<p>if busdriver can have a wife, I demand a pool boy.</p>
<p>A fantabulous TV in the kitchen.</p>
<p>DH and I have built two houses together. The planning, the agonizing, the “choosing,” the supervising, the re-evaluating and changing ($$$), etc. is rather stressful and becomes almost as time consuming as a full time job. We are doing a little work on the house we have just purchased and it’s a little glimpse back into that time. I would also rather not build again.</p>
<p>It’s been fun reading everyone’s “dream house” ideas. Good thread. :)</p>
<p>Listing these without reviewing the thread first to see what has already been mentioned:</p>
<p>Radiant heat in floors.
Small town atmosphere w/ ability to walk to places like little grocery, coffee shop, library.
Lots of outdoor “living” - front porch, back deck, sun porch, screened in porch, backyard.
Some shade, some sun
Screw the dining room, give me a big eat in kitchen.
Laundry not in basement
Lots of windows
Hardwood
Character
Laundry shute(s)</p>
<p>That’s a start. :)</p>
<p>Seems like a common thread is radiant heat in floors. Not all that practical in Texas, but I’m sure that would be such a nice luxury in the colder climates.</p>
<p>Lately I’ve been looking at houses for sale online (to prepare our house for sale, then to find a new one, and now for decorating ideas). Some of the most expensive homes are fun to look at, but some of them are just so overdone with the faux finishes and European flourishes. Yuck-it would be really stressful for me to live in that environment. On the other side, ultra contemporary environments that seem as cold as an office building. I’m trying to find a more transitional look for our house without buying everything new.</p>
<p>Would it work on hardwood floors? We have it under tile floors. It is nice. I turn it up just enough to take chill away, not to heat.</p>
<p>I’m going to put in a plug for a weird little book we found when building our dream house 10 years ago. It was written in the '70’s by a group of architects and urban planners who systematically studied how people use spaces on all levels, from the layout of a city to the placement of a chair. It’s brilliant.</p>
<p>Ever notice how spaces that look like they should be used aren’t while others not designed for certain uses get co-opted for them? This book helps break the elements of why this occurs. Want your window seat to feel inviting? What will make it so? How big or small should it be? Does it need a view? Does it need to feel private, public?</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (Cess Center for Environmental) (9780195019193): Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, Murray Silverstein: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Pattern-Language-Buildings-Construction-Environmental/dp/0195019199]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Pattern-Language-Buildings-Construction-Environmental/dp/0195019199)</p>
<p>Radiant heat does work under hardwood but you need something pretty stable, such as quartersawn oak. I love ours. </p>
<p>Some of the things I love about our house:
-radiant heat
-big mudroom
-big open kitchen
-2nd floor laundry with folding space
-small kids’ bedrooms-we did this on purpose to force them out into the rest of the house.
-flexible room-officially a dining room but can be opened to the rest of the house and becomes part of the larger living space.
-secret room with access from the back of a closet. Not a safe room, just our family’s secret place, which the kids use as a play room.
-tons of book shelves with tons of books
-walk to town/in town location (1 block from the center)
-porch where we can watch people walk by
-lots of light</p>
<p>What I might change
-design for 20-40 years from now. Illness or bad knees. Right now there’s no bedroom or full bath on the first floor.</p>
<p>Something you may want to consider:
When you walk into the house, where does the “stuff” go? Where do you drop the mail, your keys, etc., and is that where you want it to stay? Everyone has such a place, although few of us plan it. Some don’t like to have the detritus out in public but because of the design of their spaces don’t end up with better options than to have it sit on a counter or table.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It does. We moved a couple of years ago, and this house has radiant heat throughout the first floor, which includes both hardwood and tile. It’s heaven. :)</p>
<p>I guess it had to be installed before the floor. We have an old random width oak floor. Heaven will have to wait until I die. Or move.</p>
<p>Christopher Alexander’s A Pattern Language is my favorite architecture book. I was reading it when I designed my parents’ house and they still rave about how much they loved their “farmhouse kitchen”. My second favorite is Sarah Susankah’s The Not So Big House. I recommend both for thinking about spaces. The Not so Big House is particularly good at talking about how spaces interact. One idea I like of hers is the idea of an “away room” - which can be either a quiet room to get away from the noisy parts of the house, or a noisy room if the rest of the house is quiet.Warning though, many have said the book really ought to be titled The Not so Small House! Most of her examples are bigger than the houses I have lived in. There’s some info at her website [The</a> Not So Big House](<a href=“Home - Sarah Susanka”>http://www.notsobighouse.com/), but the books are better IMO.</p>
<p>I would like my very own bathroom and my very own closet. </p>
<p>I HATE sharing bathrooms with boys. Our master bath has the best shower, so I get to share with H and DS. They both blame the other for toilet “issues.” I am tired of my clothes getting smushed in our master closet. H is a pack rat, so it’s jammed. I JUST WANT MY OWN SPACE!</p>
<p>We did a huge reno of our house in 2011,which I’ve talked about here before. At the beginning of the planning, we sat down and made a list of all the things we wanted to change. My H had very few, relative to me. :)</p>
<p>Things he enjoys from the reno:
- his combo study/man cave
- his wine cellar
- his built in Meile coffee center
- his soaker tub in the ensuite
- his steam shower</p>
<p>Of course, he enjoys the rest of it, too, but those are his favorites.</p>
<p>My favorites:</p>
<ul>
<li>my beautiful kitchen where everything is exactly where I want it</li>
<li>easy-close hinges on all cabinetry doors and drawers</li>
<li>two ovens and two dishwashers</li>
<li>two islands, one of them is huge which I absolutely love</li>
<li>built-ins in all the closets</li>
<li>my flooring choices</li>
<li>pocket doors from the kitchen to the dining room and also in the master ensuite and walk in closet</li>
<li>extra large shower with terrific shower head and separate hand held</li>
<li>2nd floor laundry room which is large and has a beautiful view when I iron ;)</li>
</ul>
<p>We also redid the deck which runs all along the back of our house. Our location was already perfect, walk to shops, etc., which is one reason that we decided to renovate rather than move. The house was ~30 years old and was ready for a major reno. After being back in, for over a year now, I’ve yet to find one thing that I’d change in the decisions we made.</p>
<p>The window seats are lovely. My old craftsman has them in abundance, though in the bedrooms they’re not wide enough for lounging. But they all open for storage. </p>
<p>As I’m thinking of selling my bigger house, am contemplating what I really want. And is hard when this house has so much of that is ideal. A big picture window in the kitchen, with the table next to it, is the best, as are wood floors everywhere. I like my downstairs bathroom as well. Built in glass front book cases are very useful for those of us with allergies. </p>
<p>What I want in the next place: separate office space, a deck or porch easily accessible to outside from the kitchen. A garage or shed. Am trying to think about the importance of a large room for entertaining in a smaller house. Kitchen/dining/LR combo or some such. </p>
<p>MN mom, have you thought free standing wardrobe?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I so “get” that mnmomof2. In fact, given our different “collecting” habits? I toss things out, H has tshirts from his 7th grade gym class, this is one of the reasons we decided to build. Nobody else has built “our” house.</p>
<p>So far: must haves:</p>
<p>Eric Ripert.
A wife.
A poolboy.</p>
<p>Things we all (most) seem to like:</p>
<p>radiant heat
big kitchen with storage space and nice counters, an island
butler’s pantry
mud room with indoor dog shower and walk in closet. Big!
Clearly storage space is the new dining room. 
Wrap around porch, open and part of it screened.
walk to town and shops. (this might be a challenge)
water of some variety
All on one floor
accessible so we can get old there.</p>
<p>I think we all like great appliances in the kitchen
gas line to outdoor grill
I like the idea of an outdoor kitchen area
door from master to a fenced yard for dogs while we remain asleep.
separate closets
separate bathrooms
A kid’s suite? bedrooms, bathrooms, plus extra room for them.</p>
<p>Four car garage with a second story office for husband.</p>
<p>I need some men to post on here:
electronics, whatnot.</p>
<p>you guys are great.</p>
<p>xposted with alwaysamom who read my mind.</p>
<p>So poetgrl, I’m taking it for granted that you will plan your construction so as to have it done in time to have a warm weather open house for all your CC friends, right?</p>
<p>clearly zoosermom. </p>
<p>I guess I’ll need a guest house.</p>
<p>great lakes - we have a big master closet, but H will fill the space he has (apparently genetic dislike of gettind rid of stuff). I would not care so much if I did not have to share the closet. I think a free standing wardrobe would just encourage more stuff…
Love these ideas. I am a big fan of the heated tile in our bathroom. Hightly recommended.</p>
<p>Mathmom-Susankah’s books were my other favorites when building! She really got us thinking about functions, not rooms. I think our architect has fun with the process because instead of saying “We want a kitchen, office, dining room, etc…” we said, “We want a place to play, a place to work, a place for privacy…” It left us so much flexibility. Although I wouldn’t say we live in a “not so big house” many of our spaces do have dual or triple functions.</p>
<p>Plan where you want your huge screen TV and even if you can see it from the kitchen, put one in the kitchen too (and claim it as yours!). Have enough electrical outlets on outside porches to plug in lights and computers. The pool boy is a really nice idea even if you don’t have a pool…</p>