What's on your list... House Building edition

[Deleted]

So, what would you fix about your current house if you were building a new 'perfect' house? 

Alternately, what would you have to reproduce? 

What are the must haves...

[Deleted]

What my current house has that I like:
   Main floor laundry room
   Kitchen/dining area/living room are pretty open to each other
   One floor unless we HAVE to go into the basement for something
   Two decks and a sunroom . . . lots of light and outdoor spaces
   No real proximity to neighbors (except the backyard of the across the road ones)
   Close to work (this is REALLY important to me)

What I would change:
   *There is a stupid, useless loft accessed by a ladder.  Everyone says how "cool" it is.  It is useless.
   *The bathrooms are incredibly small as 1970s and 1980s bathrooms were.  I don't really care that much, but larger ones
    would be nice.  The most annoying part is that there is a narrow, separate hall leading into the main bathroom.  It is pretty
    useless, but we hung a shelf with hooks and dry clothes in there.  The hall has NO purpose
   *The layout of the kitchen.  I actually don't know that it is bad, but it is bad with my husband.  There is a triangle for sink/
   workspace/stove.  DH has his coffee pot there.  He has bars with his hand towels there.  He will wash/dry his hands for 20
   minutes or so.  It drives me nuts because I usually need to use the sink or stove.  He is just standing in that area and looking
   out the window.  It is a HUGE kitchen, but that triangle drives me nuts.

So see . . . most of the items on the list are personal dislikes.   

[Blonde Granny]

My choice, which I didn't get in the house we just built is a gas cooktop and double wall oven. I would also have the big center island that was in my last house. I have to say however, that I don't have the room for built in wall oven with separate cooktop or a center island.

And I would move the light switches that we mistakenly put in the wrong place in the back hallway. (Maybe I still will).

[raeoflyte]

If money were no object I'd put a 2 story addition, creating a tri-level with basement, (4-5 bed/3 bath total), 2 car garage along alley, expand the kitchen, pop the top and raise main level floors so that the basement was at least 7 feet tall, bring the stairs to code, convert all basement windows to egress windows, front and back porches... I think I might really hate my current house at this point.

Sent from my ADR6410LVW using proboards

[Sunnyday]

I'm in renovation hell! Every time we see an end, something else comes up.

So with this said, I wouldn't ever build a house. I would buy one from someone who has the exact same taste as me and who has renovated within the past three years.

I would also have a mud room, cold room, cedar closet, three floors, garage, big kitchen, huge master with ensuite. at least 2000 sq feet, finished basement, walk in in every room, 4 bedrooms plus office/den.

All if this is for about $400K in a a centralized area of a major city near work, play and schools near a subway stop.

So basically, I'm just dreaming!!!! Well, at least for $400 K, I am.

[msventoux]

I have a tiny starter house.  The front door opens into a closet just beyond the swing of the door.  So if you're trying to bring large furniture in you have to be really creative not to damage something.  The only other entries are from the garage through the laundry room, which has doors that are too narrow to get some larger pieces through, as is the back sliding glass door.  If you do manage to get large items in the front door, it's an absolute bear to get them down the narrow hallway to the back bedroom.

The kitchen is tiny and u-shaped with very little counter space or cabinet space.  The laundry room is tiny with the washer and dryer set up in a weird layout in relation to the two doors that open into it.

I have one bathroom with very little storage space.  I would definitely want my own bathroom with room for a larger tub in the next house.  The living room has a vaulted ceiling with no lights in it.  Overhead lighting would be nice sometimes. 

What I do like about it is it's close to work, on a nice sized lot with plenty of trees for privacy from the neighbors.  The best thing of all is the mortgage is less than renting a new place would be, even one the same size and not quite as nice.

[Cookies Galore]

We're keeping an eye on houses for sale in our area so we can get an idea of what we want/can actually afford. We've lived in our town for seven years so we really want to stay here since it's become a big part of our life. Since we don't currently own a house i have no frame of reference for new house wishes. My basic wish list:
*Hardwood floors - we have cats and hardwood does not hold dander like carpet (currently have hardwood floors and two cats)
*Gas range - I love cooking with gas (I'd love a dual gas stove/electric oven range, a friend has one and i covet it)
*Two bedrooms or a third really small bedroom - NO ONE is living with us! I puposely want a small house. But I still want to entertain so we need a deck or patio.
*Proximity to at least two rail lines - I currently have two rail lines so if something happens to one I have a back up. I've been spoiled with this set up.
*Walking distance to bars/restaurants
*Running/biking trail
*Not near a municipal sewer plant.

So I guess I just care about location and the house not being too big or gross. And sadly my perfect location is where we already live and it's a hot area. If the typical sale price of the houses I like could drop $50k I'd be happy!

[Deleted]

Someone on the other thread mentioned the jetted tub. I definately won't do that again. 

I want one floor. I like the laundry on the first floor. I like my kitchen sink, single large all in one with a single faucet. 

Do built in ovens cost a lot more? Are they more expensive to replace?

[emma1420]

I also have a smaller house.  My current house is half a duplex so a detached single family home is a must for me next time.  I'd also like a open floor plan with kitchen, dining, and family/living room with a powder room all on one level.  Right now I only one full bathroom that is small, so I would love an en suite with separate showerw and bathtub.  

My other requirements are newer build (within the last 20 years), well maintained, no cedar siding, and a good sized back yard.  I'm not picky about finishes as those are relatively easy to change.  Things like floor plan are far more important to me as that is far more difficult to fix.

[Pants]

My house is an adorable, charming, Cape Cod from the 1920s. But good lord, I wish it had a front closet! There is ONE place where we could put one, but it would involve knocking out a beautiful period bookcase on the other side. I can't bring myself to do it.

[steff]

I love most of my house...

But I would take out the giant whirpool tub & put in a massive tile shower area instead.  This is the 3rd house I've had a whirlpool tub & the novelty has worn off & they just don't get used enough.  I'd rather have a great shower area. 

I'd take out the window seat in the dining room.  With my kitchen/living room/dining room being all one big space, I don't have much wall space.  With my big china hutch, my only big wall is taken.  Plus the window seat is just a giant energy loss area in my house.  I'd put in a nice picture window instead. 

I would also screen in the balcony off of my living room & the back deck.  I'd like to be able to open the doors & let my cat go outside without being OUTside. 

[busymom]

I would want a house where all "necessities" are on the main floor.  The laundry room, Master bedroom, full bath, etc.  I want my next house to be one I could "grow old" in. 

In the bonus category, I would REALLY like a screen porch.  And, a wood-burning fireplace.  And, a patio window that didn't let the cold air sneak in during the winter.  And, a bonus room lined with shelves for books. 

[Deleted]

I would build a compartmentalized compound and take up polygamy.  

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Apr 20, 2014 21:33:11 GMT -5 busymom said:

I would want a house where all "necessities" are on the main floor.  The laundry room, Master bedroom, full bath, etc.  I want my next house to be one I could "grow old" in. 

That is the way this house is, it is very h/c accessible.  We do need to do something about a very steep driveway though, but have no idea how to fix it.

The only thing I would love to do with the house is to bump out the wall to the kitchen to extend it about 4'.  I don't think that is going to happen though.

[Tiny]

I generally like my house and it's floor plan. If I had an unlimited budget - I would remodel the kitchen/back entry - basically remove the indoor 'hall' with stairs going down to the back door - and somehow work in sliding doors from the kitchen -- that let out onto a deck (and then down from the deck to the yard).

I'd also rebuild the basement bathroom and create a finished 'room' in the part of the basement with a high enough ceiling and no duct work in the way.

Of course is money was no object - I'd add a second floor - which is a popular remodel in neighborhood - my 1200sq house would go to over 2200sq. Not sure what I would do with all that extra space - maybe the cats could have their own suite.

I like my southern exposure - bright sunny rooms, built in china cabinets, the coved ceiling in the living room and the 'wall' with bookcases and fireplace in the living room. I like my front entry hall, two steps up and a turn into the living room. I have a front hall closet.

Mostly the house needs a modern layout for the kitchen and better access to the back yard. It's a June Cleaver Kitchen.

[whoisjohngalt]

When we were house-hunting I realized that I would never buy a house

1.  Without a front hallway.  You know how in all TV shows they open the door and boom - it's a living room?  hated that
2.  Without an eat-in kitchen.

I can't think of anything that I don't like about our house.  After looking for over 2 yrs and seeing HUNDREDS of houses, I think we found exactly what we wanted.

Wait!!  I lied - One thing I don't like about our house is that bathroom light switches are outside of the bathrooms.  So, kids have oodles of fun turning lights off when someone is inside.  But that's fixable, we just haven't done it yet

[cronewitch]

Since I am single and retired I don't need much and don't want stairs. So next house will have about 3 bedrooms but one will be a den with a closet and one just a pretty guest room that doesn't get used. I can't see getting two bedrooms but don't need three. I want a private bath off the bedroom and the main bath to be only used by guest so fancy towels. I won't actually have guest so the guest bath and guest room will be just for show.

The kitchen needs lots of storage so a island to keep pans and things in and a pantry. A door off the kitchen to the back yard and a door to the garage. Attached garage with lots of shelving, freezer and washer dryer might be out there. Overflow pots and pans and glass bowls will live in the garage. Out building for garden equipment and tools, paint supplies and that sort of thing so not in the garage. The washer dryer might be in the bedroom instead of garage, maybe in the master bath.

I will design it so if I ever wanted someone to live with me they would have their own room and own bath. That way if I need a live in housekeeper in old age I am ready.

Yard will be small, rectangle with privacy fence, mostly patio with cover maybe some raised flower beds and beauty bark so no grass at all or very little. Front yard will be mostly driveway so little to no grass. My mom's cousin and her mom had a house with no grass, a little beauty bark but mostly paved front and deck on the back so no yard work except one raised flower bed.

[Deleted]

If I were building the "perfect" new house, it would have a larger master bedroom, with a larger closet. The master bath would also be larger and have a seperate tub and shower. The tub would be clawfoot. I've always wanted one of those.

The kitchen would be bigger, but not huge. A small laundry room instead of a laundry closet. It would have a 2 car garage, even though I only have one car. Covered porches so guests don't get soaked waiting for me to answer the door when it's raining, and maybe I can still sit on the patio when it's raining lighlty. I'd prefer that the front door didn't open right into the living room, but that's not a huge deal to me.

What I would like to reproduce...... I'd like to have a den, it could be bigger than the current one and it would have a fireplace. I'd like to have a bay window and real hardwood floors again. Also an attic I can use for storage and a shed for lawn equipment and such, like I have now.

My house is small, but it's a good size for just me. I'd like for some rooms to be a bit bigger, but I don't want a really big house because that's more mopping, sweeping and general cleaning. A lot of things I wish my house had, I could get here if I wanted to add on. My backyard is big enough to extend the house and still have plenty of yard and all of the rooms I'd like to expand are on the back side of the house. The 2 car garage isn't doable, because of the way it's built and my house would look funny if it had a covered front porch.

[sheilaincali]

Our house is currently about perfect for us. The bulk of my changes are pretty much just personal preference. 

1.  move the light switch in the laundry room as it is currently behind the door to the laundry room.

2.  Add a ceiling light fixture to the living room portion of the great room.  I have great light in the dining and kitchen parts of the great room but the living room portion doesn't have an overhead fixture.

3.  change the ceiling fan in the family room out to one with a light on it so I have more light in the family room.

4.  Replace linoleum in the two upstairs bathrooms and the laundry room with tile.

Pipe dream- DH would like to enclose our patio to make it a sunroom or three season porch. 

Items 2 through 4 will likely get done in the next year or so.  Sunroom addition will not happen at all.  DH and I really, really want to sell the house when the Boy graduates and move to an apartment or townhome in the Twin Cities and get out of our small town.  DH commutes up there now every day for work.  Those minor changes I think will help the house sell faster and be relatively inexpensive.  The two bathrooms and the laundry room are all pretty small sized and we'll go with a nice normal tile.

Family room light we will do ourselves but the living room on I'll hire an electrician for since wires will have to be run and it's a vaulted ceiling. 

[Deleted]

I am in the process of fixing up the current house to put it on the market and thinking about what I want in the next house.  Our current house isn't bad.  For the size, it is laid out really well and functions well for us.

Next house requirements:
-Basement (I will not live on a slab)
-Minimum 3 bedroom/2 bath
-Garage opens into the kitchen or close to the kitchen
-minimum 3 garage bays
-Secondary bedrooms that are a decent size (Why does every builder think I want a bedroom that takes up 1/3 of the house, while my daughter lives in a closet)
-Second bathroom is also a decent size.
-office on the first floor
-full bath on the first floor
-Kitchen open to at least the family room
-No 2 story family room
-A house foot print that doesn't take up most of the lot
-Quiet street, not close to trains or landfill

The things I want, but I am willing to compromise on:
-No giant tub in the master
-I don't want anything built after 2000 unless I see it built
-I would like 1 garage to have a 10 ft door
-hardwood throughout
-A walk in pantry (I have this now and it makes storage so easy)
-ETA: No living room or formal dining room

[The Captain]

Great timing because DH and I have offer and acceptance on a home subject to an inspection.

What we like about our current home;

1.  Except for laundry everything is on main floor (it's a ranch with a basement).
2.  Open concept kitchen/eating area/living room.
3.  2.15 acres - basically in the middle of a nature preserve
4.  Kitchen with "perfect" layout - double oven and gas cooktop
5.  Solid surface flooring throughout.

What we like about the house we put an offer one:
1.  4 bedrooms, separate dining room, separate family and seating room off kitchen
2.  Friggin HUGE basement that we can refinish to be DH's man cave of his dreams
3.  .78 acres - not too much to take care but not on top of the neighbors
4.  Single level living - including laundry room all on main floor
5.  En suite - we've never had this before
6.  Walk in closets - we've never had this before
7.  Attached two car garage (we've never had an attached garage before)

We will tear up all the carpeting and put down hardwood floors before we move in.  At some point in the next year or two we will also completely re-do the kitchen likely knocking out a wall to open it up to the family room.  If the kitchen was designed better/had better fixtures it would be the perfect home for us.

[Anne_in_VA]

If money were no object, I'd close off and insulate the garage to incorporate it into my kitchen.  It's barely a one car garage and I'd really like more space in my kitchen.  Then I'd remodel the kitchen with all new cabinets, gas/convection wall oven and gas cooktop.  I don't like the current kitchen layout - it's an OK triangle, but it's a little small and you can't open the fridge if someone is coming in from the garage.

I'd put a big 2 or 3 car garage in back and put a workshop out there for DH.  He likes to do woodworking and puttering with cars and stuff, so that would give him a place to do all that.

I'd blow out the front of the house and make the bedrooms and baths bigger.  We have a fairly small ranch, and two of the bedrooms are just too small to put anything other than a bed and nightstand in.  The master bath is really tiny and I'd love a bigger one.  Someone sitting on the toilet has their right side touching the outside wall. 

I'd like to put in French doors to the back deck to make it more accessible from the living room, but then I'd lose another wall, so I don't know how that would work.

Of course, this is a house we can afford going into retirement, so none of these things will happen unless we win the lottery.  Even then, I don't know that I'd spend the money on this house, but would buy another house or build.

[Wisconsin Beth]

1. No alley.
2. Decent sized yard. 
3. Min. of 1700 sf, with a dining room.
4. Kitchen opening into living room.
5. A pretty kitchen instead of one that's slightly above "functional" w/ window facing backyard instead of front yard. 
6. Better bathroom on main floor.
7. min. of 1/2 bath in basement.

I'd love the master suite thing but I'm pretty sure it's better for my kids that we don't have one (I might never leave it on weekends....)
I do like having 4 bedrooms and 1.5 baths. 

[sheilaincali]

We have a 3 bedroom/3 bathroom house. I'd never ever buy another house that requires me to share a bathroom with anyone other than DH.  DS having a separate bathroom was a MUST on our list. When we were house hunting we rejected a handful of houses that we really liked because it would have knocked us down to only having 1 or 1 1/2 bathrooms. Getting ready in the mornings is so much easier since DS has his own bathroom.

It's actually a decent set up at our house. They had the basement professionally finished so we have two master suites. So DS has a master suite upstairs and we took the one in the basement (because it had a much larger/fancier bathroom). DS' bedroom is technically larger than ours and it's big enough that have can fit his queen sized bed, his desk, a large sofa, end tables, coffee table and his big TV and gaming consoles in it.  Plus the bathroom. 

The guest bath is in the hall next to the guest bedroom so no guests have to go into our bedrooms to use the bathroom. 

[HoneyBBQ]

Bigger garage. Smaller master bedroom. Larger secondary bedrooms. Eat in kitchen space.

I know, weird, huh?

[midjd]

Overall, I love love love our house. We bought it just a few months after it had been built (it's a 2 story modular Cape Cod) and avoided all of the headaches of picking trims, etc. while still getting to enjoy a brand-new house. But we've been here a little over 3 years now, and there are a few things I'd like to tweak:

- The builder's grade beige carpet! AAAAGHHH! (I'm waiting til our youngest kid is 4 or 5 and it's totally trashed before tearing it out and installing hardwood or laminate. Luckily it's only in the living room and two downstairs bedrooms. It's the only thing about our house I really, really dislike.)

- In both upstairs bedrooms, the only overhead light is a ceiling fan - and although the light switches control the fan, you can't turn the actual light on and off without a remote. I'm not sure whether that can be fixed by reprogramming the fans or just replacing them.

- A slightly larger entryway would be nice (although not much we can do about that at this point).

- The upstairs east-facing window is over the walkout garage - so it's about a 30' drop from the window to the driveway. Even though there's a screen and the window is always locked, with a kid in the house it scares me to death. Short of putting bars on it, I'm not sure what else we can do. Hopefully DH's truck hood has enough give that it would break a fall.

- There's a blind hill about 30 feet north of our driveway and a stop sign about 150 feet south - in theory, people should be going no more than 20mph over the hill, but they will usually come flying through at about 55, despite the "Slow - Hidden Drive" sign. I've almost been t-boned pulling out of the driveway a few times, and I really worry about DD when she starts driving. Plus I keep having flashbacks to that scene in Pet Sematary when Gage runs out into the road and gets hit by a semi... 
 
- DH really wants a pond. Our neighbors have a gorgeous one that abuts our property... if they ever put their house on the market, we're snapping it up.

But all in all, we were very fortunate to find a house that works well for us.

The only must-haves on my list when we were house shopping were:

- Minimal east/west facing windows (my mom's house is oriented that direction and is impossible to keep cool in the summer, even with blackout curtains)
- A window over the kitchen sink
- Big kitchen (it drives DH nuts when I "hover' over him while he's cooking)
- Main floor laundry
- Mature trees
- Not too close to the road or close enough that neighbors can peer in the windows.

[bean29]

Apr 20, 2014 18:21:14 GMT -5 oped said:

So, what would you fix about your current house if you were building a new 'perfect' house? 

Alternately, what would you have to reproduce? 

What are the must haves...

I would have a larger dinette that fit a table that seats 6-8 people.  I actually think I could do this fairly easily to my house but my house is big enough, I will do it in 10-15 years or not at all ( I am going to concentrate on saving for retirement).

I would also make the dining room bigger.

My entrance from the garage would not be through the laundry room.  My dryer would have a direct vent to the outside that does not vent to the front porch.

We put a door from the basement to the backyard.  House has an exposure and you wank down 4 steps outside to a door.  the steps should be inside the house.  Also I wish I had paid for my staircase to go from 1st floor to a back door at ground level then have a second set of stairs to the basement.  If we make the dinette bigger we may add the back stairs.

My kids rooms would have walk in closets.  My kids rooms would be minimum 12x12 they are supposedly 11x11 or 11x12 but they don't measure up.

My room would be smaller and my closet would be bigger.  Master is 14 x18.  I have a decetly large walk in closet I just want more.  I am not dying to change my bathroom, but more vanity space, a bigger linnen closet would be nice.

My stairs to the basement would have a flight of stairs, a landing, turn and continue down, My first house was like this and my Brother's house is like that.  The stairs are not as steep and it looks nicer.  I wanted this, but my chosen plan did not have it.  Now that the basement is finished, they only way it will be changed is if I move.  It will not happen.

My fireplace would not be in the corner - it makes placing furniture difficult.  I am in WI and we hardly ever use FP, but I don't think we would give it up.

[steph08]

We just moved into a new house, and while I would make some cosmetic changes, there really isn't anything major that I would change. Except for moving the laundry to the first or second floor from the basement. I hate trekking all the way to the basement to do laundry.

I told DH that our next house will be a ranch - we really wanted one, but inventory in our area is low and there weren't any ranches in our price point or in a good location.

[Pants]

To those with main floor laundry or who want main floor laundry - why? I like having the laundry in the basement - I can just toss it down the stairs and not look at it until I'm ready to deal with it, and we can't hear the machines in the bedrooms or living room. My mom has main-floor laundry and it's just so loud, even with the door shut. When DD was littler it would wake her up routinely and was a PITA. I guess I just don't understand the appeal?

ETA: I understand if you're planning to stay in a home during retirement or have mobility issues. But for younger people I don't see the appeal?

[daisy]

Current house:  hodge-podge of useless space, small rooms, added on rooms, completely in need of gut remodel.  AKA $$$$$$.  Old farmhouse with no charm whatsoever.  One bath that is so scary that when my mom stays over for holidays, she refuses to use the shower because it's so old and icky.   DH and I are fixing as we can, but it's time consuming and horribly expensive.

Retirement house plans for 3 years from now: one level, 3 beds at least two FULL baths, one of which has to be a master (have never had one and it seems SO dreamy not to have to walk down a flight of stairs in the middle of the night).  Large kitchen cause DH and I both love to cook, island, big LR or family room for gatherings.....gosh just really the opposite of everything we have now.  

Luckily we live on a hobby farm type property in an area that really hasn't experienced an economic downturn so once we are done fixing we should be able to clear enough to buy our 'dream' home.