It’s not winter any more, but not spring either. The in-between-seasons nondescript weather only inspires one to dream about being elsewhere. I find myself longing for walking barefoot. Green summer grass or a warm floor on a crystal clear winter day…
In France, old stone barns are sometimes converted into charming living quarters. For a couple of years, I had the fortune to live in one. During winter, the floors were terribly cold no matter how many rugs and slippers we used. However, on hot summer days, the cool floors were a blessing. Ever since, for me it’s real summer if I enjoy walking barefoot on cool tile floors!
From France, I moved to Sweden and built a house on a cement slab with radiant (water) floor heating on the entire ground floor. The colder it was outside, the warmer the floors were inside! mmm…! What a shock moving into an American house with forced air heating and poor insulation after that. I’m still dreaming of converting to radiant heat…
Walking barefoot is informal, casual, relaxed and signals that the stress from the office and running errands has been left behind. That’s most likely why the book title “The Barefoot Home” sounds so intriguing. The book provided abundant inspiration for my last remodeling job. And yes, the new addition has a Mediterranean style tile floor!
Going barefoot, at least some of the time is good for your feet and your posture. When my kids were little, doctors told me toddlers should walk barefoot (where safe of course) to develop their balance and muscles properly. It might be cute to put shoes on babies even before they need them, but those tiny soft bones are better off not being confined.
Elisabeth
