Sports Celebrity Spotlight: Lance Armstrong
Since we’re in the throes of the Tour de France, I thought it only proper to take a look at how one of the greatest cyclists the world has ever seen chooses to live his life when he’s not barreling down grueling hills, climbing the Alps, or exercising himself silly on a daily basis. With some much strain in his life, something has to be a luxury, and for Lance, it’s all about creating the perfect, relaxing home environment. Calling Austin, Texas his home, let’s see what we can learn from Mr. Armstrong’s decorative choices and how we can implement them for our own homes! Thanks to Architectural Digest.com, let’s take a critical look at Lance Armstrong’s home and see what we can learn!
Lance’s bungalow style home can best be described as an estate, not just a house. Why? Open porches, paths through gardens, tons of greenery all add to the effect of an expansive property, not just a house. Make your home feel more like a property by adding on porches and gardens for yourself!
If the home is to die for, take a look at the pool!
To gain a house that looks like this, you have to think about ambiance and night time lighting. What’s the most important factor? Weather! For us New Englanders, an outdoor pool can only be used for about 3 months out of the year. If you’re in the south, though, an outdoor pool is a beautiful and almost necessary addition to the home! To make a pool this beautiful and ambient at your home, think about tiki torches and underwater lighting, and even maybe some interesting tropical plant life. It’s all about the greenery and the lighting, and indoor it’s all about the lighting. Lance knows how to make his place restive and beautiful, gauge your own price range and see if creating an earthy, ambient architectural estate is within your price range. If not, easy simple solutions would be investing in some potted plants for the kitchen or living room, and some tiki torches or low lighting for the porches or backyard; the plants will make your house feel fresher, and the lighting will save on electricity and create more family friendly spaces in your home to enjoy during the warmer months.
The best advice I can give, though, for emulating Lance’s lifestyle, is to take up biking. Biking is not just for the rural-dwellers, city-rats benefit more from biking than anyone else. I’ve been switching between four New England cities for the past 3 years, and cannot stress more the necessity of clean, money-saving, exercise-inducing transportation like biking. It’s fast, it’s relatively painless (so long as your not in the Tour de France) and you get to see parts of the city that you would never experience underground in the subways or cursing your way through traffic. So sit back, relax and invest in a stable bicycle; the restful lifestyle is only a pedal away!
