Dream home ideas

[cdseno]

We are planning on building a home in a couple years on an extra piece of land my parents own. My dad is an architect and has a lot of ideas, and we have some ideas of what we want, but if you were to build your dream home tell me what it would have to have. We will have a home that is big enough for the 4 of us, but we don't want a lot of wasted space. We are all about efficiency, like a play area between the boy's rooms that will become a study area when they get older.  

[laur110]

We have a finished basement that we love with a full bathroom. Guests stay down there when they visit, tons of space for our games (ping pong and air hockey), lots of closets for storage, great space for entertaining, room for the dog to run around, and plenty of space for DD to play.

[cdseno]

Jan 22, 2015 21:15:58 GMT -5 DoesItComeInPink said:

Oh I have all kinds of ideas, but #1 would be a kitchen with a nice island and breakfast bar.

I'd also want a nice mudroom area and multiple bathrooms.

Pinterest is fabulous for ideas.

Two toilets is a must. I am scared to start potty training DS1 because I swear H is always taking a poo (or pretending to while playing on his iPad) and we only have one bathroom.

[professorbinns]

Love your play room idea.

We have talked on and off about building/buying. We are listing our house this spring and decided that we are going to just buy again. I have put a lot of thought into what I would want in a build though.

-large island with no sink or stove in it. I want a large uninterrupted work space.

-microwave set in the island in the cupboard area instead of above the stove

- designated laundry room.

-closet in my ensuite or where you walk through the closet to the ensuite. I would like to be able to go in the closet with lights on while DH is sleeping.

-a full bathroom in the basement so guests who stay down there can use it. We have that now and I love it.

There are many more things but this is what came to mind right now.

[bobloblaw]

I second Pinterest or third? It's got great ideas.

You want lots of storage. We are lamenting the lack of storage in our house these days.

[Deleted]

I love looking at houseplants online!! HGTV is my porn. DH and I have some land in his hometown which is about ~2 1/2 hours away. We often talk about moving back and building a dream home.

I currently live in an open concept house and love it. So that's important. Also I currently have the coveted massive kitchen island and also love it. Although it does tend to get cluttered with everyday crap. For me, good lighting is a must. I like plenty of natural lighting and don't want the windows to be at awkward angles to the sun. Closet space is also important, esp if you don't build a super big house with extra rooms. DH and I live in a modest size house but it has great closets so we can store all our crap w/o using our living space.

[kirabou]

I want a reading nook/window seat with built in bookshelves.

Actually, most of these things:

[davidbowiesbulge]

I would want the people from the show fixer upper on hdtv to design my house. The main thing I want is lots of land in the country.

[toratoratori]

A porch. I love a good porch.

[shevacc]

I really love our current house. Favorite parts...a built in booth in the kitchen that seats 6 where we eat nearly all meals, a big pantry, the den has French doors which keep kids out/in and muffles some sound, gas fireplace, upstairs laundry room, detached garage with MIL apartment above the garage, big deck, fire pit in the backyard.

[mfsunshine]

I worked for a custom home builder for years and one of the coolest most simple but practical things I ever saw a homeowner do was install a custom lower cabinet in her kitchen that housed a step stool that she used to reach her top shelves in her upper cabinets. Both my husband and I are short so we need a stool to reach a lot of stuff in our kitchen, but it is in the way because we don't have a great convenient place to keep it.
My dream house would also have a central vacuum system and either a wood burning stove or pellet stove in the living room.

[cdseno]

These are all such great ideas! mfsunshine we have central vac in our current home and it is so convenient.

[minervamae]

My big thing would be a pantry cabinet so things can't hid behind other items on the shelves.

[kimberlyb]

Another HGTV lover!! We moved in March to our "forever" home. One of my favorite features about our house is the huge, hidden, walk-in pantry. Its great for storage and I love that I can see everything and that I now have room for all my kitchen stuff. I'm also a fan of the open concept. I love being able to make dinner and watch the kids at the same time. Something I wish we have but don't is a jack and jill bathroom between the kids' bedrooms upstairs where the toliet is seperate from the vanity/sink area. I think that would have been really convenient when they got older.

[weeklyplanner]

Walk in closets in every bedroom, jacuzzi tub in master bath, large walk in pantry, breakfast nook with lots of windows, wrap around front porch, detached garage with apartment above it (or at least a bedroom and bath), finished walk out basement (although I used to sneak DH into my basement in HS so maybe the walk out part isn't the best idea!), large deck with a gazebo for shade

[theteno]

I don't know if any of this was said already, but a long, thin cabinet/drawer in the kitchen for spices. You just pull it out and...


Also a porch with a swing with a view, plenty of bedrooms and bathrooms, a pool, in the bathroom, a hairdryer drawer if you're into that?


I like fancy touches like crown molding in a living room, wainscoting in a dining room, tray ceiling in the bedroom. Dream walk-in closet


Be particular about light fixtures! They make ALL the difference. Ok, just 3 more pics!


ETA: PINTEREST

[jules1614]

Our must-haves for the next house are: master bedroom with walk-in closet and en suite bathroom, preferably a ranch style with master on opposite side as the rest of the bedrooms, natural fireplace, 1st floor laundry, open concept. I also love sun-tunnels skylights for lighting in the bathroom.

theteno the spice drawer and hair dryer drawers are amazing!! I'm definitely adding that to my list!!!

[3magicbeans]

We have a big deck off the kitchen that is pretty nice for just letting DS and DD1 play outside while we cook dinner (we can see them from the sink/stove or the kitchen table, the deck is gated so they don't run off. Its basically a lifesaver after a long day at work

[Deleted]

My dad builds basements and is in construction so he's had some good thoughts:

Put your garage next to your kitchen so you won't have to carry groceries very far.

He hates lofts as that is wasted space.

I don't like open kitchens because what if you make something smelly? Your furniture and walls will soak up the smell easier.

[leskay]

A phat closet with an island in the middle. If I had to use the nursery space for the closet I could always put baby in a drawer.

[cdseno]

Jan 23, 2015 17:48:16 GMT -5 messica said:

What is a central vacuum system?

Like central air. There is a canister in our basement that holds a bag and we have ports in the floor that you plug a long vacuum hose into. No lugging around a heavy vacuum and dealing with the cord.

[navyblues2114]

Full walk up attic with actual stairs, no pull down crap. Best storage ever.

[cdseno]

Jan 23, 2015 18:49:59 GMT -5 navyblues2114 said:

Full walk up attic with actual stairs, no pull down crap. Best storage ever.

Do you not have a basement? We have a " Michigan basement" and that is where all our crap is stored.

[navyblues2114]

Jan 24, 2015 5:41:03 GMT -5 cdseno said:

Jan 23, 2015 18:49:59 GMT -5 navyblues2114 said:

Full walk up attic with actual stairs, no pull down crap. Best storage ever.

Do you not have a basement? We have a " Michigan basement" and that is where all our crap is stored.

No, we have a full basement too, however they tend to be damp in this area and are used more for utilities (boiler, water tanks etc).  My basement is dry and we do use it for some storage but moreso for my h's workshop, tools etc.  We store extra furniture, out of season clothes, decorations etc in our attic.  My perfect home will have an easily accessible walk up attic.  

[inaya]

Jan 24, 2015 5:41:03 GMT -5 cdseno said:

Jan 23, 2015 18:49:59 GMT -5 navyblues2114 said:

Full walk up attic with actual stairs, no pull down crap. Best storage ever.

Do you not have a basement? We have a " Michigan basement" and that is where all our crap is stored.

I live on the west coast; basements are really rare around here. As in, I can't think of a single person I know who has one. A nice attic would be great.

[inaya]

My must haves would be great natural light, a laundry room, good closets, and a nice deck. A library would be fun to have. And so would a playroom/craft room/game room. I don't want a huge house, just one that's laid out well, cozy but not cramped.

[3magicbeans]

A laundry chute too (I think they violate code in some places, but they are okay if its a single story chute and fire proofed, depending on local codes)

[cdseno]

Jan 24, 2015 14:52:33 GMT -5 inaya said:

Jan 24, 2015 5:41:03 GMT -5 cdseno said:

Do you not have a basement? We have a " Michigan basement" and that is where all our crap is stored.

I live on the west coast; basements are really rare around here. As in, I can't think of a single person I know who has one. A nice attic would be great.

I can't think of a single person who has an attic. We have a crawl space that has a squirrel living in it, but I would never go up there because I have major claustrophobia issues.

[inaya]

I don't think our current house has much more than a crawl space, either. Basically we have the garage for storage.

[Deleted]

I live in Iowa (hello tornadoes) so a basement is a must for me/common around here. I understand areas that don't need it but it is "free" space! Your house is already on the lot, why not go under it too?