| modular units and common house furnishings | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: Rowena Conkling (rowenac worldnet.att.net)
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| Date: Sun, 7 Feb 1999 08:46:13 -0600 | |
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML> At CambridgeCohousing we used a modular system for the housing units and the common house. It has been a less than stellar success. There have been a number of problems, at least some of which are due to quality control (the thing that sold us on the idea!!), and some of which have to do with confusion over the roles of the modular people, the general contractor and the architects/engineers. If you want to go this way I suggest you go with a team all of whom are experienced in working together on this kind of construction. <P>Our experience in furnishing the common house, on the other hand, has been terrific, largely due to a small team known as ADA (I forget what it stands for) who have led the search for furniture, and overseen the decoration. We splurged on matching tables and chairs for the dining room - they are cherry and look wonderful - which ADA found at a very reasonable cost. Otherwise, everything was donated by residents, a number of whom were sizing down from larger homes. In the dining room, we also have a large "library" table in the center, covered with plexiglas which serves as a buffet, a couple of other smaller tables and a variety of high chairs and so on all of which which were donated. Each table has candles with glass shades and a small vase in which we usually have either dried or fresh flowers. In the living room we have a selection of couches and chairs (mostly wicker), all donations, which were covered as necessary with coordianted fabrics, a large square coffee table with shelves underneath to hold magazines, a glass fronted bookcase, a variety of small tables and lamps and - Star of the show - a wonderful grand piano. It's really a very comfortable room, especially when the fire is lighted. We don't have a TV, but one of our members brings in a large screen job when there is something special such as the Super Bowl, or a movie to be shown. The entry is similarly graced with a lovely table and antique chairs, as well as benches, also covered in coordinated cushions. We also have a large number of low-maintenance plants around the place. But the best thing is probably our art display. ADA asked anyone who had some "homegrown" original art to bring it along - they chose and hung items all over the common house, ranging from soft art such as quilts to electronically manipulated photos - Wow what a lot of talent we turned up. So our walls are covered with great art, all by members of every age. <P>Rowenac <BR>CambridgeCohousing <BR> <BR> </HTML>
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