May is usually my favourite season here on the Gold Coast in southeast Queensland. Glorious, sunny days that are not too hot; and cool, crisp nights when you can fill your lungs with gorgeous, clean air and feast your eyes on a night sky filled with lots of sparkly stars. It’s not too hot and it’s not too cold and it’s still beautiful weather for swimming.
The past few days though, have been a bit gloomy: grey days, stormy bursts and lots of rain (which is great for our tanks). Winter is well and truly on its way and is not my favourite season!
Today, I walked into our living room and noticed how light the room was and felt a little burst of happiness. I have always craved light and sunny houses but mostly lived in dark and cold houses and felt miserable in winter.
We used to live in a divine little 80-year-old Queenslander cottage right on the beach but every winter I would become so miserable because it was so cold and dark. At that time, I worked entirely at home in an online job. I would creep outside in my short breaks just to soak up a bit of winter sun before reluctantly heading back into the dark and cold.
Now, we live in our own home here in the Ecovillage in Currumbin Valley. We shifted two old weatherboard army buildings here from a discontinued army base up near Ipswich and joined them together into a pavilion style home. My main focus in the design was light and air. The buildings are north facing and now that we are heading into winter, it is really becoming evident just how important it is to have good solar orientation in your home.
We have also painted the rooms a creamy white to make them feel even lighter. As the days get colder, it’s glorious to have the sun shining in and warming up the rooms. No more feeling miserable about being inside and craving the sun.
Sun and light really do make for happy living.
About the Author...
Filippa lives in an ecovillage in southeast Queensland with her husband (K), her young son (Mr T), and "tummy bug" - due late September. She is passionate about nutrition, and enjoys nourishing dinner parties and luscious swims in the nearby waterhole. One day, she's hoping to say that she loves gardening too. First though, she's got to get past those childhood memories of Sundays spent pulling little weeds out of a manicured suburban garden bed.
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