We are vampires. My young family sleeps in the basement rooms of our flat, which takes up the bottom two floors of a Victorian terrace.
Down in the basement it is cool and dark, which is lovely in “summer” but horrid in winter. It is quiet, though; womb-like often. Dehumidifiers and air filters ward off worries of damp and mould down there, but I do worry if sleeping in the basement is psychologically disturbing.
“Going down to bed” still sounds all wrong. Opening the blinds to see the world at a ground level gives it a trench feel. The chances of my children growing up to be vampires is slim of course, but the risk is high for Goth tendencies. Since I’m bringing a fair bit of moody moping to the family already, this is troubling.
So it is with some envy that I present our cover feature this week. Anna White’s excellent piece on why building upwards is the hottest new trend in home improvements, due to some changes to regulations.
The only way is up, too, for London developers that are finding space in, well, the air to help tackle the housing crisis (and create some show-stopping high rises).
For us basement dwellers, this seems like a tantalising prospect. A vision of city living that’s like a healthier Blade Runner, life lived in the clouds where the air is crisp and fine and the view is clear.
Good for identifying human victims to feed on, too.
