I live in a semi-detached house which is 5-meter wide and 45-meter long. From the front to the back you have the living-room, the study, the kitchen, the toilet and the stairs which lead to my bedroom and bathroom, then I have a pretty big garden with a guesthouse.
I like cottage style, so I tried to create that look when it was renovated, using a lot of timber, antique furniture and a shabby impression to them. That not-weel-cared appearance is repeated in the garden which, in Brazil, gives it a jungle touch.
It's a little bit weird to have a house like that in São Paulo, where people are more likely to build modern looking buildings - with an office-like taste, in my opinion. It's funny when people come over and start talking about my place! "I feel as if I was in a farm", "I can see you like ordinary things", "It reminds me of my granny", "It needs refurbishing", "Frida Khalo's house", "You're very hippie".
As of flooring I chose to let the original parquet in most of the rooms and polished concrete in the kitchen and toilets. The ceiling follows the shape of the roof and is coated with timber. In Brazil we use bricks to build the walls and tiles for roofs, there's no need for insulation, at least not in the Southeastern cities, but I'd love to have a fireplace! Yesterday it was 11 degrees (celcius) and I thought a lot about it.
Decor and renovation are hobbies of mine. It's a shame those things cost so much in here. These days I'm planning to renovate the garden. I think I'll pull down the guesthouse - which has become more of a storage house - and create a vegetable garden. I have to agree with my visitors. I should move to a farm.