buy or build a hippie house somewhere warm and green where I can see the ocean

How about renovating an old, abandoned fire station? I could do a straw-bale layer on the exterior, leaving the interior brick whilie still getting the insulation. The windows are large and airy and I could have plenty of space to lay out projects and do yoga, dance, and all that jazz. It may not be near the ocean, but could be really fun, all the same.

Grow.

The house is about 15 hundred square feet; with covered porches and rooms with large windows covering the walls and ceilings. The rooms have minimal furniture with room to dance and meditate, do yoga, paint, lie out my writing and other projects, sing and cook. In the large outdoor space behind the house filled with old oak trees that are perfect to climb, there is a large chicken coop and a small barn along with an ever growing fruit tree orchard. I can sit in a covered porch with warm stones below me and a glass roof above, listening to the sounds of the wind in the grass, my chickens, horses, dogs, the waves lapping at the beach, and, a little while off, a river bubbling. I never want to hear the sound of cars, electronics, motors, and angry people.
I am not far from my neighbors, my family and friends, and we are not afraid to look out for one another. We gather to do art projects, eat meals, have a drum circle, and tell stories while still being very respectful of each other’s privacy.
The house is fulling sustainable, utilizing solar power and wind power to allowing me to use water and electricity. It is built from recycled materials that don’t harm the environment that I live in. There is a compost toilet, butterfly roof with a rain catchment system, and a solar oven. There is an indoor and outdoor kitchen, the outdoor a simple, covered table with a storage hole in the ground for refrigeration in the garden.
I love this wonderful hippie house already.

Grow.

This house is open to the surrounding land; airy rooms that open onto porches, lots of light from skylights and translucent overhanging roof areas. It is full of empty space inwhich to dance, stretch, play, spread out projects, practice music. The sounds I hear are wild birds, crickets, wind in the tree branches, moving water. I rarely, if ever, hear motors, electronics, dogs, roosters, or angry people. I can see the ocean and receive its breezes, so I am not troubled by biting insects. My neighbors are my friends, and we gather often to share meals, music and stories.

The house uses water, electricity, solar heat, solar power, and other resources in an efficient and sustainable way. It is built of renewable materials that require a minimum of maintainance. Recycled materials add soul and playfulness to the elegant and simple design of the building. Off-grid and on-grid options are available for use according to advantage on any given day. The land has a reliable cool clear well, and roofwater is collected for watering the garden. The toilets do not use water, and, instead, produce sterile humus for the fruit trees and ornamentals. There’s a solar oven and a solar produce drier in the garden.

There is a bedroom for me with a walk-in closet and a bathroom with a shower/tub, a guestroom with a closet and a bathroom, an office with extensive storage for books, files, and supplies, a spacious art studio with many tables, shelves and bulletin boards, plus storage for art supplies, completed works, and shipping supplies, an open and informal kitchen/dining/living room area that lends itself to gatherings of friends, a music area, a covered parking area, a gardening workroom, a laundry room, fix-it work area with tools for house upkeep and wouldn’t it be cool to make my own bio-diesel!

Surrounding the house are permaculture style gardens, with the edible plants that need the most oversight closest to the doors of the house, and the fruit trees needing least oversight farthest away. The garden is a jumble of plants that build the soil, plants that feed birds and insects, plants give shade and biomass to the garden, and plants that feed people. I plan to chose plants that multi-task wherever possible! The garden, like the house, is low maintainance, high yield.

I imagine the house design to have curving, organic elements to it, and that I will add mosaic designs to the outside areas.

The neighborhood features miles of scenic walking trails, lovely places to swim and snorkel, and a sweet little town or two with lovingly restored old buildings, enormous old trees, a well-stocked and reasonably priced natural foods store, several venues inwhich to gather with friends for natural food and live entertainment, a restored movie theatre with an arts/left taste in films, a friendly bank and post office, and a weekly farmers’ market. Hippie heaven!

I feel happily at home just thinking about it; I am already there.