Large families (4 plus kids), how big is your dream home and what is it like?

[Jennifer132]

Those of you with large (ish) families, how big is your dream home, and what would it include (large laundry, lots of bedrooms, mother in law suite, acreage, etc). Smaller families feel free to chime in; I just wanted to bring the larger families into the thread because that's what I have. Please tell how many people you would be living with.

[Jennifer in MI]

I have four kids, so that qualifies me - right?  We almost have our perfect size now.  It's 2500 sq ft, but we have a finished basement of about 1500 sq. ft.  I LOVE that I have an open floor plan - kitchen opens right into the family room.  We have a formal dining room and an eat-in kitchen.  We have a formal living room and a half-bath on the first floor.  I love our entry-way.  I would LOVE to have a mud room on this floor too.  

 

Our second floor currently has four bedrooms and two full baths.  It's perfect for now.  But, I'd love another bedroom over the attached garage so I could use the current master bedroom for guests.  

 

I would also love to have a first floor laundry in a HUGE room where we could all store all our clothing.  It seems more efficient to have the clothes stored where they are being washed and dried.

 

We have a HUGE back yard and I love that!

[Soror]

We have 1750 sqft upstairs and about 1050 downstairs, so 2800 total. Right now we don't use the basement much to be honest. I imagine as the children get older the extra space downstairs will come in handy and ds will likely be taking a bedroom down there sometime this year. I feel our house is plenty big, although the layout could be much more efficient. If it was laid out better I think we could get by with less space easily. Personally, I wish I had a huge mudroom and a bigger laundry room. My main bathroom upstairs is not big enough, thank goodness for the one downstairs, it will surely come in handy with 3 girls! I have wasted space in my great room and den downstairs. I'm pretty minimalist but I don't have very much storage as well and with 4 there is only so much that you can clear out. 

[countrygal]

I have 5 young kids, and we just moved into a smaller house (about 1800 sq ft). I think functionality is better than size though! We may build in the future. We live on a farm and I can't imagine living with visible neighbors.

 

I would love an open concept kitchen/dining/living that is a no -toys zone and a finished basement with large windows or walk-out for family room and school area. The mess can stay down there! I would only want 2 bathrooms because I don't want to clean more. A spare toilet is always handy though. If I had a really large family I would have another bathroom though that is one for girls/one for boys.  I dream of a large laundry room with a counter and a sink and a window. A Duggar-style family closet is a neat idea but I don't know if I'd ever add that onto the laundry area. Oh, I just noticed the pp talked about the family closet :) Clothes in ONE area of the house is so appealing!

 

I love porches and outdoor living areas.

[Ottakee]

A HUGE mud room area that doesn't block the door.  Floors that tolerate a lot of water on them---we are having record snowfall and water is dripping everywhere off clothing, boots, shoes, etc.

 

I LOVE my master suite.  Our room isn't large and doesn't even have to be as big as it is but having that attached bath and walk in closet is GRAND.

 

If I were building I would make sure to have a main floor that had a handicapped accessible bathroom and bedroom with wider hallways, etc.  Makes having aging parents over easier and you never know when something happens--even a broken leg where this becomes so handy.  It costs very little to make doors 36 inches wide when building but can be very costly to retrofit later.

 

We love our acreage---just 5 but would love 20 or more.

[HRAAB]

I have 5 children.  Our home is 2400 sq. ft., and it's never felt too small.  We have 5 bedrooms (1 is a book/computer/school room), 2 bathroom, and a separate utility.  Dh would probably like another bathroom since we have all girls, but we've managed.  There's room to get away from one another or have some quiet.  The most important part is we have 1.5 acres.  That is actually more important to us than having a bigger house.  Room to run, play, hide out is great.  The girls are outside much of the day unless the weather is just too cold/wet.

[mommymilkies]

Not too big. ~2000 sq ft or less?  I have to clean that, so I don't want anything huge.  A decent sized Italianate restored home with mud room, garage (added on, of course), 4+  bedrooms, 2-3 bathrooms, and a finished basement with a huge amount of outdoor space would be ideal. 

 

A MIL house would also be great. 

[Excelsior! Academy]

Since we are dreaming, 4500 sq. ft.  We have 9 dc and 5 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths in 3000 sq. ft.  The children are spaced so no more than 3 share a room.  We live in an area with no basements.  Having another 1000 sq. ft. would be awesome, but crazy to keep clean.  We do have all of the dc's clothing in a central area.  It would be virtually impossible for me to keep up with it all if it were not.  I NEED at least 2 more bathrooms.  We have a master, one upstairs for the kids to share and a 1/2 downstairs.  I hate having overnight guests being forced to share with the kids and it is usually not logistically practical for them to use ours.  Ideally, we would have a boys, girls, master, guest, and mudroom bath.  When the kids track in mud from playing in the snow or have wet suits from the pool we could direct them to the bath just for that.  The other use of that extra sq. footage would be utilized in a bigger  kitchen, a game room of sorts and sun room.  All features we really wanted when we purchased this home.

[Wilma]

I would totally love to rearrange my own house a little bit (you know, just little things like moving walls).  We have four kids and about 1800 feet.  I'd love to make our 70s house into a more open floorplan.

 

And if I could to whatever I wanted, I'd have a little bit bigger house that has one extra bedroom (4 all together) to be a guest room and/or office space.  And the family room I'd make a library, with built-in bookshelves on at least two walls.  The kitchen would be big, with space for more than one cook.  And looking forward, I want to be able to comfortably take in any of our parentals as they get old/lonely.

[Carrie12345]

My dream home doesn't have a definitive size. Acreage is a big want.

 

5 family bedrooms, and a guest bedroom would be a nice plus.  Jack and Jill bathrooms for the kids and a guest bathroom the kids are forbidden from using. Ever!

 

Large kitchen, spacious and nicely finished laundry room.

 

Homeschool space (even if just for 'stuff',) playroom space, lots of storage space, and a garage.

 

And I really want an easy to clean foyer and/or mudroom that doesn't open directly into living space, letting cold air rush in every time the door is opened.

[Butter]

We have four kids.  Our house is 3150 square feet.  5 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bath.  It is WAY too big for the six of us.  We don't even use what we call my parents' wing (gigantic bedroom, enormous bathroom, and a closet the size of my daughter's bedroom before we moved).  They are moving in with us shortly (dad just retired this week).  I think it'll be a good size for the 8 of us.

[momto10blessings]

3000 sq ft plus basement is too big for our family of 11. Well, we could probably use more room, but cleaning it is such a looong chore! I miss our 1000 sq ft house sometimes.

[Kim in Appalachia]

We currently have just over 3,000 sq ft, but it's an old victorian, not very efficient.  I think 2,700 sq ft would be good if it's cut up well.  Must have: master bathroom, laundry room/mud room, a total of 3 full bathrooms, closets, large kitchen, dining room, living room and a family room.  I used to think that I only needed a great room, but now that I have teenagers and younger ones, having 2 rooms is better.

 

Something else I would love would be all hardwood throughout the house (except the kitchen and bathrooms).  Also, an attached garage. I miss having one of those.  A Mother-in-law suite would also be nice, meaning a guest room with an attached bathroom.  

[momto10blessings]

Oh, if I could change some things, I would

add another bathroom because 1 bathroom for all the kids isn't enough. I Would have at least 2 toilets for the kids plus 1-2 shower stalls and a tub.

Move the nursery and master bedroom to a more secluded area of the house.

Put the laundry room at the top of the steps

 

I love my wood floors. No carpet! Linoleum in the bathrooms and laundry room.

[KrissiK]

Well, there's dreaming and then there's dreaming! Our house currently is a little over 2000 sq.ft. And we have 5 kids. It's feeling smallish. Especially as the boys are getting bigger. Realistically speaking, I would like a 2500 sq. ft. house with 4-5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. I wouldn't mind a separate mother-in-law quarter. That would be something doable for our family. As it is, we live in a great neighborhood. There are a whole pile of kids on the block to play with. Our house is paid off and we are looking at Christian school for high school, so there's tuition to anticipate. There's just a lot of things there to look at, and so I think we're going to be staying put.

[TracyP]

Three years ago we bought a home that is pretty much our dream home. It has 2400 square feet, which is honestly a bit too big for me. We moved from a 1200 square foot house and I would have liked something in between. I try to remind myself that I will likely be very thankful for the space when I have teenagers.

 

It is a 4br/2ba split level with a walk-out basement (like others, the dream home aspect is as much the 11 acres as it is the house). I love the floor plan between kitchen, living, and dining room. It is hard to describe, but it is mostly open, but with a partial wall between the kitchen/living area. So it is open from room to room, yet the kitchen is not *in* the living room. The walk-out basement is great for a schoolroom. We are installing a fireplace this spring - I'm really excited about that.

 

I wish the house had a mudroom. A big huge one with a 3/4 bath. It is realistically the only thing that I wish this house had. If I was being unrealistic, I would also wish for an indoor pool.

 

 

[Mommyfaithe]

Right this minute?? A 2 bedroom condo with a maintenance company that shovels and mows!

 

What is practical?? A kitchen not in the middle of renovation, a well that can handle more than one shower and a garden big enough and sunny enough to grow real veggies.

 

I am a woman of simple needs.

[LMV]

All inclusive we have nine children.  Oldest two (DFS, and DSS) are married and living in their own homes with sons of their own.  DD18 is a freshman in college a generous plane distance away from home.  We still have five children at home (DD14, DFD9, DFD5, DD4 and DD1) and sometimes have additional children for medical respite and or emergency foster care.

 

Our main home is really more of estate and I've fallen in love with it and it is really has become our home over the years.  We have a little over 6,000 square feet of living space on the two main floors.  Our basement is finished but mainly used as a true cellar, an extra playroom for the kids, and for our home gym/lap pool.  Our attic is partially finished and partially organized for storage.  Before we converted our heating/cooling system a few years ago we never considered it reasonable to attempt to cool either of the bedrooms up there sufficiently in the summer and didn't really use them.  With the geothermal/wind system we have now this isn't a problem so we essentially gained two more sleeping areas.    

 

Things I appreciate about our house:

-Renewable energy

-Our kitchen is huge, but also very functional.  We're a very cook together kind of family so we spend a lot of time hanging out here.  We also have a great pantry set up and an eating area that transitions into the solarium extension.

-We have enough space for all of our children to have their own room.  

-Our dining room and formal living have managed to retain the historic charm of our home in spite of several remodels.

-We have two laundry rooms so there is a lot less lugging laundry all over. 

-We've added in storage and niche build ins with each remodel.  We have a place for everything so there really isn't an excuse for clutter.

-We have an amazing and  comfortable library.  The book shelves kind of make the room along two different window book nooks, a fireplace, and two couches I fell in love with at an estate sale.  Yes, a few friends have told us that libraries are really so last century but I don't care!  I love our library!  There are also a lot of tranquil escape nooks in our home (as worded by one of DD14's friends).

-Our attic has skylights (so one can stargaze without risking frostbite even this winter).

-Fireplaces did I mention fireplaces?  

 

Beyond our home I love:

-The rose arbor around our pool

-Our cute guesthouse which is great for out of state guests with a family and also was where DH and I have snuck away to for a night when my mom or MIL was staying with the kids but we were afraid to go too far.

-Our backyard which has an English Garden feel with paths and benches 

-Our greenhouse is up and running (and not costing us an arm thanks to a solar/geothermal system)

-Our four bay detached garage which looks like the former carriage house it once was.  

[Seeking Squirrels]

We have 2 kids right now but plan on four. I don't know about sq footage for my dream home, but I've thought about layout a lot.

 

On the main level I'd want front room, living room, kitchen, dining area, half bath, and something similar to a formal dining room for a homeschool area. I want it on the main level open to main living areas since I want a place to keep it all organized but don't want to be confined to that space without hassle.

 

Upstairs I'd like 3 bedrooms (us, 2 girls share, 2 boys share), 2 bathrooms, and a laundry room.

 

Basement I want basically two big rooms for kids playroom and a general rec room with game tables and a tv area.

 

DH wants an extra room wherever it fits best for an office for himself and extra bookshelves.

[8circles]

We've got 4 kids in about 2500 sq ft plus an unfinished basement.  I would love more space but this is doable.  We have only 4 bedrooms but I'd love 5 or 6.  Would love another bathroom - we have 2.5 now.  Biggest needs are big, well-organized mudroom/laundry and kitchen.  While I've got big dreams I realize that my dreams aren't necessities but I still like to dream.  With all the energy of 4 boys I do wish our home had more space.  SOmetimes I feel like I live in a circus.

[MrsMommy]

I'm pretty happy with what we have for the seven of us right now. Our house is around 2,500 square feet, with four bedrooms, the laundry room, and a bonus room (school room) upstairs, and the living room, den, and kitchen downstairs. We do have an unfinished basement, and I really wish we could finish it into two rooms: an office for dh (who works from home), and a playroom for the children (they already have their Lego creations down there, but I wish it was a friendlier environment). We have 2 1/2 baths, as well, and there are times (OK, every single day), that I wish we had one more bathroom. Oh well. It's good to have dreams, right? ;)

 

Honestly, it's a great house for us, which is good, because there were "only" five of us when we moved in, and we had no intention of homeschooling or plans for dh to work from home!

 

[Gentlemommy]

We only have 3 kids, but are in the process of planning our dream home. I think we may be ready in a year to buy the land, and 1-2 years later, start on our dream home. Here is our preliminary plan-

 

5-10 acres

Erect a two story steel structure building-

*1,500 square feet on each level

*bottom floor will be half workshop space, half stalls/tack room

*top floor will be living space which we will live in while we build. Eventually, it will turn into our guest suite. We think 2 bedrooms, 1.5 bath, kitchen, living room, and laundry

House will be between 2,500-3,000 square feet

*two story, 4 bedrooms (all upstairs), 3 baths, open floor plan, eat in kitchen, fireplace, hardwood floors, library room with built in shelving and a library ladder ;), big mud room with lots of shelving and hooks and storage, large closets in everyone with organizer shelves

*finished basement-media room, kitchenette, bathroom, open space for girls to play/practice gymnastics

*screened in patio in front and back

Small area fenced in right out back of the house. I'd like to put Astro turf grass in that area. I hate hate hate the kids tracking in mud, leaves, grass, and whatever else from coming in and out all day. We will have a play set in there and it will be a place for them to play without supervision. The rest of the property I'd like to leave as natural as possible, clearing some space for horses, but leaving trees and shrubs everywhere else. A few of the places we have looked at have streams running through them, and that's something I'd like to have.

[wapiti]

We have six kids.  We're in a large square footage house but we have 4 bedrooms (master plus 3 kid bedrooms) upstairs.  We only had three kids when we moved here.  I would gladly trade some of the family room square footage (not to mention the ridiculous two-story ceiling) for a couple more bedrooms.  We finished the basement and added two guest bedrooms but the kids do not want to sleep down there.

 

I'd also like a dining room that's a couple feet longer so that I could fit in a slightly larger table.  I just ordered a new one, a big solid thing of reclaimed wood, but it's only 8 ft (room is 14 ft long, 13 ft wide).  I'd have liked 9 or 10 ft; I think the rule of thumb is 3ft between table and other stuff like walls.  8 ft is as big as made sense.

 

Same goes for the kitchen eating area/nook.  Why this is such a big house with such a small nook is beyond me - it was designed for a round 4 person table..  The kitchen table is 84" oval but it doesn't fit under the designated light fixture.  I'd like a bigger table there as well but the table is cramped enough as it is.  Looking at floor plans of big houses, the small kitchen eating area is so frustrating as it eliminates plans right off the bat.

 

eta, I do love the nicely proportioned kitchen island we have.  a big kitchen is a must for me - it's my office, LOL - I wish my desk was in one of those little pantry-sized rooms.  (of course, a pantry.)

[xixstar]

Lets see, brainstorming off the top of my head with my fantasy house, I suppose.

 

- eat-in kitchen

- spacious kitchen with island and counters to allow 2-3 people to work with space (keeping bulk cooking and canning in mind)

- large, large fridge that holds a lot of produce, separate freezer and kitchen big enough it doesn't look out of place, lol

- large pantry - either smaller one by kitchen and larger one downstairs, or a large size pantry

- large stove with large burners so I can have 2-3 large pots/pans cooking at once

 

- formal dining room that seats 15 reasonably, but not necessarily set up to do so all the time

- library/school room

- home office

- finished basement room / rec room

- mud room and coat storage

- craft room/sewing room (finished attic?)

- garage where I can park my car (outdoor parking area for at least 4 cars for us, and more space for company too)

 

- master bed/bath for us with tub and shower (small sitting area in bedroom would be nice too)

- 2-3 bedrooms for children, shared rooms (bedrooms can be on the smaller size - don't need large bedrooms)

- 1-2 more bedrooms for playroom and eventual older children that may want less sharing

- 1 full bath (upstairs)

- 1 half bath (downstairs)

- bedroom and full bath in finished basement (for company mostly)

 

- family closet with washing/drying units -- bonus if there is a balcony clothes line accessible

- let me mention family closet again, includes table for folding, drawers for everyone, racks for hanging, etc

 

- spacious property

- space for full size garden

- free-standing workshop, large large

 

- even more luxurious would be:

 - large outdoor deck area for outdoor seating, maybe screened in considering the bugs here

 - outdoor grill and cooking space - covered so that can cook in the rain too

 - wrap around porch with swings and rocking chairs - and beautiful view as well (yes, acreage)

 

[prairiewindmomma]

We love our house! We have a 14x16 u shaped kitchen with a large pantry. We have one slice of countertop that houses all of our leave out appliances (rice cooker, crockpot, mixer, blendtec), countertop on either side of the stovetop, and a long 72" expanse of countertop on the other side of the u. All in all, I have 50.5 sq ft of countertop which makes it great for kids to help chop veggies, unload the dishwasher, etc at the same time I am cooking.

 

I also love our bedroom setup. The boys' room has room for two sets of bunkbeds and a large walk-in closet so that everybody has adequate space for hanging clothing. Our girls' room is the same size, but not laid out as well.

 

Dh has an office. I have one too; it doubles as a guest room. We have a large school room, and two additional living spaces so that people can sprawl out. We also have a large storage room.

 

I hosted 24 for Thanksgiving. I can comfortably host about 40 for a sit down dinner if I bring out all of the folding chairs and tables.

 

I wish this house had a larger laundry and a mudroom, but it's otherwise perfect.

 

I have no desire for acreage. Life is too busy with kids as it is, and we enjoy being close to activities.

 

All of that said, we fdo have a lot of wasted space. I could love a properly laid out 2400sq ft house. I thought we'd be a 12+ kid family. We are not...

[An Unexpected Party]

We only have two children, but I'm chiming in because the house we bought last year was designed by a family that homeschooled and had four children.

 

The house originally was a ranch with a one-car garage and a heated room (no carpet) in the basement where they homeschooled. It is a fairly large sized room.  They added a second story and turned the house into a cape. Some of the details were pretty thoughtful.

 

House is now 2380 sq ft, not including the downstairs room. My husband uses it as a woodshop. We could finish off another section of the basement if we wished.

 

The kitchen takes up the better part of the back of the house - it used to include an old bathroom and some other space. I love having a kitchen this large. It could easily fit a 10 person table and we generally have Thanksgiving here with two tables put together end-to end.  They combined two bedrooms and made a homeschool room with a closet for storage. It is larger than the living room. My office is also off the kitchen there is a 3/4 bath between my office and the homeschool room. We could easily turn either the homeschool room or my office into a room for one of our parents someday (mine has its own entrance, which my dad likes). The bathroom is also wheel-chair accessible, important in my family.  

 

For a larger family I think they underplanned for both coat storage and pantry storage on the first  floor. I cook from scratch often and we have a lot of guests at one time; perhaps they did not. We have an additional 2-5 children here nearly every week at least once. There is no way they had enough space for four children's worth of winter gear.

 

Upstairs the hall is very wide and open. If we had to put in bookshelves or a wardrobe we could. There are two bedrooms for the children and they are much larger than normal bedrooms you see in most newer houses nowadays because the family before us had two children in each room. I saw the furniture in the rooms when we went to buy the place; they had enough room to live in and play in the rooms. Each child had generous closet space and they built bookshelves into the wall as well as window seats. The kids' bathroom is the only full bathroom. There is a double sink and the toilet has it's own door, allowing someone to use the toilet while someone else washes up. I thought that was brilliant.  The master bedroom is not gigantic, but generous and has a 3/4 bath and a walk-in closet. There is usable, walk-in attic space over the garage at the end of the hall. The fact that I never have to climb a shaky ladder and I don't have to duck helps keep the attic space neat and clean all the time. The laundry is upstairs and has some built in cabinets. There is not enough space for drying racks in the laundry room and I miss that. I personally wish the laundry was on the same floor where I spend 80% of my time. I miss the end of the cycles pretty easily and running the machines at night, something I do a lot, is disruptive. 

[Desert Strawberry]

We have 1200 sqft, plus two unfinished outbuildings. I love the size. I would prefer the laundry room be in or attached to the house. 

I would love some acreage. 5 would be lovely. I wouldn't want more than 50.

[Susan in TN]

I'm pretty happy with our house - 2500 sqft. w/4 bedrooms. If I could, I'd add a larger dishwasher and fridge, a library/study, a larger living room that would fit a baby grand piano, and silent laundry in the kitchen if that kind of thing exists. Also a much bigger yard so we could have a "campfire". Also a linen closet. And weekly professional housecleaning.

 

Family of 8.

[Desert Strawberry]

I didn't answer fully. 

My dream house would be a log cabin (or something like that) with an open lower level, small master suite, and a large loft for the kids. Somewhere around 1000sqft.

[shawthorne44]

We only have one child, but I think somewhere around 4000 sq. ft.  I was just telling my husband the other day that I felt squished.  When I bought the house as a single gal, a 3/2/2 was pretty much the minimum house in a decent area. So I bought a 1700 sq. ft 3/2/2 starter house. All to myself I had 2 spaces for cars, 4 closets and two rooms dedicated to storage/guest rooms.  Then we got married and my husband moved in.  He isn't allowed in the Master Closet, but he did get one of the bedrooms as a man-cave.  And his tools take up a car space in the garage.  I couldn't argue that I needed TWO storage rooms.  Then 3 months married we found out we were pregnant.  So I lost my last storage room.  Fine, I needed to declutter and I used the attic.  Then with DD came her toys, and books and toys and books.  I seriously need elbow room.  

[Impish]

Ok. 5 kids at home. If we won the lotto, I don't have sq footage in mind, but my dream house would include:

 

A massive kitchen. One big enough that four people could work in it, at the same time, and not bump into each other. A walk in fridge and freezer. Top of the line commercial grade appliances, 2 ovens, built in griddle, and also grill. Loads of counters and cupboard space. One end would be a ceiling to floor windows, and that's where the eating space would be.

 

Sunken livingroom, maybe. Loads of squashy, comfortable furniture, bookshelves, and loads of room.

 

Full on dining room, with an expandable round table. I saw one online once, and haven't quit drooling over it since. I don't know what it's properly called, but drawers to put food in so the hot foods stay hot, so not jumping up and down for seconds. Maybe a built in, hidden mini fridge for the same reason. 

 

Library/homeschool room. It would be huge. Again, glassed in end for the 'art' area, a kitchen, loads of squashy furniture, a media centre, floor to ceiling bookshelves, crammed full of everything on anything.

 

A minimum of seven bedrooms. All w/ensuites. 

 

Another 3 bathrooms, maybe 2.

 

Fitness room. Either an indoor pool, or a seperate pool house.

 

It would all be hardwood, w/tile in needed rooms, and area rugs.

 

Since this would require a lotto win, I'd work w/someone for all the decorating...but, the overall theme would be comfort, comfort, comfort. I want a *home* not a *showplace*. A family LIVES here, kwim?

 

Oh. Big main floor laundry, w/probably 2 sets of commercial size washer/dryer.

 

And it would be on a nice big acreage, w/an orchard, long growing season.

 

And yeah, I'd totally be hiring someone to clean it all, and probably cook a cpl of days a wk :P

[Impish]

Oh, and Wolf wants a shop somewhere on the property, and detached garage.

 

And a man cave.

 

And absolutely NO INLAW SUITES. Maybe a guest house, far enough out of sight from the main house, so that if MIL ever visited, she wouldn't know it was there, and plan to move in ;)

[Hot Lava Mama]

"Dream Home?"  Well, considering I just saw a flyer for a house close by us...it would be a "dream home", mostly because there is no way on earth we could ever afford it.  It is Eddie Murphy's old home.  It's 13,000 sq feet with a 5,500 sq foot "guest home".  It's incredibly beautiful!  Home gym, basketball court, etc.  It overlooks Folsom Lake and has over $1 million in landscaping.  Plus, it comes with the custom furniture built for the home and a rare piano in which there are only 14 in existence!  I told my kids that if we had that house, they could all live there with us after they were married and had kids.  Each kid could have their own "wing"!  :0   That would be heaven!

:)

 

 

[Excelsior! Academy]

All inclusive we have nine children.  Oldest two (DFS, and DSS) are married and living in their own homes with sons of their own.  DD18 is a freshman in college a generous plane distance away from home.  We still have five children at home (DD14, DFD9, DFD5, DD4 and DD1) and sometimes have additional children for medical respite and or emergency foster care.

 

Our main home is really more of estate and I've fallen in love with it and it is really has become our home over the years.  We have a little over 6,000 square feet of living space on the two main floors.  Our basement is finished but mainly used as a true cellar, an extra playroom for the kids, and for our home gym/lap pool.  Our attic is partially finished and partially organized for storage.  Before we converted our heating/cooling system a few years ago we never considered it reasonable to attempt to cool either of the bedrooms up there sufficiently in the summer and didn't really use them.  With the geothermal/wind system we have now this isn't a problem so we essentially gained two more sleeping areas.    

 

Things I appreciate about our house:

-Renewable energy

-Our kitchen is huge, but also very functional.  We're a very cook together kind of family so we spend a lot of time hanging out here.  We also have a great pantry set up and an eating area that transitions into the solarium extension.

-We have enough space for all of our children to have their own room.  

-Our dining room and formal living have managed to retain the historic charm of our home in spite of several remodels.

-We have two laundry rooms so there is a lot less lugging laundry all over. 

-We've added in storage and niche build ins with each remodel.  We have a place for everything so there really isn't an excuse for clutter.

-We have an amazing and  comfortable library.  The book shelves kind of make the room along two different window book nooks, a fireplace, and two couches I fell in love with at an estate sale.  Yes, a few friends have told us that libraries are really so last century but I don't care!  I love our library!  There are also a lot of tranquil escape nooks in our home (as worded by one of DD14's friends).

-Our attic has skylights (so one can stargaze without risking frostbite even this winter).

-Fireplaces did I mention fireplaces?  

 

Beyond our home I love:

-The rose arbor around our pool

-Our cute guesthouse which is great for out of state guests with a family and also was where DH and I have snuck away to for a night when my mom or MIL was staying with the kids but we were afraid to go too far.

-Our backyard which has an English Garden feel with paths and benches 

-Our greenhouse is up and running (and not costing us an arm thanks to a solar/geothermal system)

-Our four bay detached garage which looks like the former carriage house it once was.  

I just changed my dream.  I want her house!

[Hot Lava Mama]

Ok. 5 kids at home. If we won the lotto, I don't have sq footage in mind, but my dream house would include:

 

A massive kitchen. One big enough that four people could work in it, at the same time, and not bump into each other. A walk in fridge and freezer. Top of the line commercial grade appliances, 2 ovens, built in griddle, and also grill. Loads of counters and cupboard space. One end would be a ceiling to floor windows, and that's where the eating space would be.

 

Sunken livingroom, maybe. Loads of squashy, comfortable furniture, bookshelves, and loads of room.

 

Full on dining room, with an expandable round table. I saw one online once, and haven't quit drooling over it since. I don't know what it's properly called, but drawers to put food in so the hot foods stay hot, so not jumping up and down for seconds. Maybe a built in, hidden mini fridge for the same reason. 

 

Library/homeschool room. It would be huge. Again, glassed in end for the 'art' area, a kitchen, loads of squashy furniture, a media centre, floor to ceiling bookshelves, crammed full of everything on anything.

 

A minimum of seven bedrooms. All w/ensuites. 

 

Another 3 bathrooms, maybe 2.

 

Fitness room. Either an indoor pool, or a seperate pool house.

 

It would all be hardwood, w/tile in needed rooms, and area rugs.

 

Since this would require a lotto win, I'd work w/someone for all the decorating...but, the overall theme would be comfort, comfort, comfort. I want a *home* not a *showplace*. A family LIVES here, kwim?

 

Oh. Big main floor laundry, w/probably 2 sets of commercial size washer/dryer.

 

And it would be on a nice big acreage, w/an orchard, long growing season.

 

And yeah, I'd totally be hiring someone to clean it all, and probably cook a cpl of days a wk :p

 

Now THIS would rock!

:)

 

[swellmomma]

My dream home would include a finished basement with 2 spare rooms, 3 bedrooms on a second floor, and a den on the mainfloor.  Total square footage really could be under 2000 sq ft easy.  My dream home though is on an acreage with outbuildings (2 insulated and heated- 1 for playing in- a dedicated  space to have a decent play space in the long winters without being indoors for those times when they are just wild and need to burn energy and 1 for air rifle practice), animals and tons of room to roam. 

 

At the same time if we won the lottery, we would actually downsize first and live in an RV for a couple years travelling anywhere we could drive to, then upgrade to the above home, so I guess really my dream home is an RV.

[KungFuPanda]

I don't know how this works in real-life blueprints, but I fantasize about a laundry room that is connected to the backs of everyone's closets. These closets, would have drawers that open in the laundry room as well as the bedrooms. They would also have hampers accessible on each side of the wall.

[abba12]

oooh... DH and I have talked about this lots. We would love to build our own home!

We don't have a large family yet, #3 is due in may, but should we be blessed with more kids, we would love a large family. I was one of 5 and he was one of 8, so if it was completely our choice, we are thinking at least 6, but who knows what the future holds.

 

We would need acerage, but with a fenced off house-yard. 

A large room at the front door with a cupboard for shoes and jackets and plenty of space for nappy bags and shoe racks etc

Two medium size bedrooms, a boy room and a girl room. Our bedrooms are just for sleeping in, so they would not need to be big, but they would need lots of storage room for clothing and special items.

A BIG playroom. Growing up a lot of kids I knew had converted garages as 'rumpus rooms', I would love that. 

A teen/adult retreat would be great when the kids get older. My parents had an end room with a pool table and mini fridge and open area where we were able to go and hang out with friends as teens, and our parents hosted their friends in that room.

A library room (DH says it has to have one of those bookshelf ladders which rolls along :D)

Big kitchen with lots of bench space.

Open planned living/dining/sitting/family room. At the moment our house has an open plan area with the kitchen in one corner, dining room in another, lounge in another, and family room (we use it as a kids corner) in the 4th corner. They are semi-defined spaces by the layout of the carpet/tiles and it works really well. We basically spend the whole day in this big open area, moving from one corner to another, and I can supervise the kids fully from the kitchen.

Big shed and big 'craft room' :)

 

No need for a super laundry, but I would like an ensuite and walk in wardrobe which can double as a little nursery. 

 

[Isabella]

I already live in my dream house - it's 10,000 square feet or more, by a beautiful lake, but I can't give you any website's were it has been listed for sale so you can't have a look.  Also I don't have any photo's of it.  My husband is a docter, and I have 8 or 10 kids (I can't remeber), all with cute and trendy names which I mention at every possible chance.  They each have there own room, and I'm pretty sure they have a bathroom each to.  Of course, with all that we have to employ a maid, cook, and gardener! It's lucky my Dh is a docter so that we can afford it all! 

 

I'm not a troll, I'm just an ordinary teen mother of imaginary kids, and I'm bored. :lol:

[shawthorne44]

I don't know how this works in real-life blueprints, but I fantasize about a laundry room that is connected to the backs of everyone's closets. These closets, would have drawers that open in the laundry room as well as the bedrooms. They would also have hampers accessible on each side of the wall.

 

 

We are in the middle of remodeling our next house.  One of the things I insisted on was that laundry room share a wall with our closet and there be an opening between and a closet rod going through both.  I hang up my nice clothes out of the washer.  When they are dry, I'll just shove them into the closet.  

 

But, now I think we will need a low opening for a hamper.  That is a great idea.  

[LisaKinVA]

Since we will likely have at least one set of parents living with us...My favorite floor plan has a main living area of about 2400 sq. ft, which includes a Master bedroom w/ an attached study (also my craft room), one large main living area, one main dining area, kitchen open to the family room, with a walk-in pantry.  It does have a nice sized laundry room.  Upstairs, 2 en-suites with a loft area (this would really be for the kids...and for when kids come to stay after they have moved out/gone out into the world).  I'd also like a finished basement (which would have a one-car garage and a 2 BR/1 BA apartment for my folks, another large living area, another full bath (again...thinking about guests coming over.)  I suppose, with all of the finished space it's close to 5,500 square feet...not including a guest cottage for dh's parents (I cannot live under the same roof as my MIL..while some feel I have a tremendous amount of patience, she can put me over the edge quicker than nobody's business...and having lived in a hotel for 5 months without becoming an alcoholic, or otherwise dependent upon alcohol to make the stress more tolerable, let me say, she is much...much...MUCH worse in that regard!).  I have no idea how we'd ever afford something like this...unless dh took a transfer to Galveston, TX, and I am not sure I'd want to move there. :p

[WinsomeCreek]

We are not a large family (now), but we are fortunate to have found our dream home. 2800 sqft with a full basement (walk out) almost as large. It needs a lot of work. We're patient and have a 20+yr plan. We could not have picked up this house had someone already come in and updated. The house itself is perfect. The community is not as good of a fit. Now if only we could bring in more like minded neighbors.