My Dream House

Some girls are taught to imagine their wedding to help them sleep at night. For me, I would imagine my dream house. I never thought it would be possible- the bright walls, spiral staircases, and hidden passages- but yesterday, I visited it.

Pablo Neruda had three homes, each of which different and very special to him. The house we visited in Santiago was his primary home for most of his life, though not his favorite of the three.

It´s built on a hill, which is crucial to its design. There is a "river" running throughout, with built waterfalls, fountains, and other designs. The house is not a single building, but three increasingly private sections connected by outdoor stone staircases, twisting through gardens and past patios with ornate mosaic floors. The three sections together are themed of the ocean: the base as a ship, the second as a lighthouse, and the third like a lookout tower.

The lowest section was primarily for entertaining. Upon entering, guests would find a captain´s bar, with old bottles and retro bar stools for decoration. Next is a long room with a huge table, set with bright dishes and red glasses. Neruda was known to say that red wine tastes better in red glass, something I plan to test while I´m here. The cabinets at the end of the room serve dual purpose: a place to store his expansive collection of china from around the world, and a secret entrance to the "special" entertaining section. Through the door in the cabinet is a kitchen with sunshine walls and more decorative bottles. A spiral staircase leads to a open bedroom with lanterns for lighting and the initials "P" and "M" for his lover in the window. From here, a set of outdoor stairs lead up to the more private second section, where intimate friends would visit.

This section was dark inside, but with a wall of windows to take in the sun and view of the city. A central column made of a tree trunk is surrounded by animal rugs, 1950´s furnishings, and beautiful paintings made by Neruda´s artist friends. One particularly interesting is a portrait of his lady, a profile attached to a view of her face, with Neruda´s profile in her curly red hair to represent their secret and scandelous relationship. Their primary bedroom is upstairs in this section as well, very romantic in all of its oddities.

The final section is where Neruda would write, and several of his original drafts are displayed in the area next to the awards he had won over time. A wide, dark desk with model ships and a mold of one of his lover´s hands (to inspire him!) sits next to thick armchairs and benches where other poets would collaborate. This, his study and library, with a view of the city and the garden, was a sanctuary for him. The second room in this section is a reading room, with orate and kitcsh tables displaying collection upon collection of glass and shells and stones and pin-up art and everything else one can collect. The floor in this room is deliberated slanted, because Neruda felt that a person should always be in motion, like a ship at sea. A beautiful concept, and a beautiful home for a man who needed personality in his home to feel at home in his person.