Very timely thread. I love our house, but I’m just so OVER having my bedroom upstairs. I know some people wouldn’t consider any other way, but I’m just done. So we will be starting the design phase for a new home (not vacation home). We already purchased the lot about a year ago.
@silpat, why is that? What is their rationale for both?!?!
ditto
I live in Texas, so that just goes without saying. OP is building a mountain home, so maybe not necessary? I wouldn’t build a home anywhere without central air because I’m always hot.
We have this and I LOVE IT. Mine has shower, large tub, water closet, and attached dressing room. His has the same except for no tub. Will absolutely want this in the next house. I will only put in a tub if the builder thinks it’s important for re-sale. I never use mine.
Who said anything about downsizing?
Something I’ve not seen mentioned that I really use in the laundry room is a place to hang clothes after they come out of the dryer (as well as counter space for folding). I’ve seen houses that have a rod for hanging wet clothes in a tiled space that has a drain on the floor. I probably wouldn’t go that far.
Interesting. I had a sink in the island once. I hated it and said absolutely never again.
I wouldn’t want to walk through a closet to get to a bathroom. Nor would I want to walk through a bathroom to get to a closet. Less traffic means things stay cleaner.
Our closet is through the bathroom, and we love it! My spouse is an early riser; he gets up, closes the French doors to the bathroom, and gets ready while I’m still sleeping like a baby.
I love this thread and reading people’s preferences :). My husband gets up early for travel many times and having the closet off the master bath allows me to sleep undisturbed. I would never go back to have our closet off the bedroom.
I also hated the sink in the island. My new kitchen has an 10 foot long island with seating and an uninterrupted run of granite.
We went from a first floor master to a second floor master out of necessity. It wouldn’t have been my first choice. The good news is the stairwell is super sized and will be easy to fit with a chair lift if ever needed in the future. This house has a finished third floor so at least when we someday have grandchildren we can put the kiddos upstairs. I foresee a bunk room up there one day.
As a dog person, I would also second putting in a dog washing station but I would put it in the mudroom or laundry room since the garage might be too cold in the winter.
@Igloo, when I would use the hand sprayer to wash dishes, the water would sometimes shoot across the island and get all over everything, including the floor. Might happen less often if the sink was very deep, but mine wasn’t.
I have a faucet by the stove. I never use it. I don’t like the idea of the water just sitting in the line until I eventually use it. And it’s not like it really saves your arm muscles anyway because you have to carry the pot to the sink to empty the water anyway.
I can imagine an unventilated closet getting pretty dank if people are walking into it every day while still dripping from their showers. That’s an easily solvable problem if you’re building a new place though.
Folding clothes is my TV watching time so I wouldn’t need space for that in a laundry room but I have a clothes rod over the laundry room utility sink which is very handy.
Having a discrete area for hanging ladies’ delicates might also be useful. If it’s just you and DH, it’s probably not a problem but if you have grown or teenage sons spending time at the house, it can be useful to have an out of the way drying area so as not to traumatize them with sexy mom undies.
No carpet (hardwood, cork, or concrete please)
Kitchen open to living area (no galley kitchen!)
Separate shower and tub
Fireplace(s)
Full size basement (for band practice)
Bidet (or Korean/Japanese bidet attachment)
70+ walk score, 80+ bike score
Wants:
Covered porch
Kitchen access to back yard/deck
Covered parking/garage
Shade tree(s) out back
80+ walk score, 90+ bike score
I mentioned a place to fold clothes in my HUGE mud room laundry room combo ?
Our bedroom closets are in a little “nook”that leads to the bathroom… it they are not IN the bathroom. It’s perfect. If one of us is up earlier, the closet light etc doesn’t shine anywhere near the bed or main bedroom area. Our bedroom linen closet is also in that nook.
We have a pull out faucet that reaches about half way between our sink and stove. Makes it easy to fill things like the coffee pot…and pots of water too. We don’t have to move them too far.
Would you also want a hanging rod as well? I don’t like to fold my hang-able clothes, only to have to cart them upstairs, unfold them and then hang them up. I hang as I pull them out, then take the hanging clothes up to the closet.
But I have seen MANY houses, a lot of them new, without this feature. So clearly not everyone cares about this.
“Waiting to hear why anyone would hate water closets. They are great for privacy and can be fitted with fans/ventilation as well.”
Plus it contains any “stuff” to that area instead of floating around in the air where you keep your toothbrush and other things one would rather keep somewhat sanitary.
I agree with the first, but not the second. I need access to my closet after taking a shower or bath, so having the closet accessed through the bathroom is very convenient. Walking through the bedroom while in a towel to get to the closet is not something I’m crazy about.
As others say, to each his own.
Big quantity builders actually do find a way. They tend to go with what works for the majority of buyers. No way to appeal to every single buyer, but builders and realtors can certainly pick up on trends and the feedback they get from potential buyers.
