I was thinking to myself not so long ago what one word would describe my dream home. What will the theme of my first house be? I didn’t have to think very long, it came to me right away:

Warm.

It struck me that all the activities I most look forward to in life, that bring me true comfort, all emanate heat. When I go to the gym, I reward myself at the end of my workout with a relaxing meditation in the sauna or a nice steep in the steam room. When I visit my parent’s place in Long Island in the winter, my favorite pastime is to build a fire in their fireplace. At night, when I sleepover, I don’t need any slippers as I glide over their heated floors.

In my bedroom at my apartment in Beacon, I’ve setup a cozy library that houses all my warm books. I love sitting down at a toasty cigar lounge with a comfy couch. When I go on vacation, my favorite part of the hotel is the spa and jacuzzi–even better, when there’s a big bathtub in the room with a jacuzzi in it. That’s a jackpot. All these luxuries would make nearly any home a dream come true for me.

I would want it located somewhere in the woods–but not too far from the city, which is why I love the Hudson Valley: It’s the perfect mix of nowhere and somewhere… an hour riding along the Hudson River on the Metro North and I’m right at Grand Central. People bustling, energy buzzing, chaos, street performers, business deals, fashion trends, Wall Street, Fifth Ave, downtown funk, midtown luxury, westside grime, east village art, museums, hot dogs, Hilal food and noise pollution. Somehow it’s charming. And at night, I’m right back in the Hudson Valley where the owls hoot.

The house would be modern colonial and although I love the summer heat, I much prefer to wait for the winter snowfalls and gaze into the snowflakes next to a blazing fire; the fireplace at the center of my living room. I’d listen to the crackle of the wood pop and every so often gather more timber from outside. There’s nothing like going from cold to warm.

My precision with the axe would become expert and I’d be able to split logs like I grew up in Montana. After the snow blizzard, I’d head downstairs to my home gym and start my workout in a beautifully constructed sauna that would resemble one of the many saunas I’ve pinned to my Pinterest page. I’ll let my muscles become a bit limber before I begin lifting weights. I’ll workout for about forty minutes before I go for a brief run on the treadmill then reward myself with a nice hot steam in my customized steam room; it might even be a steam shower, I’m not sure.

Upstairs, I’ll take a nice warm bath in my giant bathtub full of hotter than warm water and stare out the window at the cold night and fluffy flakes, watching the snow fall from the comfort of my warm tub. There’s nothing like staring at freezing when you’re toasty and safe.

Downstairs the fire would still be crackling as I made my way back down in my cozy pajamas with a book in my hand and my idea notebook in the other. I’d walk over the heated floor tiles of my kitchen to my humidor and grab a fresh cigar and smoke while I read, and write while I think.

At the end of the evening I’ll cozy up on the sofa by the fireplace and load it up with more wood as I dive back into whichever Netflix mind-mush show my girlfriend and I are currently watching. We’ll eat shitty food and binge terrible entertainment, but all in the comfort of a warm home.

That would be my dream abode: Warm.

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