3 Beautiful Ways to Sleep Under the Stars
In late summer, my friend Jenny wraps up in a down comforter and sleeps on her deck. Hot August and September days make her upstairs bedroom unbearableeven after the suns gone downso she retreats to her sleeping porch. There, she enjoys the starry sky, the cool air and birdsong at dawn. Our Colorado climatedry and without bugsis conducive to outdoor sleeping, but its possible anywhere. If you can find a way to spend a night or two outsidebefore its too lateyou wont regret it.
Penny Livingston-Stark and James Stark slept outdoors most of spring, summer, and fall in their bale (pronounced balay), a Balinese structure that raises their bed above the ground and puts a natural roof over their heads, in northern California. The joy of sleeping outdoors, says Penny, is hearing the owls at night and awakening to the predawn chorus. Sometimes the birds forget were here and fly right through the bale. Penny and James also used their outdoor garden room for dining and entertaining. Photo by Paul Bousquet
I was lucky enough to sleep in this cabina at Finca Exotica, a sustainable resort and farm on Costa Ricas Osa Peninsula, earlier this year. Built from strong bamboo poles, with a thatched roof, the o! pen-air bedroom protected us from the elements while we listened to the distant surf and tree frogs. The mosquito netting was welcome, indeed. Photo by Barbara Bourne
An Old-Fashioned Sleeping Porch
When Bill Moses restored Casa Barranca, an American Craftsman masterpiece in Californias Ojai Valley, he meticulously preserved the houses history as well as its connectedness with nature. Nearly every bedroom in the turn-of-the-century home has a screened sleeping porch and deck. This one is for Bills son and the estates young visitors. Photo by Michael Shopenn
Robyn Griggs Lawrence writes the daily Natural Home Living blog for Mother Earth News, the original guide to living wisely. The editor-in-chief of Natural Home magazine from 1999 until 2010, Robyns goal is to help everyone create a nurturing, healthy and environmentally friendly home. Her book, Simply Imperfect: Revisiting the Wabi-Sabi House, introduces Americans to the 15th-century Japanese philosophy of simplicity, serenity and authenticity.
