Wednesday, June 14, 2006

A different take

A friend and I went on a home tour this evening in a town across the river. She was interested in snagging some decorating ideas for her new home. She had eliminated most homes from the tour and was focussing on the upper end of the spectrum. While touring she explained that last year she had visited a home valued at $3 million. That's quite a price tag for our area and I was floored.

Before I could stop myself, I replied, "Can you imagine how many homes $3 million could build for those either homeless or in substandard housing?" This was my very first gut reaction. I couldn't fathom the disparity.

I snapped a few shots on the home tour. I paced out one of the showers and it is larger than our entire bathroom. I tried to photograph a closet with 9-foot tall ceilings and shelves covering the entire expanse, but I couldn't depict the magnitude.

Another home had a massage room without external access so your masseuse wouldn't have to walk through the entire house to "serve" you. I kept thinking, "I just want hard wood floors, a laundry room and to be able to run the washer and vacuum at the same time."

The photo here was of a very intricate, but beautiful antique chandelier.

2 comments:

Lynilu said...

$3 million!! I'm with you. Give me simple comfort at an affordable price, and use the rest in a way that will legitimately help less fortunate. That kind of opulence just saddens me.

Nan said...

I think your quote in the sidebar says it all...Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.