I'd like to ask the coldfooters and snowfooters people here, how warm are your rooms at home and work ? I am about to dismiss most-time barefooting this winter because I'm nearly fed up with perpetual cold. It isn't that temperatures are too low ( barely below 0 C°) but at home I have no more than 12° and floors are even cooler and I can't put everywhere my beloved furry wool carpets (they look so 70's ) and tactical colorful pillows so the only comfortable spot is around the wood stove or in front of the fireplace, feet roasting in face of the flames. yes there are also hot-water radiators but only in the south wing of my house, and my favorite places are all in the northernmost part. if you think it is a large, messed up house well you're damn right.
I live in a cozy 1-room apartment, and I like it warm, since I am a naturist... 12°C would be a little too cool for my taste. The minimum I need to have to feel comfy is 18°C. Wiggling toes, barefoot all over, ~*Ganesha*~
Over here, 20 C is the low end of the indoor comfort zone (except at night) and obviously no problem. I will spend hours outside at 5 C with no problem so I don't think a 12 C house would pose a problem if your are otherwise dressed warmly. Heated floors (since you already have that hot water system) are just what jagerhans needs!
well I find more comfortable going out barefoot in our relatively mild cold weather, because i keep moving and even crossing cold streams in the woods or on the shore isn't a problem, than sitting down at home freezing my feet on the cool floors. after an hour or so the cold starts killing me and my stomach and at that point i have to go out and saw some firewood, for which btw I adopted a trestleless technique that _requires_ bare feet
Everybody has a different tolerance/experience level. Upper 30s (with a warm jacket) is good for me. The cold ground, as others have said, is invigorating.
I went in the fields today, and across the woods. There were spots in some clearings where grass was still covered with frozen dew from the night, after a few minutes my feet were about to go numb . the soil of the path felt warm in comparison, but grass wiped away all the mud.
As mentioned before, being outside isn't a problem for me because I'm always moving. In the house, however, I have nothing but tile floors and no rugs. It is horrible. It sends a chill up my entire body. Needless to say, I keep my feet off the ground and wrapped up in a blanket.
Inside I like it nice and warm at 20C, since I'm mostly sitting down doing nothing. I read a lot or I'm doing stuff at the computer, not much physical activity indoors at home for me. At work it depends on the weather, I have (semi) outside work! At most we have the fire going but I really sit close to it all day, often I'm up showing people around the reconstructions from Easter until the last week of October. We were open for the Christmas holiday this year, and here I was sitting in an shed open on one side: http://www.flickr.com/photos/scrabble2/4302098256/in/photostream/
Yeah, I'm the same. Tiled floors and no central heating - fucking nightmare. Sometimes I go outside just to feel a bit warmer.
We had carpeting in our bathrooms, which I hate! Soaks up pee/stains (bad visual, but it's the truth). I asked my wife if I could put in tile and she said didn't didn't want cold feet. The solution? I installed electrical heat under the tile! It's readily available on-line and in many floor stores and carries a 25 year warranty. It's controlled by a thermostat, and I've got the floor in all three bathrooms set at 84 deg F (29 C). It's sooo comfy if you get up during the night. As for the rest of the house, I installed bamboo flooring on the first floor. That looks great but is cold; one of the big reasons I often wear socks or moccasins around the house during the winter. Upstairs we still have carpeting. It lacks character, but seems fine for the sleeping areas.
Heated floors.. that sounds amazing! I'm like a cat when it comes to that kind of thing-I'd probably curl up on the floor and sleep all the time. lol
