We need basements and attics - parts of them can be finished, but bare cement floors, cool and sometimes slightly damp underfoot, give us space to do things we musn't do in the "finished" rooms of the house, and there's a sense of the underground, harkening to life in caves, maybe.... basements are where we go to survive a tornado, a hurricane. The dry, sunlit attic, highest vantage point of the house for looking out a window, with bare wood floors (the wide planks are my fave), the sound of rain on the roof, the high spaces feeding the imagination, the window beckoning us to escape the confines of the house and - well, if your house is in town, you might not feel like you're in a castle overlooking the countryside with vast plains (corn fields) and.... dang. I should just turn this into a post about a woman's need for basements and attics to stash our clutter, our once-a-year holiday decorations, and....
Your husband designed and built your house? I need to get caught up on your homesteading posts!