If you were building your dream house...

[lea1]

We are in the process of designing our home now. I have read all of the posts in this thread and there are many things on here that I would have loved to include, most especially a library with all of the fixin's:). Alas, with our budget, I don't get everything I want.:glare:

 

We started out designing a one story home but, as it grew, it turned into a two story, as putting it all on one story would have been much more expensive.

 

We hired a design company to help design/organize the kitchen, which was money well spent. We will have a very large island with a nice size work space, a sink and seating for four, since we have that now and we love it. We will have a microwave/convection oven above our other oven, so it looks kind of like double ovens but the top one can also be used as a microwave. We will not have a formal dining room but we made the breakfast area much larger so it can accommodate a larger table and hutch. The kitchen, the eat-in area of the kitchen and the great room are all open to each other.

 

The family room is off the other side of the kitchen and has a long wall of bookcases, which I think will be very convenient for homeschooling and and we are planning to use some durable, easily cleanable flooring in that space, there is a nice size screened in back porch off the great room, a nice size front porch also and lots of beautiful windows to look out on all the trees in the back and the pond across the street in the front. The staircase has two access points, one at the mud room area, where we would come in from the garage and another from the family room. Both access points will take us to the same landing and on up the stairs. We put the master suite and guest suite downstairs, along with the laundry room and the husband's office. Bedrooms and a Jack & Jill bath are the only things upstairs. There is also a powder room near the living areas, kitchen, laundry room and mud room.

 

Our goal was to build a very energy efficient house so we are planning to build with Structured Integrated Panels (SIPs), which makes for a very draft proof house. It is so air tight that you need to install a system to bring air into the house in a controlled manner. It reduces the size of the HVAC units required and also insulates the attic space and garage so well that we will be able to use that space for storage without worrying about things getting too hot or cold. We are also planning to do a solar hot water heating system, with which we will also have hot water on demand.

 

That being said, our great room and our family room will both have cathedral ceilings. With SIPs, you can do this in an energy efficient way. I think the tall walls in rooms with cathedral ceilings can be difficult to decorate. So we have designed it such that, in the great room, there are windows and french doors to the screen-in porch on one end and the other end will have an opening where we can look down into the great room from the upstairs hallway. In the family room, one end has windows and the other will have a rail along the stairs going upstairs. Underneath this staircase landing is a storm shelter, so we won't have to worry about tornadoes in the future, which will be a relief. (Can't have a basement here unless you live on a hill.)

 

We will have a three car garage and we made sure to include the right kind of outlets in the garage, in case everyone is driving electric cars in the future. Also, the garage has nice windows so it won't be so dark like our current garage is and it is large enough to have a work area for dh. We are also putting in some type of efficient fireplace, possibly direct vent. We want something that we can heat with in the event of a power outage.

 

We will have as many built-in shelves and cabinets as possible, given the budget. In our current house, we have a large formal dining room. When we moved in, we hired a carpenter to build bookshelves around the entire room and some lower cabinets on two shorter walls. It has worked out beautifully for us, as we are not formal diners but we have plenty of books, games and toys that need storage space.

 

If there was no budget and I could really build my dream house, I would do solar power for the entire house and have a back up generator installed too. I would have also made the laundry room big enough to hold the extra freezer (it will be in the garage) and we would have an excercise room upstairs. We will have tons of storage space though and we plan to rough out the excercise area in the attic space so we can use it even if it is not finished completely.

 

There are so many other things I could include but it's getting too long so I will stop.:001_smile: This is the first house I have helped to design and it is definitely not as easy as I would have thought and it takes longer than I would have thought, although we do not have a builder (general contractor)...well, we do but it's me.:tongue_smilie: So I have a lot of leg work to do to get pricing on everything...but we get most things at builder's cost, which is great!:D

[Happy]

When we were building our house, I painstakingly went through each and every room and marked where I wanted the outlets to be. I also had specific places where they had to be quad plugs. (Next to each sink, for example). It drove my electrician crazy! :D

 

I'd love an electrical outlet near (or on) the fireplace mantel for plugging in small lamps and Christmas lights.

 

I need more outside electrical outlets. Ones tucked into the underside of the eaves in all four corners of the house would aid in lavish Christmas light displays. :D And in white lights in the trees during the summer. An additional outlet on the porches would mean I could have a radio on every porch. Can you tell I'm an outdoor girl?

 

I love everyone's ideas.

[justamouse]

Two convection ovens, two dishwashers, One front loader two dryers. One big fridge, two upright freezers.

 

Garage with a mud room/laundry room/ HUGE closet attached. Big enough for me to put a table for folding. Lots of patio space with different levels so people can go find nooks.

[kalanamak]

Huge mudroom, with beautifully organized cubbies and lots of hooks for wet, drippy clothing, and areas for mucky boots to dry.

.

 

:svengo:

 

I dream of this daily....

[cougarmom4]

I want a huge mudroom/laundry room but would also make it my craft room/scrapbook/sewing room...I could craft away & switch the laundry right when the dryer buzzed. My kids would always know right where to find me...especially if there was a comfy chair near a window that I could curl up in with a book. Ah...sounds perfect.

 

I also have always wanted a bathroom with a built-in baby tub (you know, like the kitchen sink height, but not in the kitchen)...and a little kid toilet would be pretty sweet, too. Hmm...yeah, the kids would outgrow it, but the grandkids would love it, too.

 

This thread is making me a little less pleased with my current set-up! Kinda like what happens to me when I watch House Hunters on HGTV...now I want to move! ;)

[Aggie]

From experience, the central vac, non-carpet floors and the tankless water heater are must-haves for us.

 

I want my laundry room to have an exterior door so I can hang wash out easily.

 

I also want a dog room that has an exterior door to the dog yard. (We have 2 small indoor dogs and 2 large indoor/outdoor dogs)

 

Since we are in Texas, I want my house to face west so we can entertain on the back deck in the evenings and not be in the hot sun.

 

An efficient wood-burning stove to help keep heating costs down would be great. And a close, easy way to bring wood in. Our last house had a chute to the basement so we just scraped all the ashes down the chute...it was wonderful!

 

I love the large mudroom, laundry room, and storage room ideas.

[Parrothead]

Double ovens, double washer/dryer - on the same floor as the bedrooms. I despise carrying laundry up two floors. Some type of closet or built in storage in every room. Rooms that were no smaller than 14x14, on-demand hot water, a wood stove, a small green house or conservatory, a gas stove, more cupboards than I need in the kitchen.

[caitlinsmom]

Double ovens

6 burner range, preferably gas

Island with extra prep sink, cookbook shelves, mircowave space, and storage

Large pantry with coordinating bins (I love the look!)

Family room with window seats, bookshelves, tv space, game table and storage for games.

Linen closet!

Seperate school room with space for bean bag chairs, work table, computer desk and shelving for all school supplies

Mudroom with cubbies for all outdoor gear

French doors opening onto a deck/porch/patio

[Peela]

My dreams:

 

eco house- solar heating/water, water tanks, positioned to make best use of sun and shade etc

large house, lots of big windows and greenery outside them

large laundry room with clothesline just outside, in sun

ginormous kitchen area with plenty of bench space

large bedrooms, one per person

guest room that is slightly separate from the house and self contained

open air bathroom with bathtub, shower, spa, natural surrounds (got Bali on my mind). OK, a plunge pool too then.

wood fireplace, plus other economical heating

air con in main living area

huge garden area for creating a paradise vegie patch and fruit orchard as well as outdoor sitting area

separate living area for kids and adults (as in, formal lounge, plus playroom)

separate office area

[Homeschooling6]

I would like a wood burning stove.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

what would you put it it, especially if you had a large family.

 

What do you think about two dishwashers? An additional washer/dryer upstairs in the kids section...

 

Thanks for your help

 

 

Right off the top of my head, I wish we had a Media Room, to get the TV out of the family room. I hate having that stupid thing being the center of our life. (but that's just me. . .) :)

 

I also wish I had a large island in the kitchen. I had one before and loved it.

 

I'm glad to only have tile in the bathrooms. I had a house full of it before and hated it.

 

Wish I had enough bedrooms. There is such a large age gap between our older dd and our younger dd that they don't fit together very well. Younger dd doesn't really have a place of her own in this house. She sleeps in her brother's room, and has all her clothes and toys in our master bedroom. It works for now, but won't for long. Not sure what we're going to do.

 

I'd have had the house wired for TV in each room. I don't want to have a TV in every room, but I would love to get it out of the family room. But, we have to have satellite TV, which requires separate cable to each connection. Putting it other rooms will require poking more holes in the house, and/or running cable all over the house (visibly). I wish we'd known how to wire for satellite when we built the house.

 

I'd have an intercom system. I hate yelling down the stairs for my kids to come eat, clean the kitchen, whatever.

[TammyinTN]

There are so many fun options to think about!

 

Wrap around porch w/ swings.

2 washers/2 dryers

open space den/kitchen area

5 bedrooms w/ full bathrooms

library room with built in bookshelves

floor to ceiling windows

large pantry

4 car garage

100 acres of land with no neighbors. I'm so tired of living close to people. ;)

[IsabelC]

Lots of things already mentioned.

 

And a secret passage.

[momofkhm]

I would have a double oven for sure. Dishwasher, washer dryer do fine with just one. More counter space. Or maybe just a place to put stuff down. I end up with stuff all over my kitchen because there is no place to put things - papers, mail, etc. A desk in or near the kitchen.

 

A small reading nook. Kind of a glorified closet. I think I saw one in a house plan that was off the kitchen and family room area that even had a fire place. Ooo, that fireplace would need a switch to turn it on!

 

Big family room. Cozy living room. No need, really for a formal dining room. But a large eating area is a must.

 

A basement. Three car garage, maybe 4. An outside "family room". Screened in of course to prevent bugs. Ceiling fan for those days without a breeze.

 

A library. A school room.

 

Obviously, this house would need to be huge! And on several acres. Dh and I want about 10.

[cjzimmer1]

 

 

A word for those building a house - DO NOT have cathedral ceilings (you will use up A LOT of unnecessary energy heating and cooling)!

 

 

 

Actually this isn't always true. We have cathedral ceilings and a huge window in that room with a southern exposure. The room with the cathedral seasons is the warmest room/area in the house. Even in the middle of winter, the heat seldom kicks on during the day if the sun is out. Now the rest of the house is cold but since this is our main area it works out fine. And all the energy people are amazed how low our bills are considering the size of house (and we keep it at 68-70) but that southern exposure window makes all the difference in the world.

[cjzimmer1]

My dream house would have a huge kitchen with a pantry for not only boxed/canned goods but also room for storing buckets of oatmeal and wheat berries. Also extra space in there for appliances and large dishes would be ideal.

 

Definitely would have 2 dishwashers as our current one gets run about 3 times a day. 2 ovens, I would love to wall ovens. 2 refrigerators or at least 1 huge professional sized one. I already have 2 freezers but a 3rd would be useful.

 

1 washer and dryer seems enough for us but it definitely would remain very near the bedrooms.

 

A 3rd garage stall as well as enough room in the length that you can open the back of the van when the garage door is closed.

 

A master bath for the adults.

 

A built in bookcase in the office area.

[Miss Sherry]

I would want a water fountain in the kitchen low enough for the children to get their own drinks of water from without having to always dirty up the glasses. Also, if there is such a thing, an extra large water heater so after the dishwasher runs and showers have been taken someone is not taking a shower with cold water. Plenty of extra storage space.

[TXMary2]

Huge Mudroom w/ 2 w/d, a long counter w/ sink, cubbies for jackets and muddy boots

 

Walk in pantry with room to store items in bulk

 

No carpet except for stairs and bedrooms

 

3 car garage

 

Built ins in the family room

 

Huge (really huge) walk in closet off the family room where all books and games can be stored for easy access, but not seen all the time. This closet has shelves, drawers and cabinets.

 

Huge river rock fireplace

[Perry]

**NO CARPET ANYWHERE!

:iagree:

 

Bamboo floors everywhere. Maybe tile in the bathroom.

[babysparkler]

I would put a laundry/dressing room area on the first floor (preferably by an entrance) so that I could keep all of the clothing there and no more trucking baskets of dirty/clean clothes up and down the stairs. I love the Duggers' setup and I want that!

[babysparkler]

I would want a water fountain in the kitchen low enough for the children to get their own drinks of water from without having to always dirty up the glasses.

 

 

I love that idea!

[babysparkler]

I though of another one... a "nook" with a chess board table always waiting to be played :)

[kmacnchs]

Actually this isn't always true. We have cathedral ceilings and a huge window in that room with a southern exposure. The room with the cathedral seasons is the warmest room/area in the house. Even in the middle of winter, the heat seldom kicks on during the day if the sun is out. Now the rest of the house is cold but since this is our main area it works out fine. And all the energy people are amazed how low our bills are considering the size of house (and we keep it at 68-70) but that southern exposure window makes all the difference in the world.

 

Interesting - I guess that would make a difference...my MIL's living area has a cathedral ceiling and it is HOT in the summer and COLD in the winter and she has completely RUINED her heater and A/C unit trying to regulate everything :glare:

[littlebug42]

A big kitchen with lots of storage space

My own bathroom with a giant bathtub preferably with Jacuzzi jets

A washer and dryer upstairs with the bedrooms that are big enough for comforters

A stackable washer and dryer off the kitchen to take care of dishtowels etc.

A playroom for the kids

a media room to get the TV and video games out of the living room

A classroom with its own 1/2 bath and that has doors that close so that we can shut out the world for school.

[OneRoomSchoolHouse]

In our last house, we had surround sound wiring for the TV room (wiring goes in to the ceiling as well as the wall). We also added speakers to the back porch and master bathroom that connected to our stero system in the house. We did put outlets in the eves of the house with a switch to turn on and off the christmas lights. A plug on the top of the fireplace mantle was great too. We added light switches on either side of the master bed so we could turn our lamps on and off easily. I would also add a switch for the fan next to the bed too. We put dimmer switches in most rooms, especially the nursery and master bath. The kids bathroom has the double sink area seperate from the toilet/bathing area. We also added a standing shower and garden tub in the same room. I was able to bathe the littles in the tub while my older dd took a shower. I love my single bowl kitchen sink, it comes with a heavy duty plastic bowl that makes the sink into two bowls. The main thing I would add to my current house would be more linen and coat closets.

[Guest dextercath96]

I want to have a dream house with solar power generator because it is useful in my everyday life. I want to build a house that have environmental friendly equipment.

[Dobela]

A friend of mine with 15 children has 2 large dishwashers and wouldn't live without them. Even with that they still have many dishes that are handwashed after meals. She also has a large professional stove that can hold several pots at once for the large amounts of food she cooks. 2 ovens, and a large professional fridge and freezer in another room. A 'normal' frig is in the kitchen as well. They have 2 washers and dryers but both are in the same laundry room. Next to that they have a large family closet where most clothing is kept. The kids are responsible for taking a few clothes to their rooms each week to wear. Each has a drawer or 2 in a dresser and share closet space. They do have personal space in the family closet (bins and such) as well. This gives them more room in the bedrooms for things like desks since the children share bedrooms.

 

Their goal was to make this very large house as close to 'normal' as possible so that some day when they need to sell it, it can appeal to more buyers and be easily adapted to all kinds of families.

[Truscifi]

A drain in the kitchen floor. Easy clean up.

[PeterPan]

For the people who want a water fountain, it's not that expensive. Google Halsey Taylor. You can get them for around $300-400. Although that's not chump change, it's not out of reach either. And if you're really savvy, you'll have your plumber run a line from that to your kitchen sink on the other side of the wall so you can put in a chilled water spigot. ;)

 

Cathedral ceilings shouldn't burn up your hvac system. You have to put intake vents in the top to pull the heat out. And yes, like the others, our great room with the south facing wall of glass gets QUITE warm in the winter from the sun coming in.

 

I don't get the comment about carpet on the stairs. We had that at our old house, and I much prefer the ability to clean solid hardwood stairs. A broom and occasional damp mopping and they're clean. Carpet is the pits on stairs, too hard to keep clean.

 

Of course you want your laundry near the bedrooms. The new frontloaders are surprisingly quiet, and I think most solid sleeping children will sleep right through them. Mine does. What you might do is put one set (w/d) in your main laundry and the other set in your master suite. That will be good for resale value and practicality. I like my clothes washed just so, whereas dd has this tendency to wash hers any which way, shrink them, wrinkle them, etc. Nope, separate washing. :)

 

If you don't want to spend money on a kitchen consultant, try the book "Kitchen Design with Cooking in Mind" by Don Silvers. Invaluable advice. I did get a kitchen designer while we were doing our basic drawings, and that was a good thing. Ultimately though, your kitchen is very personal. We use lots of produce, so we have 2 frigs, 1 freezer. You might be just the opposite, kwim?

 

I was just telling dh how neat it would have been to have built a loft reading/play room to overlook the great room.

 

Love the Susankah books, though good luck getting everyone on board for that.

 

Gardenweb has amazing discussion boards for each topic you're researching. (kitchen design, baths, laundry, etc.)

 

We used commercial vinyl in our kitchen (not the ritzy stuff, but I mean the real stuff they put in hospitals and things), and it's the bees knees. Lots of mils of polyurethane coating, doesn't gouge with dh's work boots, no texture to grab dirt. It's AWESOME.

 

No one has mentioned an in-law suite. Also ADA tubs in at least one bath, ADA toilets, and no steps if you mean this for the long-haul. The architect tried to sneak in a few steps (one here, one there) in our house, and I actually made them rearrange the garage and re-orient the whole thing, all to eliminate one step! Best move, absolutely the best move. And we have these new-fangled style doorknobs that are a lever instead of a knob you turn. When your arms are full, you can wham them with your elbow and pull to get them open, very handy. Of course that also means they're easy for a toddler to open, ask me how I know. :)

 

Think through your Christmas lighting. You can have your tree, outdoor lighting, etc. on one switch.

 

If you put a kitchenette and stove in your basement (for that inlaw suite or snacks or whatever), you might not find yourself needing so many appliances in your main kitchen. Or just put your old stove down there in a corner. Seriously, how often do you need all those ovens? Just a couple times a year. You won't die if you have to run downstairs during that time.

 

Don't forget to put outlets in drawers where you charge appliances, phones, camera batteries, etc. It's the little things that are such nice touches. If you think through those things ahead of time, one room at a time, and write them all down, they don't add that much to the cost.

 

Lots of book storage is a given with homeschooling. I have a long wall of closets (one of those things that just happened that way), and we threw doors in front of them, very handy for hiding your cluttery stuff. If you're putting those books in the basement, you can drill right into masonry walls and hang brackets and wood to make shelving, saving a lot of money over fancy bookcases.

 

You can buy really nice persian rugs on ebay.

 

Have fun. Housebuilding is something, that's for sure. It takes a ton of research, hard work, blood, sweat, and tears.

[Amber in SJ]

I haven't read all the replies yet so I don't know if anyone has mentioned the sucking baseboards. I don't know what they are really called but we toured a house that had vacuum sucking baseboards in the kitchen & bathroom. You flip the switch on and instead of sweeping the dirt into a pile you sweep in the general direction of the baseboards and once you get the dirt/ pet hair/ cheerios close enough...swoosh! They get sucked away. It was so cool. Plus I figure a couple times of legos & Polly shoes getting sucked up might encourage my kids to pick up after themselves.

 

Amber in SJ

[Margaret in GA]

Haven't read all the other answers yet, but I would install solar panels. We built our dream home 8 years ago and I really wish we had done this. It's harder to retro-fit our existing house than it would have been to install the panels right on to our roof.

 

Margaret

[Renee in NC]

I have never felt the need for more than one dishwasher or more than one washer/dryer.

 

My dh would like a larger stove, two ovens, and a built-in grill.

 

I would like a large playroom with built-in shelves.

 

I would also build the laundry room so that all the clothes could live in there, so built-in dressers, shelves, and closet rods. And space for sewing.

 

Central vacuum system would be ideal.

 

And a large mudroom (or in FL, that would be a large SAND room!:tongue_smilie:)

[HRAAB]

A large combo mud room/utility room/bath w/stall shower. I can wash clothes and step out the backdoor to the clothesline. Dh can shower/clean up after working in the yard.

 

Many large windows.

 

Large kitchen, lots of counter space, windows on the east side.

 

Solar heat.

 

Some sort of a rain water system...what do you call it?

 

Fireplace with woodstove.

 

A porch is an absolute must.

 

A library/den away from the family area.

 

But more important than the house is having ground.

[AnitaMcC]

what would you put it it, especially if you had a large family.

 

What do you think about two dishwashers? An additional washer/dryer upstairs in the kids section...

 

Thanks for your help

 

 

Bathrooms attached to each bedroom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

A huge whirlpool tub for mine and Dh bath.

 

Laundry room on same floor as bedrooms.

 

A mud room off of the garage.

 

A huge entry closet with lots of shelving to put shoes, purses, book bags, martial art gear bags, and cubbie drawers for gloves, scarves, hats. Lots of hooks for coats (forget hangers as that seems to be too much trouble for kids/Dh).

 

Lots of counters and cabinets in kitchen.

 

I am sure there is more I can think of...