#there arent a lot of people of color in the valley i just wanted to have more guys to relate to 😭😂

[azuneekun]

asian american haley and emily ....

[gender-snatched]

list of reasons i hate my ap lit class (i highly doubt anyone in these is on tumblr. the one person i could think would be seems too straight)

the teacher started the class by telling us all he'd give us nicknames (i had to beg for mine to not be about my hair color)

the teacher, henceforth called by his nickname cheats, regularly tells stories about his life

he will call people to corroborate these stories

he is also convinced he is the smartest person in the room, and does not seem to understand that this is usually how classes are. pretentious as hell

used to be a troublemaker, clearly favors troublemakers and gives them a space to be obnoxious

case in point: we have one desk in the class known as "tweakers corner" where all the troublemakers sit and cause trouble. he does not seperate them

it's called tweakers corner because cheats sits with a bunch of other teachers at lunch that he calls "creepers corner". somehow none of these adult male teachers realized that perhaps they shouldnt have called themselves creepers

we havent prepared for the ap exam until like. two days ago

half the class hasnt read any of the books

this is despite the fact that for some reason he hands out quizzes on our readings. however they arent the normal ones where you ask questions that aren't hard but cant be found on sparknotes. he asks shit like "whats the name of the town these side characters visited?" "how much did school cost down to the penny?" "which character said they wanted to die, casually?" "what does the main character think salt can do?"

he insists that taking notes helps with the reading but these arent notes on plot. they are grabbing every insignificant detail, and if you missed one, oops! anyways what was the main characters daughters friends father called? it was mentioned in one line.

wont shut up about how he followed the grateful dead on tour

and the problematic stuff that makes me hateeee him in vaguely chronological order

says "crackheads" a lot

likes dave chappelle

did a valley girl voice to convey a teenage female character was dumb (she wasnt even dumb in text) and did his normal voice for the male character

said the f slur in class (reading Ulysses by james joyce aloud) (it wasnt in our curriculum he just felt like it) (it made me have panic attacks until i got my gay lit teacher to talk to him) (he apologized at least)

pretended that his acquaintance, who was wanted by a government (long story) (he went to oxford for a summer and wont shut up about it) (the guy was wanted for like honorable reasons he wasnt like a killer) (he was like a whistleblower or something) was getting kidnapped by said government

calls the one latine kid in our class "el presidente" as a nickname. does NOT have any excuse for this

revealed that he cheated on his high school girlfriend. on prom night. with someone on her team. and got caught. defends this by saying they were on the path to breakup so it was almost needed. this is how he got his nickname ("we were two trains going in different directions")

had white person dreads in college

called denver in beloved a brat for acting exactly how youd expect a teen girl in her situation to act

once, on a field trip, the bus in front of ours took a wrong turn, making all the buses late because they had to stay together. said "where is that driver from? pakistan?" and then defended himself by saying "im just saying we need a native chicagoan to be driving!"

called cordelia in king lear a brat for having morals

followed this up by saying if he was in the positon of isabella from measure for measure (which is a person in power pressuring a girl to have sex with him for the release of her jailed brother) he would just have sex with the guy instead of speaking up about her morals

that one really pissed me off actually. even writing about it makes me need to cool down. like???? bitch is missing the HISTORICAL CONTEXT. cishet man would NOT if he was actually in that situation. also cops pressuring women for sex happens sooooo often. like hes just so fucking oblivious

did the valley girl voice AGAIN to mock a girl not doing work in our class. when tweakers corner is right fucking there

actually just letting us call them tweakers corner. thats absolutely wrong. i need to stop calling them that. but the only replacement i can find is a garbled scream of anger

the girl he mocked by doing the valley girl voice wasnt paying attention (again, neither were half the boys) and he was like "ohhhh are you shopping for prom dresses"

revealed he cut his brothers goldfish in half as a child. he regrets this (fair), but he regrets it more than cheating on his girlfriend

this isnt problematic but i dont like it: his ex and his wife have the same name

anyways. i hate this class. ill pass this exam because im me and the only way i dont start screaming about the no exam prep is reminding myself that if people do poorly it helps me get a 5

lmao like 3 days ago my ap lit class* voted on whether kendrick or drake was better. and kendrick won by a landslide**. glad to know both why and that that was right

*if youre wondering why we're doing this in ap lit its because that class is awful and off topic. i can elaborate

**i have not heard many songs by either artist but i've heard more kendrick, so i voted for him. also because i hate drake

[whumpurr]

Adrien and Sawdust part 6

cw: pet whump, whump recovery, bodily mutilation, self harm, brief and vague mention of past noncon, dehumanization, conditioned whumpee, unreliable narrator, brief mention of dissociation

masterlist

Sawdust was searching for his bag the second Master was gone. He hopped out of bed, punctuated with a fit of dizziness as he got to his feet, and crawled around the room looking for his duffel bag. The bright blue bag was nowhere to be found, and Sawdust wasn’t great at seeing in the dark either.

He started to wonder, to second guess himself. Did Master put the bag somewhere in the room and Sawdust just isn’t seeing it? Is he overlooking it? Did he even have a bag at all? Did it come with him to this new house, or was it left with his previous master? No, no, he remembered seeing it next to his kennel with those other people.

If he left the room now, Master would surely hear it and question him, or worse, punish him for disturbing his sleep. As much as Sawdust wanted his ears back, he just had to trust that Master would return them in due time.

Sleeping was difficult without the familiar squeeze of his headband around his head, but with a full stomach he managed to eventually fall asleep even if it took a while.

Sunlight came all too soon for Sawdust. The light peeked through the curtains and he couldn’t physically sleep any more. He was dreading going downstairs and having to face his master, having to eat beside him. He could only imagine what his master was going to do to him. Would he record him? Bring his friends over and show him how pathetic and stupid he looked eating out of a bowl on the floor? Sawdust shook himself out of his thoughts; he was just a dog anyways, he shouldn’t have enough of an ego to be embarrassed.

He was getting himself out of bed, going down onto his hands and knees when he heard a soft knock on the door, followed by Master’s quiet voice.

“Sawdust?” Master said from the other side of the heavy wooden door. “Come on, let’s go get some food.”

Sawdust got to the door and opened it with his paw, stepping out and following Master.

Master gave him a bowl of dog food once he was downstairs. Sawdust half contemplated asking Master about his ears, but really, if Master had taken them away then it was because Sawdust did not deserve them any more.

“Master,” Sawdust murmured, “Is- is there anything your pet can- can do? To assist?”

Master looked thoughtful for a moment then laughed, laughed at Sawdust.

“I think my work stuff is a bit advanced for you,” Master took a bite of his own food, “I want you to focus on… recovery, for now. Okay? That means you rest up and come get me if you want anything, food, water, whatever.”

Sawdust nodded, “Yes, Master,” before he continued eating, the hard kibble crunching satisfyingly between his teeth. He couldn’t work up the courage to ask Master about the ears or his bag, or where they’ve gone.

Lunch and dinner went similarly, with Master coming, getting his pet, and taking him downstairs to eat. Each time Sawdust couldn’t work himself up enough to ask Master about his ears. The lack of his ears made Sawdust feel… Wrong. Like he wasn’t a real dog, like he was a subpar pet. He wasn’t good enough to this new Master who had otherwise been so kind to him. What had he done to deserve this?

Night eventually fell, and Sawdust did his best to do as Master said and get to sleep. He curled up in the nest of blankets and pillows that his Master had made in the corner for him, and let himself begin to drift off. As he was doing so, he couldn’t help but wonder why his Master was withholding his belongings from him. Nevertheless, his eyelids grew heavy, and he eventually fell into a deep sleep.

--

Adrien was still getting accustomed to feeding someone using a dog bowl, with dog food, on the floor. It was a strange experience, and doing it made him feel dirty, but it was all Sawdust was going to accept so if it was between that or making the pet starve again, he would have to go with the former.

He was still very aware of just how lost he was in all of this. He searched the internet and scoured his social media for something that could give him some kind of life preserver in all of this. Finally, finally, he found something. A chatroom for pet owners. From the looks of it, it was heavily moderated and geared more towards pet liberation activists, and pet rehabbers, and people who actually cared for their pets. He requested to join and was accepted within the hour. He immediately sent a message to the ‘help’ section.

Adrien: >> Hey guys, I’m a new owner and I didn’t do as much research as I should have. >> Long story short, I didn’t keep as close an eye on my pet as I should’ve, and he ended up not eating because I wasn’t giving him dog food. Is that a normal thing? How can I help him?

It wasn’t five minutes before one of the other owners responded,

1Y4N4: >> oof, thats no good dude.. definitely watch him harder and probably just stick to feeding him what he wants for now. u said hes new right? let him stay in his comfort zone for a little bit probably

Adrien: >> Thanks. I’ll do that.

1Y4N4: >> np, im a bit more experienced as an owner but i dont think mine were as conditioned as urs >> at least not in that way

Zo: >> Bro wtf? You’re the source of your pet’s whole life and shit, you really should’ve done more research.

Adrien sat and watched as this ‘Zo’ person continued to rip into Adrien for his irresponsibility, though the ‘1Y4N4’ user at least tried to defend Adrien. It wasn’t long before Zo quieted down and 1Y4N4 was able to speak up again,

1Y4N4: >> lots of actual dogs eat things that arent dog chow >> maybe show your pet some videos of people feeding their dogs other stuff, maybe hell be more open then

Adrien thanked the user, and used the rest of his evening compiling some videos and researching, finding the outer bounds of what dogs could eat in hopes that he could convince Sawdust. It was far from exactly what he wanted, but he felt some semblance of satisfaction that there was at least a way to progress forwards.

--

Sawdust finally came up with a plan when he was coming out of the bathroom the next morning. It was before Adrien had gotten up. As Sawdust was leaving the bathroom, he caught sight of himself in the mirror.

His hair was all matted, and the fringe at his forehead was beginning to grow to hide his eyes. He looked lacking without his ears. There were deep circles under his eyes. At least the peaks of his cheeks and his lips were starting to regain some color now that he had a steady supply of food which he undoubtedly did not deserve. The scratched scar across his nose bridge and cheek that one of the other dogs gave him was still there. He looked at that and followed it across his face to his second ears.

His dumb second ears, the ones on either side of his head that his last master hated so much. His previous master had always told him that they made him look less like a dog, less like a pet, when a pet was all Sawdust ever wanted to be. Because if he wasn’t a pet, then he was a toy for both Master and the other dogs, and that was one step above the most reprehensible thing he could be. He had been downgraded to ‘toy’ for a short amount of time previously, and he was eternally grateful that he was never dropped even lower, to being nothing but food for the other dogs.

Master threatened that sometimes, chopping him up and feeding him to the other dogs.

Whenever Sawdust looked at himself in the mirror, he couldn’t help imagine it. Being cut up and thrown to other animals to eat. He found some part of himself that felt that- even if he could never do anything else right- he could do that right. He tried to halt that train of thought as quickly as he could, before his mind shunted him off to some dark, foggy place where he couldn’t think or feel until the bad thoughts went away.

But at the root of those thoughts, he found the problem, as well as the solution. He scrambled down to the kitchen as fast as he could go, wanting to work quickly before he could stop himself.

He got to the kitchen sink, and stood up on trembling, unused legs. They could hardly support his weight, he had to lean onto the granite countertop with his elbows as he reluctantly removed the tape from his paws using his teeth. He would need his fingers for this.

Sawdust’s breath was quick in his throat, the edges of his vision grew blurry as he tried to focus on this and only this. He had one task and he was not going to fail it. He wanted his ears back. He wanted his master to be happy with him again. Maybe this way he could earn his master’s attention and... Maybe even his affection, if a pet was allowed to hope.

Sawdust’s paws were shaky and clumsy as they took out the biggest knife out of the wooden blog. It was heavy and cold in his paw. With one paw he held the tip of one of his second ears and pulled it as far away from his head as he could.

The cold edge of the blade rested on his skin, at the valley between his second ear and his head. He squeezed his eyes shut, he couldn’t break down now, he couldn’t stop now. He took a deep, sharp breath and pressed down on the knife as hard as his feeble paws could.

--

Adrien shot out of bed to the sound of a piercing, howling scream from downstairs.

taglist: @starnight-whump @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi@neuro-whump @whump-me-all-night-long @cupcakes-and-pain @whumpzone @whumpcreations @dancinglifeboat @pinkraindropsfell @looptheloup @cowboy-anon @meetmeinhellcroutons @thingsthatgo-whump-inthenight @firewheeesky @maracujatangerine

[iam90sgirl]

Free write:

Influencers and Brands Silence SPEAK VOLUMES

Influencers and Brands Silence SPEAK VOLUMES!

So ive been very vocal on media pages im active on despite a strong notion that a completely strategic and mobilized fight needs to be had instead of the same old posting, praying, protesting but idk the people around me dont seem to see that however I cant stay quiet inspite of myself and I recently unfollowed a ton of people on my public page that havent said anything becase silence dosent save us in these situations. People are vocal about everything else and want you to follow them and their business and like all their posts and support their product but wont show any love back or recognition and then when things actually matter, radio silence. So no they had to go. I understand that many need a push but if you read a newspaper picked up a good book you should know what is what. And what is right and what is simply wrong. So my tolerance for it all is very low right now. If you are an influencer or brand even a black owned brand and especially a black influencer and you are silent right now, do better, people look to you and frequent you and you owe it to your followers to be on the right side of history and to at least TRY to make a difference.

I know some people work behind the scenes and do more that way but people respond to what they see or inturn dont see. It just is that way now with all this technology and such, the perception is your lack of words is a lack of conciousness. Which we know isnt always true but I've seen the most brand locked in pages acknowledging these injustices. I understand that its alot of peoples meal tickets however you gotta stand for something or your so called brand and branding is probably whack anyway. And then some, if any brand decides not to work with me or give me a shot based on this or my vocalness that black life should not be degraded to sensless meaningless death then that's their loss. I will stand for truth and justice and I think its better to know those representing a brand or service have real values so you know that theyll represent you with actual heart and what theyve got. Its too many fluff people and pieces out there anyway. Wheres the substance? Dont just be out here for money, have purpose, vision, morales and character. Whoo that can go into a whole 'nother post so let me digress.

Some of my personal frustration with words in the fight against injustice is that ive been saying them every time and nothing happens. I dont have the platform yet or influence to make huge strides with my impactful words, it seems. and I never thought words alone save us when these things happen. Growing up i was always a hard fan of King but for longer than five years I'd say Malcolm knew what was up. We protested and had Civil Rights but that didnt do much. And i fear a hundred years could go by before people do what needs to be done if the earth is still sustaining all our consumerist behinds by then.

In closing cuz honestly everything im saying is stuff ive been saying for what seems like centuries and i dont care to speak mountains and be met with valleys. words are the least people can do and they arent doing that so why would i think our words will change anything. Its gonna take a hella lot more than words and protesting but words and protesting are the least any of us can do so we of all colors oughta be doing that anyway.

Oh PS so the first and only brand i saw aknowledge this and other injustices was actually Curls (curly hair brand founder and CEO Mahisha Dellinger) I am proud of large brands taking a stand, as they should, to stand against injustice. And then I saw tgin, Shea Moisture and Eden BodyWorks and Target finally say something however they can still do more and other brands and influencers. Recently saw Netflix has taken a stand, and Beyonce, Drake so now others are following as well. Time will tell. Again them saying something dosent solve the issue but it encourages other brands to follow suit which I guess is something still.

Notice, some brands and influencers rather than take a public stance offer public empathy towards the injustices which on one hand is not the same and is a bit of a side eye because it isnt always in care for your mental health, its just playing it safe, however it can be nice to know that people get it and it is heavy on their hearts as well so in terms of keeping investors happy and such its smart bussiness wise but a public stance does more to encourage peopleto do what needs to be done is how im putting it which is simply more. More support from, as Nicole Walters puts, our lighter brighter counterparts on this earth we share as home and more action by all that back up the strong words we say.

5/30/2020

[dimplesremade]

tagged by @eloquentstars, thank you so much!!!

♡ rules: answer the questions and tag 20 blogs you’d like to know better

♡ sign: leo sun, cancer moon, libra rising

♡ height: 5′6′’  

♡ last thing googled: singer talent sewing machine foot (i cant find the presser foot for mine omg)

♡ favorite music artist: AAA.. thats really hard.. i dont listen to one music artist in particular a whole lot.. maybe rihanna (mostly her 2000s music) or madonna (80s era mostly)? 

♡ last TV show watched: ....im currently watching dr phil...... i wanted to see what the fuck the danielle thing is about... but before that it was probably rupauls drag race?? or catfish?? i have horrible taste in tv let me live

♡ when did I create my blog: apparently june 2015, but thats because ive remade my blog a few times.. i first joined tumblr in ~2011

♡ what kind of stuff do I post about: on this blog its mostly naruto, sometimes shitposts

♡ do I have any other blogs: i have @dimples (my aesthetic blog), @ryogahibiki (ranma 1/2 blog), @magax (neopets blog), @boardop (technical theatre blog)

♡ do I get asks regularly: nope :^(

♡ why did I choose my url: bc i love naruto and he says dattebayo constantly

♡ gender: demigirl probably?

♡ pokemon team: valor!

♡ favorite colors: black, a forest green, deep cherry red

♡ average hours of sleep: usually ~7?? on weekends sometimes like 10

♡ favorite characters: rock lee, tenten, sai, haku, gaara.. from anime that arent naruto i really like ginko from mushishi, sailor uranus from sailor moon, ryoga hibiki from ranma 1/2, and lum from urusei yatsura.. and from video games i like agitha and skull kid from legend of zelda, celeste and sable from animal crossing, shane from stardew valley, flora from professor layton, ema skye from ace attorney, etcetc

♡ dream job: i wanna do something in the technical theatre field.. something with lighting, scene painting, or props would be really fun i think

for the people im tagging, theres no pressure to do this so dont worry about doing this if u dont want to!!! im tagging @lesbiangaara, @softbutchnaruto, @butchminato, @weedlesbian, @lesbianuzumaki, @rosanimorphs, @dreamyuri, @moonstruckgf, @wearecryingdreamers, @hpdnaruto, @dovah, @favecolor, @gaynaruto and anyone else who wants to do it! u can just say i tagged u!

[davidoespailla]

3 Things We Love About the 2019 New American Home—and 3 We Could Live Without

Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

Panoramic desert views from your perch in the infinity pool—with a built-in hot tub. A smart toilet that warms up the seat when you enter the bathroom. A state-of-the-art kitchen with gleaming appliances that looks like a Pinterest board come to life. Welcome to The New American Home, 2019 edition.

The National Association of Home Builders unveiled its 36th showcase house this week during its annual convention in Las Vegas. The 8,226-square-foot property in Henderson, NV, was built to highlight the latest innovations in design, efficiency, technology, and an array of luxe amenities. If you’re sufficiently wowed, the home is for sale for a cool $6.5 million.

We took the opportunity to tour the one-story home and get an inside peek at what the future holds. But while there’s a lot to love in the five-bed, 4.5-bath contemporary home, there were a few things that didn’t quite hit the mark.

So what did we love? Here are our faves:

1. Views, views, views

It doesn’t matter if you’re a desert devotee, beach bum, or an ardent fan of forest life. The panoramic views from this house, perched high above Las Vegas, are undeniably breathtaking.

View of Las Vegas from the back patio

Jeff Davis of Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

The New American Home for 2019

Jeff Davis of Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

Cuddle up next to one of the (several) outdoor fire pits on a cool desert night, or take a dip in the infinity pool and gaze down on the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip. (I’ll be honest—I was extremely tempted to set aside social graces and jump in. It was that alluring.)

And we can’t forget the fully loaded outdoor kitchen featuring state-of-the-art appliances.

2. The outdoor-indoor flow Front courtyard

Jeff Davis of Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

For the past several years, homeowners have been making seamless transitions between outdoor and indoor living spaces. But this home takes the concept to a new level, with an elaborate living space in the back and a courtyard in the front.

“No one’s done [outdoor-indoor flow] to this extent before,” says Bridgette Slater, director of design and preconstruction for Sun West Custom Homes, the Nevada company that built and designed the house. “We wanted to show everyone that it’s functional on the front of the house as much as the back.”

The courtyard is surrounded by glass pocket doors, so you can open them and be outside and inside at the same time. In fact, everywhere you turn, you’re enveloped by the desert scene outside—50% of the house is glass (the rest of the exterior is porcelain and stucco).

Wondering how a glass house fares in the stifling heat of Las Vegas? Well, they accounted for that, too.

“There are shade pockets everywhere,” Slater says. “Energy efficiency in this home is insane. Your utility bills aren’t crazy.”

3. The master bathroom Master bathroom

Jeff Davis of Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

According to 2019 design forecasts, luxe master bathrooms have risen to the top of home buyers’ wish lists. This bathroom reinforces all those desires and turns up the volume. It’s seamless with the master bedroom—one fluid space that allows you to take in vistas of the Las Vegas skyline while you relax in the steam shower.

And then there’s the toilet. This $2,000 throne has a bidet feature that “sprays everywhere,” Slater says. It actually sings to you. And it heats up automatically for ultimate backside comfort.

My colleague didn’t know that, however; so she was in for a nice surprise when she took this toilet for a test drive.

“As soon as I walked in, it knew I was there and heated up before I even sat on it,” she explains. “It was incredibly gratifying and was nice and toasty. It puts heated car seats to shame!”

———

Clearly, there’s a lot to love about this home. And, of course, we’d take it in a heartbeat. But no home is 100% perfect. I had a few relatively minor quibbles. Here are a few things we’d fiddle with if we had free rein.

1. The masculine aesthetic Great room

Jeff Davis of Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

There’s nothing wrong with modern design—and this house offers plenty of it. I’m all for clean, sleek lines, and the luxurious vibe of a house made of stone and glass.

But somewhere along the line, the decor scheme of this house drifts from modern to masculine, from clean to cold. The heavy, industrial look almost became distracting from the gorgeous vistas in the valley beyond. For example, the number of light fixtures in the great room (above) “was so much it made my head spin,” my colleague admits.

Man cave

Jeff Davis of Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

As for the home’s man cave, we’re not sure how to feel about this space. Part garage, part media room, and all dude-centric, this bright red space is a choice.

Flashy and perfect for a party with a bevy of bros? Sure. But I have to be honest—I had no desire to spend more than a few minutes in this room.

A caveat: It’s important to remember that this is a show home.

“The whole point of The New American Home is to show how the products on the show floor can be used in a residential setting,” Slater says. “It’s supposed to make people go, ‘This has “wow” factor.'”

Alright, fine. We were wowed. But the home is also supposed to be livable (it’s on the market, after all), and the current feel might lack the coziness necessary to appeal to a wider audience.

2. (Some of) the colors Bedroom

Rachel Stults

When it comes to color, The New American Home of years past has often been monochromatic—slathered in neutral whites, grays, and taupes. So this year, the design team shook things up with pops of color from paint company Sherwin-Williams.

We swooned for some of the looks (there was a tranquil ocean blue room that I was ready to move into, like, yesterday). But some of the color choices simply didn’t jell with the rest of the home.

Case in point: the bedroom decked out in Sherwin-Williams’ 2019 Color of the Year, Cavern Clay. We’ve previously gone on record about our feelings on this shade, and our opinions are no different this time around. This terra-cotta color simply looks dated—and doesn’t provide the restful or luxurious vibe you’d expect from a top-of-the-line show home.

3. The showpieces Floating bed in the master bedroom

Jeff Davis of Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

We want to be clear: This house is freaking cool. It is The New American Home, after all—a space where designers and builders have free rein to do whatever the heck they want, stuff that nobody’s done before. That’s why there’s a floating bed (above) and a floating wet bar, both attached by cantilevers. The innovation is out of this world.

But in a few instances it all felt a little…gimmicky. Yes, that bed is ultracool. But it’s not practical. There’s no storage, nowhere to hide your junk—and imagine the dust bunnies that are likely to collect under it.

In the end, we would have been just as awed without as many bells and whistles. But we definitely wouldn’t turn this place down. (If anybody wants to go in together on a jumbo mortgage, just let me know.)

Clare Trapasso contributed to this report.

The post 3 Things We Love About the 2019 New American Home—and 3 We Could Live Without appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

3 Things We Love About the 2019 New American Home—and 3 We Could Live Without

[gillespialfredoe01806ld]

3 Things We Love About the 2019 New American Home—and 3 We Could Live Without

Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

Panoramic desert views from your perch in the infinity pool—with a built-in hot tub. A smart toilet that warms up the seat when you enter the bathroom. A state-of-the-art kitchen with gleaming appliances that looks like a Pinterest board come to life. Welcome to The New American Home, 2019 edition.

The National Association of Home Builders unveiled its 36th showcase house this week during its annual convention in Las Vegas. The 8,226-square-foot property in Henderson, NV, was built to highlight the latest innovations in design, efficiency, technology, and an array of luxe amenities. If you’re sufficiently wowed, the home is for sale for a cool $6.5 million.

We took the opportunity to tour the one-story home and get an inside peek at what the future holds. But while there’s a lot to love in the five-bed, 4.5-bath contemporary home, there were a few things that didn’t quite hit the mark.

So what did we love? Here are our faves:

1. Views, views, views

It doesn’t matter if you’re a desert devotee, beach bum, or an ardent fan of forest life. The panoramic views from this house, perched high above Las Vegas, are undeniably breathtaking.

View of Las Vegas from the back patio

Jeff Davis of Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

The New American Home for 2019

Jeff Davis of Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

Cuddle up next to one of the (several) outdoor fire pits on a cool desert night, or take a dip in the infinity pool and gaze down on the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip. (I’ll be honest—I was extremely tempted to set aside social graces and jump in. It was that alluring.)

And we can’t forget the fully loaded outdoor kitchen featuring state-of-the-art appliances.

2. The outdoor-indoor flow Front courtyard

Jeff Davis of Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

For the past several years, homeowners have been making seamless transitions between outdoor and indoor living spaces. But this home takes the concept to a new level, with an elaborate living space in the back and a courtyard in the front.

“No one’s done [outdoor-indoor flow] to this extent before,” says Bridgette Slater, director of design and preconstruction for Sun West Custom Homes, the Nevada company that built and designed the house. “We wanted to show everyone that it’s functional on the front of the house as much as the back.”

The courtyard is surrounded by glass pocket doors, so you can open them and be outside and inside at the same time. In fact, everywhere you turn, you’re enveloped by the desert scene outside—50% of the house is glass (the rest of the exterior is porcelain and stucco).

Wondering how a glass house fares in the stifling heat of Las Vegas? Well, they accounted for that, too.

“There are shade pockets everywhere,” Slater says. “Energy efficiency in this home is insane. Your utility bills aren’t crazy.”

3. The master bathroom Master bathroom

Jeff Davis of Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

According to 2019 design forecasts, luxe master bathrooms have risen to the top of home buyers’ wish lists. This bathroom reinforces all those desires and turns up the volume. It’s seamless with the master bedroom—one fluid space that allows you to take in vistas of the Las Vegas skyline while you relax in the steam shower.

And then there’s the toilet. This $2,000 throne has a bidet feature that “sprays everywhere,” Slater says. It actually sings to you. And it heats up automatically for ultimate backside comfort.

My colleague didn’t know that, however; so she was in for a nice surprise when she took this toilet for a test drive.

“As soon as I walked in, it knew I was there and heated up before I even sat on it,” she explains. “It was incredibly gratifying and was nice and toasty. It puts heated car seats to shame!”

———

Clearly, there’s a lot to love about this home. And, of course, we’d take it in a heartbeat. But no home is 100% perfect. I had a few relatively minor quibbles. Here are a few things we’d fiddle with if we had free rein.

1. The masculine aesthetic Great room

Jeff Davis of Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

There’s nothing wrong with modern design—and this house offers plenty of it. I’m all for clean, sleek lines, and the luxurious vibe of a house made of stone and glass.

But somewhere along the line, the decor scheme of this house drifts from modern to masculine, from clean to cold. The heavy, industrial look almost became distracting from the gorgeous vistas in the valley beyond. For example, the number of light fixtures in the great room (above) “was so much it made my head spin,” my colleague admits.

Man cave

Jeff Davis of Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

As for the home’s man cave, we’re not sure how to feel about this space. Part garage, part media room, and all dude-centric, this bright red space is a choice.

Flashy and perfect for a party with a bevy of bros? Sure. But I have to be honest—I had no desire to spend more than a few minutes in this room.

A caveat: It’s important to remember that this is a show home.

“The whole point of The New American Home is to show how the products on the show floor can be used in a residential setting,” Slater says. “It’s supposed to make people go, ‘This has “wow” factor.'”

Alright, fine. We were wowed. But the home is also supposed to be livable (it’s on the market, after all), and the current feel might lack the coziness necessary to appeal to a wider audience.

2. (Some of) the colors Bedroom

Rachel Stults

When it comes to color, The New American Home of years past has often been monochromatic—slathered in neutral whites, grays, and taupes. So this year, the design team shook things up with pops of color from paint company Sherwin-Williams.

We swooned for some of the looks (there was a tranquil ocean blue room that I was ready to move into, like, yesterday). But some of the color choices simply didn’t jell with the rest of the home.

Case in point: the bedroom decked out in Sherwin-Williams’ 2019 Color of the Year, Cavern Clay. We’ve previously gone on record about our feelings on this shade, and our opinions are no different this time around. This terra-cotta color simply looks dated—and doesn’t provide the restful or luxurious vibe you’d expect from a top-of-the-line show home.

3. The showpieces Floating bed in the master bedroom

Jeff Davis of Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

We want to be clear: This house is freaking cool. It is The New American Home, after all—a space where designers and builders have free rein to do whatever the heck they want, stuff that nobody’s done before. That’s why there’s a floating bed (above) and a floating wet bar, both attached by cantilevers. The innovation is out of this world.

But in a few instances it all felt a little…gimmicky. Yes, that bed is ultracool. But it’s not practical. There’s no storage, nowhere to hide your junk—and imagine the dust bunnies that are likely to collect under it.

In the end, we would have been just as awed without as many bells and whistles. But we definitely wouldn’t turn this place down. (If anybody wants to go in together on a jumbo mortgage, just let me know.)

Clare Trapasso contributed to this report.

The post 3 Things We Love About the 2019 New American Home—and 3 We Could Live Without appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

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[maagiakosmos]

GREAT OCEAN ROAD. MELBOURNE. BAROSSA.

From Barossa to Melbourne via Great Ocean Road. Thats the latest road trip we did. As we got to know that vintage is going to be late because the grapes arent ready enough to start making good quality wine.  Once again the weather has been weird and usually the harvest starts earlier. This time they said that they might start bringing people in in the end of February. Its end of February and we just got a text that Tom is going to start on Monday and Maria will start on Thursday. If the vintage is coming to a full swing then we most likely we gonna have 6 12 hour work days. Just a pleasure :)

Anyways. Once again we had couple of weeks after the training period and off we went again.

Great Ocean Road is very nice road. Very picturesque and crazy landscapes. Though, very many people and tourists. Sometimes it was somewhat annoying. Either way, we enjoyed it and did see fairly much. Its the same with this entry that visuals share more than thousand words here. Therefor just check out the photos on Flickr and you can have an idea. From out there it might not see any different than the photos from Perth to Barossa, but for us it is different. Every campsite and every beach is unique. Every moment is different and consists of millions of other elements and details that make places magical. Beauty is always there. For us it was the beauty of the nature, animals, birds. The freedom of camping and roaming around the country. The people we met on the way, if we did. It felt that we just mainly want to relax and mind our own business. Just be together, two of us. We must admit that there were times when we both were all around the place and mingled with everyone…who we are where we come from where we are going and what we are doing. This time around we just feel like that we just want to be and travel and share the moment. We just want to take a leap out of the personalities, memories, thoughts and etc that are intertwined with ourselves. We just want to sort of float there in the moment. I guess here the principle of GO WITH THE FLOW expires since we dont really want to go with the flow anymore….We have done it way so many times, yet it sometimes still leaves an empty feeling inside. This time around we wish to BE THE FLOW or Great our OWN FLOW at the given moment. Thats an ongoing process and it does take somewhat work. Well, It is nice to meet people and exchange stories and knowledge and get to know someone….though, we also have to admit that you will really sense who these people are and you sometimes gotta choose to “ignore” some people. The well known truth is that hang around with the people who take you higher instead take you lower…And once you get to know the people who are extremely likeminded or you have some sort of very good connection that this takes both of you onto another, higher plane. In our mind it would take us into BE THE FLOW moment. We know that it is hard to give forward that thread of thought and it can somewhat seem a bit weird, but we also think that in this way we can just simplify our every day lives and live with the less which in the end gives you more joy and happiness. That would be this fresh spring morning smell, this colorful autumn afternoon, this golden summer light, this brisk winter “kick” in your face. :) Perhaps if we have put this into terms of nature then you most likely understand us more then needed!

Obviously there are much more to describe and tell you about al the weird things we started to notice when we were on the move, but we think it would end up being a little bit too long entry if we would like to go through all such things. When we’ll meet again then we tell the stories ;)

After living 2 months out of our station wagon home called Radomir is extremely hard to move back into the house and live in the room :) unpacking and taking all the stuff out the wagon. Shattering all the systems and making up new ones cause you live in the house, again. It felt funny, but by now we are already used to it. Especially when the work is ahead of us. We live together and rent a room in local couple house. They are very friendly and nice people. And their dog Obi! Very good and awesome dog ;) We like it a lot.

One comforting things is that during the last 2 months we have been doing many wine tastings in different wineries in Margaret River region, McLaren Region, Barossa Valley region, Currency greek region and most likely in some other region we cant think of at the moment then we also gathered a “few” wine bottles to take with us. After we unpacked us were were actually bamboozled how “few” wines we have gotten. We wish we could send them all to Estonia. Unfortunately it is a bit too expansive to send them bottles to Estonia. We just gotta enjoy them when we are still here during the next 2 months ;)  

Thats it folks. No we are back to working mode and gonna be more or less flat out for the next month and a half. We managed to grab some pictures and hopefully we can process them through and show you what we are up to now. 

enjoy the time being.

FLICKR PHOTO ALBUM LINK https://flic.kr/s/aHskRZNPFm