S/O Have you ever lived in your "perfect" home?

[PrincessMommy]

Is having the perfect home possible?   IMO, that would include location too.

 

I know someone who did, but then her husband lost his job and they had to move.  She still mourns that perfect, house to grow old in, home many years later.

 

But, I've never lived in the "perfect" home.  We've always had to compromise somewhere.   I've never been completely satisfied ...so what does that say about me??!!

 

 

 

[Luckymama]

This house is almost our perfect house :)

[elegantlion]

Aside from location and some minor (in perspective) repairs, I love my house. I have historically moved about every 5 years. This is the first house I've lived in that I could picture myself being happy in long term, so it's a step. The location is tolerable, but not my first preference - I'd rather be closer to a big city and more opportunities, but that would make the costs increase. 

[73349]

This is the first home I've chosen. It's not perfect, but it's the best I've ever lived in. I think I would have to help design a house to consider it perfect for me.

[TammyinTN]

The last home we lived in when stationed in Germany was absolutely perfect.  We loved it and would like to build a house like it someday. 

 

[ThisIsTheDay]

A lot depends on perspective.

 

My current home is pretty perfect.  Ds's bedroom is really small, and I wish my closet were bigger.  It'd be nice if we had a fourth bedroom for guests.  This house has everything that I wished each of my prior houses had, a larger entry way, ranch level, lots of windows, sun porch, two car garage, walk out basement, master bath shower, a brand new custom kitchen, pretty fireplace, big front porch, wood floors throughout the living area.  When we first drove past this street six years ago, we absolutely loved it, never, ever dreaming we'd move from our country house in the woods back to the suburbs.

 

When we found this house online, we were not looking to move, and this was the ONLY house we looked at in person, although we looked at dozens (probably a hundred) online. I hope I never move.

[Pawz4me]

This house has been pretty much perfect in every way for us.  I say "has been" because in the next few years as both boys go off to college it's probably going to become too big for just me and DH.  But then we get the fun of searching for the next perfect house. :)

[Guest]

Kinda, because dh built our current home and the one previous. But needs also change over time and changing circumstances, so notions of what is perfect can change. I love my home very much, but there are numerous things I plan to do differently if/when we build again. My current home is quite large, but in the future we will not need so much space. It is already feeling too big and it uses too much energy.

[Guest]

Also, it's important to realize that some things can seem perfect until you have lived with their reality for a while! My kitchen has beautiful granite countertops, but I seriously miss the simple Formica tops we had in our first house. They were not glamorous, but they were fine and cleaning them off was SO SIMPLE!!!

 

It's not rare for that to happen, even when you get to custom-build your home.

[PrincessMommy]

Also, it's important to realize that some things can seem perfect until you have lived with their reality for a while! My kitchen has beautiful granite countertops, but I seriously miss the simple Formica tops we had in our first house. They were not glamorous, but they were fine and cleaning them off was SO SIMPLE!!!

 

It's not rare for that to happen, even when you get to custom-build your home.

 

I agree... I think granite is over rated.  We have it in this current house, but I don't like it... It's also old (along with the kitchen), but I don't know how it would affect the resale if I go with Formica over granite.  This is not our forever home and we knew it moving in.  I'm expecting another 3-6yrs here. 

[gardenmom5]

no.  I've never even gotten to choose the house I lived in.  dh was building when we were engaged/married, I had very little say in any of it because of where it was in progress.  we lived short-term in two rentals that were in very tight markets. (one was after we were married, in a different city, for short-term.)  I've worked hard to make the house we're in something I can be content with (and he likes what I've done) - but it will never be my choice.

[Annie G]

This house was almost perfect for raising our kids. For 20 years we've had plenty of room, walking distance to the library, post office, downtown, etc.  Friends within walking distance, as are parks, city pool, and hospital. 

 

Now the kids are grown and it's plenty big enough for dd's family of five to come stay without us feeling like we're on top of each other. 

 

It's 135 years old so it's charming, quirky, and affords us plenty of opportunities to spend time renovating.  

 

Dh will retire in 4 years and we're going to downsize and move closer to the grands.  But other than being too big and too far away from those beautiful grandkids, this house is awesome. 

[Ravin]

I had a top rack in the berthing on my ship in the Navy. That was perfect. I could sit up in bed, and got to travel the world but always had my own bed to sleep in.

[AK_Mom4]

Yes. The last house we rented had it all. Location, size, layout, near a nice park, great interior, perfect for kids with a large backyard and a garage for DH.

 

We offered to buy it when our lease was up, but the owner wasn't interested. Turns out he had a change of circumstances and had to sell six months later for less than we had offered. But we had already moved on.

[DawnM]

No.  But I have only heard people who have built TWO houses love their house so much that they would say it is perfect.  They have all said the first house they built is a "trial" to see what works and what doesn't and the second is to perfect it.

 

We will most likely never build.  I don't have the patience for it for one thing!

 

Dawn

[Ellie]

This one is pretty close. :-)

[elfgivas]

any house with my dh in it is perfect..... 

 

i had the perfect structural house before i married dh.  this is better :)

 

ann

[MooCow]

Yes. Our first home together. But we were native to the state and couldn't wait to move.

 

Loved the house.

[Lieutenant Stranger]

We once moved to a house that I thought was "perfect." It was a rental. It had a pool, fruit trees, 2 stories, playroom, homeschool room, fancy shutters, grass in the yard, granite countertops, 2.5 baths, a master closet so big it could be another bedroom...you name it.

 

Also, turned out it was infested with crickets in the walls (true story). Also, the upstairs would hit 90 degrees easily and the house was never, ever clean due to size. Pool? Always cold and we could never keep the chemicals correct. The great family-friendly neighborhood ended up with several bratty kids and an emerging crime problem. 

 

We left after two years and vowed that was the last time we'd get a "perfect" house like that.

 

Our house now is much smaller, no pool, 90s dated kitchen and childless neighbors. We're much happier here.

[Erin]

I'm building it.  

Hopefully we'll get to live in it by Christmas!   :)

We're building it as we go, with cash, and I'm doing the vast majority of the work by myself (Trap is currently working in the oilfield so we have the money to be able to do this).

 

I always tell people I've built the rest of the house around my sewing space and I'm only sort-of kidding.   ;)  It's a timber-framed house with a vaulted living room, open to the loft above (aka, my sewing room).  I have my mudroom/laundry room, walk-out basement, and main floor master bedroom, as well as all of the storage I want, where I want it and everything exactly as I want in the kitchen.  

 

We own 40 acres and I love how it's laid out.  My only complaint is our lack of trees.  We have one.  

Seriously.  One tree.  

So, I guess it's not perfect.  Talk to me in 20 years when my trees grow.  lol

[I talk to the trees]

Perfect house? Check.

Perfect region? Check.

Perfect lot size? Not so much. The houses were so close together that if your neighbor sneezed, you got sick. This was the first house we ever owned, and we have often remarked that we would love to have that house back on a larger lot.

[Carrie12345]

No.

I've searched floor plans online and even tried to draw my own "perfect" house, and it simply does not exist even in my head!

 

We did live in an apartment that had a perfect layout for us at the time, but it was a million year old, outdated, 3rd floor walk-up in a bad neighborhood, lol.  But the floor plan was lovely!

[AngelaNYC]

Believe it or not, my perfect home (in retirement) would be a nice apartment in a big doorman building in Midtown Manhattan.  To have such easy access not only to Broadway shows, museums, and Central Park, but to any necessary type of store/business - plus be able to have free delivery of anything - would be amazing.  

 

But no, I haven't lived in my perfect home, yet.  My current apartment is maybe 70% there.

[Luckymama]

I'm building it.

Hopefully we'll get to live in it by Christmas! :)

We're building it as we go, with cash, and I'm doing the vast majority of the work by myself (Trap is currently working in the oilfield so we have the money to be able to do this).

 

I always tell people I've built the rest of the house around my sewing space and I'm only sort-of kidding. ;) It's a timber-framed house with a vaulted living room, open to the loft above (aka, my sewing room). I have my mudroom/laundry room, walk-out basement, and main floor master bedroom, as well as all of the storage I want, where I want it and everything exactly as I want in the kitchen.

 

We own 40 acres and I love how it's laid out. My only complaint is our lack of trees. We have one.

Seriously. One tree.

So, I guess it's not perfect. Talk to me in 20 years when my trees grow. lol

We need pictures!

[J-rap]

It's funny, but I've never had an ideal for a perfect home.  It just has never been important to me, and is something I never think about.

[Amira]

I have lived in houses that have been perfect for us at the time.  I don't think there could be a home that would be perfect for me no matter where I was, and there's no one location that is perfect enough that I'd want to stay there in one home, even a perfect home, forever.  

 

We built a home in Boise about 12 years ago that I loved.  It truly was perfect for us in every way at the time, but it wouldn't have been perfect for our family forever.

 

The second apartment we rented in Bishkek was just about perfect for us, but it wouldn't have been in the US.

 

The house we rented in a smaller city in Kyrgyzstan was far from ideal in many ways, but taking all the limitations of the town into consideration, it had what I needed and we were able to deal with what was missing.  I couldn't have asked for more there.

 

The dorm where I lived in Jerusalem was practically perfect in every way, but I could hardly live there now. :)

[m0mmaBuck]

My husband and I loved our apartment in NC. Great location. Nice pool and amenities. Good neighbors.

 

We left there in 1997 and I have disliked every apartment, townhouse, and home we have had since then.

 

I hate our house now. Love the neighborhood. Hate the house.

 

When DD graduates from high school, we plan to sell the house and most of the stuff in it and use the money to buy a small RV and live in that while we travel. That will be "perfect."

[KidsHappen]

Our current home comes pretty close. It was one bedroom short when we moved in but I have had a few kids leave home since then so it is exactly the right size now. However, I am really starting to have problems getting up and down the stairs and the house will be too big once all of the kids leave so we will probably be downsizing in just a few years. I dream of moving to Atlanta where my two oldest dds live. I have one dd at UT Knoxville right now and she is trying to get her next youngest sister to go there next year which would be great as that would put her only 3-4 hours from Atlanta. On the other hand, my hubby will probably want to stay in here in which case I would hope to buy the smaller retirement sized home from our next door neighbor when he moves on.

[Shelly in IL]

Our house is getting perfected every year. We bought a really big fixer upper on 6.5 acres. It is really getting pretty now, all except for the basement and my bedroom/bath. However, eldest is leaving for college in the fall and it will be far too big for 3 people! We need to stay in IL to be eligible for the scholarship my son received, so we'll be here awhile. But seriously too big (5 br/ 3 1/2 ba) way too big for just us!

[JenneinCA]

When we moved to Arizona I thought that house was perfect. And it was perfect for a while.

 

But then our needs changed and it wasn't perfect anymore. The house we have now is a wonderful house for right now, but it wouldn't have been perfect ten years ago and it may not be perfect in ten years either. I don't think perfect forever exists because people change and needs change too.

[kroe1]

Yep.

[Night Elf]

I'll say near perfect, because it was the neighborhood, well one woman in particular, that made things unpleasant. The house itself was perfect. It was the perfect size. We would have done very well raising the kids there. But we moved and downsized and that was a huge mistake.

[Carrie12345]

When we moved to Arizona I thought that house was perfect. And it was perfect for a while.

 

But then our needs changed and it wasn't perfect anymore. The house we have now is a wonderful house for right now, but it wouldn't have been perfect ten years ago and it may not be perfect in ten years either. I don't think perfect forever exists because people change and needs change too.

 

Absolutely!

Our house wasn't perfect when we bought it, but it wasn't too bad.  We just hadn't planned on 2 more kids, a bunch of pets, and homeschooling.  When you have a tiny house, those kinds of curve balls make a BIG difference!!!

[Guest]

I adored our former house.  I like our current house.  

 

My former house had a wonderful floor plan.  It was 2000sf up, 2000sf, down.  We lived in about 800sf on a daily basis but had room to expand for hospitality and entertainment.  Our guests actually had a pretty private suite downstairs, and I had a wonderful hobby room, my dh an office, my son a play room, and yet our bedrooms could stay pretty clutter-free and my living room was *always* clean because we didn't have to use it very much.  So there was always a place to go when company showed up.  My kitchen was a dream for working in and for entertaining.  And every window in the house looked out on something pretty.  

 

AND it was getting old and needing repairs and as we have aged it became too big and as my son will sometime be leaving the house, we don't need all that space.  So it was perfect for us for a time.  One of the best parts of our house was our wonderful neighbors...and they both died last November...and now ... I just don't miss the house as much.  

 

[lynn]

Yes a few of our homes were perfect for certain eras of our life.  Then we would transfer.

[Heidi]

I'm easily satisfied. Yes, I lived in a perfect home. I could think of things about it that would make it more perfect, but I would have been content living there forever. But we are military. Even if we weren't military, my husband is never content and perfection is never within reach for him, unfortunately.

[FaithManor]

Yes, twice. Once for two years and once only for a year.

 

The first was a house we purchased in Danville, Indiana. It was on a cul de sac, had three really nice sized bedrooms, only one bath but the option of easily plumbing another one which dh planned on doing, a huge living room that easily accommodate our furniture, my baby grand piano, and had a gorgeous fireplace, small dining room but okay for us, lovely big kitchen with lots of countertop, beautiful cabinets, big pantry, and hardwood floors in it. We had a very large screened in porch off the kitchen which was a fun play area in good weather. The front yard was very pretty, and the back yard was huge with a little garden plot, play area, and garden shed. It had a full, very dry basement with lots of storage, a secondary family room with fireplace, and big laundry facilities.

 

Our other wonderful house was the one we built in Newburg, Oregon. It was a three bedroom two and half bath. Loved that half bath on the first floor because we were potty training dd at the time and it was right off the breakfast nook and kitchen. Very convenient. Big dining room, big living room, sliding glass doors off the dining room into our side yard which was very pretty. Our upstairs had a generous master bedroom/bath combo, another nice sized bathroom with the other two bedrooms, a hall linen closet, and a 20x20 bonus room over the garage. It was in a subdivision off of the city park and we had direct access to the playground for dd. We had blackberries and raspberries growing in the backyard and a small garden. But, due to a very nosy neighbor who always wanted to see what everyone was planting in their yard to see if she thought it violated the HOA landscaping rules, we had to privacy fence it to keep her out. The hosue had a wrap around porch too which I loved. But, dh was transferred less than one year after the house was completed. We lived in it for maybe 9 months. Thankfully, property was appreciating rapidly at that time and we sold it for $20,000.00 more than we paid for it so we were able to get our down payment and closing costs out of it.

 

 

[Mommyof4ks]

Nope, but we hope to build our perfect home in the next year or two. :) This home was close to perfect minus the tiny laundry room, and then we had more kids lol. Now we need more room.

[The Girls' Mom]

Yes! But when we bought it I told my dh that we would never get to keep it because I loved it too much. It was within walking distance of the library and biking distance to anything! The inside was gorgeous, and perfectly suited for us. The kitchen was awesome, and I had a little garden out back. Within a year, my husband had a pretty bad medical emergency and we decided that we needed to move back home, closer to family. I cried :(

 

We built our "dream" home here, and while the inside is everything we wanted, I still miss the location of our home in Texas. I think, eventually I will let go of that place and learn to love this one as much.

[sbgrace]

This isn't my dream/if money was no object perfect home. Still, it feels pretty ideal for us.

 

We moved in and had a full, dry walk out unfinished basement to work with. I did everything I wanted to make that basement space perfect for me/our family needs. We also had to completely gut the kitchen, so I made that perfect for us too. I had to replace flooring, so put in all hard flooring to make the home more allergy friendly. If money were no object, I would have picked different materials, but I'm thrilled we don't have any carpet here. I could go on, but basically this is as perfect as we could get for our financial situation.

[reign]

 

I think I could find lots of perfect houses if I could leave the area we currently live in. My main problem is the locations available not the houses. I'm not too picky on houses.