After traveling around the world, we built an old courtyard in Dali!
Everyone's house is like a condensed collection of stories, filled with memories of their own life and yearning for life.Throughout the past year, we have been traveling around the world, living in various homes around the world.Every day when we wake up in a different bed and look at the completely different scenery outside the window, we are all constantly thinking,What is your ideal life like?
When we slept in Chiang Mai's cat garden, Japan's traditional cooking wooden houses, Scotland's pure white farm, and fairy tale cabins in the stone alleys of the Peruvian Plateau, we gradually discovered that we had no intention of loving the traffic and reinforced concrete of the metropolis. Instead,I hope that in my future life, like the owners of these houses, I can be closer to nature and the earth.We hope that the place we live in will not be very big, but it will be convenient enough, with our own unique stories and culture, and a neighborhood atmosphere where we know how to enjoy life. We also hope that we live in a small courtyard with history and stories. In this way, we can arrange here all the collections we have brought back from all over the world over the years of travel. After every long journey, there is a warm place waiting for us to come back.
After several domestic screenings, we still came to China's Utopia, Dali, Yunnan, the ultimate destination of emotional life, hoping to start a new life here. After more than a month of searching, repeated screening and communication in Dali, from today on, we have finally achieved another small goal in life.
Crispy meat's life in 2020 will kick off here!
My first move to the Room TourLet's take a look at our next domestic base-the one under preparation"Crispy Meat Travel Museum"!!
courtyard
Our courtyard is located in the traditional Bai village at the foot of Cangshan Mountain. Walking into the stone alleys, we pushed open the babbling old wooden doors, and first opened the space in the courtyard. On one side of the yard is a small pond with a small army of koi carp inside. Every time I sit in the yard and listen to the gurgling sound of water in the fish pond, I feel a lot of emotion. It's leisurely to the sky ~
The structure of the yard is actually very simple. The first thing you see when you enter the gate The main building of the traditional Bai building, Each floor is a space the size of four rooms.On the side of the yard are the original cowshed and warehouse converted into a laundry room, a kitchen and a storage room. In addition to a pool of koi carp, the yard is also full of plants that grow wantonly.
kitchen
The open kitchen, which is separately used as a side room, has a unique viewFavorite design: can instantly transform intoMini-bar facing the courtyard!Not only can you enjoy the scenery while cooking, but even the dining table is integrated into a painting.
Ground floor terrace
Before entering the main house, step on several low steps of old bluestone boards. It is aSemi-outdoor porch space。The old wooden tables and old rattan chairs found in the countryside complement each other with the carved door panels on the back. In front of the steps are our favorite new partner in the yard:A little red maple!Its leaves are as bright as fire all year round. Let us sit here not only watch the rain, listen to the rain and bask in the sun, but also enjoy the joy of enjoying the maple trees anytime and anywhere ~
First floor of the main building
The first floor retains the structural division of the traditional old Bai building and many original wood structures, such as beams and columns and 6 pairs of old wooden doors. In the equally divided four rooms,The left and right sides are reserved as small guest rooms, and the middle two rooms form a large living roomHalf of them are made of oversized tatami mats, so that as many friends as they come can roll around, play games, and watch TV at will. The other half is a more formal living room filled with solid wood shelves, which will be filled with collections from our travel around the world in the future. Become the core exhibition hall of our "Crispy Meat Museum".
second floor of the main building
Go up the stairs that have been renovated to the outside, please follow us to the second floor!!
Compared with the first floor, which maintains the traditional Bai old house style, the second floor has been changed to a more modern and comfortable look.
The layout of the four rooms was merged into two large suites, and the huge floor-to-ceiling glass received all the bright sunshine of Dali.The important point is that there is also a big balcony outdoors! Sitting here and drinking a cup of tea, looking down at the flowers, plants and trees in the yard. Looking up, you will see layers of tiled roofs interspersed with tall wild bamboo. When the weather is clear, you can even see the Erhai Lake in the distance and the mountains opposite.
master bedroom
Finally, we have enough space to live, work and shoot at our disposal!! The super-large bed with a bedstead in the master bedroom satisfies Sue's wish to be a fat house; the small rattan table and rattan chair in the living room area, carefully arranged with our travel photos and decorations, will probably become a common scene for us to record many programs in the future; The full-length mirror with solid wood borders will make Sue a K.O.! In the future, the time I have to look at myself in the mirror and feel sorry for myself will be longer...
Another design that moved me in this courtyard was the traditional wooden tables and chairs on the windowsill of the master bedroom... Facing the huge floor-to-ceiling glass, what a mood would it be to watch the sky and clouds working in Dali!!!
second bedroom
The area is the same as the master bedroom, and the second bedroom next door is also the area of two standard rooms. We plan to use it as a place to entertain friends or parents to stay and enjoy for a long time. Opposite the same super large bed is designed as a mini tatami area on the second floor.On a rainy day, through the floor-to-ceiling glass next to me, I listen to the crackling rain outside, drink tea and take a nap.What is there to be dissatisfied with in life!!! What's even better is that the former owner specially used the height of the traditional roof to design a small attic bed that you could climb up and down. If there are relatives and friends who bring children, the children will definitely be overjoyed here!!
Second-floor sun terrace
After coming to Yunnan, I discovered that wild cactus can be seen everywhere on the walls and old roofs of the village here!! And there is one growing on the tile next to our patio!!! The huge cactus is simply a beautiful shooting set!! We decided to call it "nazha"! (Sue said, should we call the solar water heater "Hot Bar"...)
From the shaded terrace on the second floor, you can see the layers of Cangshan Mountain, emerging from behind our house. Sitting in your own home, you can see the four time shadows of Cangshan Mountain, the scenery and the moon. With this huge "backer", you can overlook the Erhai Lake and live here... You can also be called a "Your Highness"??
Although the current appearance of this courtyard remains the same as when we took over it, in the coming period, we plan to gradually add our own unique designs and concepts to make it truly our home.
In Dali, such old courtyards in the village cannot be bought and sold in principle, but they can be rented for as long as possible.So we rented it for 10 years +, just to be able to treat it wholeheartedly as my home and take care of it as a long-term "base" in the country. One day, it may even become a truly open "Crispy Meat Travel Museum".
At this point, our lives have begun another new chapter. Memories of the past and stories of the future will be moved here one by one. I hope that when there is an opportunity in the future, we can entertain you here and have drinks and fun together.
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