Favorite Room

First off, I've checked Diane's blog about 5 times this morning. I see the story of her daughter.. and see the blog about dentists, menopause and adoption... I don't see anything about favorite rooms??

and nobody is putting in a link.

(am I outta the loop on this one or what??)

The favorite room in my house?

The favorite room OF my house is my deck. It runs along the entire back of house, echoing the bump out of the breakfast nook. Facing the open space to my south, it gives me plentiful options for watching the local wildlife (deer, coyote, hawk, and a variety of songbirds). It also affords me a view of San Pablo Bay where I can watch the maritime traffic moving along the northern edge of the San Francisco bay complex. I can see the coastal range hills in Sonoma and Marin. I can usually hear the steady hum of I-80. It's magical.

It's also windy most of the time... enough so that no matter where I arrange the chairs on the deck, they get pushed to one side or the other. The sound of chairs being pushed down a 45 foot deck is amazingly spooky. And the decking is hot enough in the summertime to burn the dogs' and my feet. Downsides of paradise.

In the house, nothing can quite compare. But I would have to pick the great room complex that is the back of the house... the family room/kitchen/dining room complex that has only short knee walls separating the space. Why? Because I live most of the time back here.

The sun is strong enough that the windows are often completely covered, blocking that wonderful view from the deck. But it is the "heart" of this home. Some may think... I would live with the strong sun if the views were that wonderful. I thought that too when we moved here. Then one in February... 4 days after I'd moved into this house... it was 70 degrees and sunny outside. There were no coverings on my back windows yet. And it was 95 degrees in my family room. Nope. Coverings no option.