Who would chose that, you ask me? Well, viking maid, the great bunch of all who adore the "practical only approach". But we, human beings, can't live in such an approach, simply because our minds *are* heavily influenced by that, what we call natural beauty. Only accepting the need for that beauty in combination with the practical issues, we can live in "inner harmony". And this combination is not hard at all, as any house by Gaudi can show: Not hard to build, practical and yet... wondeful!
As about the columns... OK, I got my saw for an operation under cover tonight. Where would you like to have them? ;-)