I am walking barefoot on the ceramic tiled floor of my house in the Tropics. The coolness of the surface is in pleasant contrast to the warmth given off by the other soft furnishings. It feels squeaky clean beneath my bare toes.

We had laid tiles in our apartment when we moved back to Sydney. We still loved the cleanliness under our feet. In winter, we needed mats. When trying to rent our apartment before our move to Tasmania, we were told that people found tiles to be cold. We lay down some Turkish rugs and left in disgust.

Here, we are blessed with the soft "giving" of Tasmanian oak beneath our feet. In an ordinary 50’s home, there are boards over 4 metres long, not a single knot to be seen. Warmed by central heating in winter, they are never cold underfoot. In some spots a slight creak is made by a soft footfall, a dead giveaway when my grandchildren play "hide and seek." In Japan, these "whispering" floors were especially built into wooden houses as a burglar alarm feature. We stayed in an ancient "ryokan", (Naraya at Hakone near Mt. Fuji), that had a number of these. There, the floors were of tatami (woven straw) which also gave a soft, more textured "givingness" beneath the bare feet.

While different climates lead to a number of solutions to the pleasure of walking on floor surfaces, I have been most fortunate to have been able to choose the most pleasing "barefoot" satisfaction wherever I have lived.

©fmcFrances Coll 8-11-09