First of all thanks for the replies so far.
One big mistake would be for me to design it for my own requirements - all I do when I get there is unload my guitar (tiny travel guitar), my laptop and books then look for somewhere to park the case full of clothes which I never use.
The bed issue is a good one. I now carry cord to tie the inevitable twin beds together then try to make a spine with a sheet or blanket to bridge the gap between the matresses. Intuitively I feel a double would be better most of the time. I guess maybe a double plus two futon-type convertible chairs (instead of a sofa bed) might be flexible enough. The problem with that though is for a family of say 2+2 they'd probably want the twins in the 'bedroom' area and the double in the living area. - Hey ho - no problems - just opportunities.
My survival toolkit now also contains a 'leatherman' multi-tool, gaffer tape and a wire coathanger - mainly to 1) fix up the shower head so it stays up on the wall and 2) the toilet ballcock 1/2 of which seem to jam open and trickle all night. Other pet hates I'd want to get rid of are toilet pans fixed too near the cistern so the seat doesnt stay up and toilet roll holder directly in the firing line of the shower. None of these are show-stoppers - just minor niggles. Lots of comments about the bathroom and fittings so this is obviously a key area. Re hairdrier - good point. Big mirrors - another good point.
Secluded balconies with sunset views - I'm glad this meets with your approval. We also like to lose our stripes on holiday. I'm struggling a bit to come up with a plan that doesn't look too much like squash courts but actually the walls don't really need to be higher than average eye height with maybe a row of plants along the top. Maybe I could fit a couple of beach-style loungers in - hmm. What I'd really like to achieve is a shaded pergola area just outside - almost a room on its own then an open sunny patio area. (To get a idea of where the plot is by the way - stand at the peligremnos??? and look up the slope towards the mountains but slightly in the direction of the headland between Plakias and Damnoni - and its on a local high point) That means it overlooks the bay directly towards the sunset.
Kitchen - well, an oven's out (good) but kettle and microwave stay in (this is like room 101). We actually eat in most of the time - I just find it so convenient to have piles of olives, tomatoes, spinach pies and feta in the fridge and merge a long lunch with a siesta. (Note - must have good sized fridge - to take fruit juice and mineral water)
TV Radio and Internet - The negative points would be that they'd all add clutter if not used so maybe the solution is to wire the place for cable then offer them as extras. I'll probably have a wireless system for myself anyway (I've been a programmer for over 35 years and I always seem to have 1/2 dozen machines about the place (at least 2 just for music recording)). Good point about noise leaking through but we've never had noisy neighbours (but maybe thats because there was no radio). Personally I feel little inclination to follow news etc on holiday (actually not just on holiday). In the rare cases when we've had TV I usually put a greek station on. Even though I only get about one word in 100 I think it helps to get the 'flow' (BTW theres an online greek station if you like this idea at
http://62.25.96.7:8025/listen.pls )
Electrical points - anyone know if sockets are the same in Germany as they are in Greece. ( I am considering putting in a couple of UK style sockets (and German if they are not the same as Greek). I'm assuming that that would be so easy if done during the initial building phase).
Storage - How do you feel about under-bed storage - It always seems like unused space and space is what I'm trying to manage. Up to now my designs have been short of hanging space but its obviously something I need to include.
And now for the big question about space - the size of the rooms. WE simply don't need space on holidays - especially if the patio is big and has a shady pergola. Can any of you give me an idea of the size in square meters which you think is the minimum. I'm flipping between small and not so small. The biggest studio we've been in was 45sqm but most of that was unused. We've heard of some in Plakias as small as 18sqm but thats tight. At the moment I have 2 plans one 25sqm, one 33sqm but of course I only get 3 of the 33sqm studios for each 4 of the 25sqm types. I'l be publishing the proposed plans in due course. (One reason I'm waiting is that there is a cyber-squatter sitting on the web-site name I want and he wants £500 for it - !*^%") In the meantime I'd welcome any comments on sizes of studios you've been in.
Till next time - Paleo
(I know it should really be Yeros not Paleo but I've just been catching up on Matrix 1 and 2 so Paleo seemed better)
