S