What would or wouldn't you have in your dream house?

[MrsMcTats]

After looking for a new house for several years, we're coming to the conclusion that we may have to build our own. I find this quite terrifying as we have zero experience, but the thought of having exactly what we want (within reason) is very exciting.

I prefer character properties, so would love to build with reclaimed brick and would want it to feel solid and like it had always been there. Wide window sills, oak staircase, hard-wood floors etc. A timeless design that looks beautiful, but is very functional too. We have 3 DC so it needs to be hard-wearing.

So, let's pretend money is no object...help me build our dream home! What elements do you have that you love? Is there anything you regret? What brands would you recommend?

Yes I hate those homes they feature on TV where the bedrooms are very light from massive feature windows that are impossible to put a blind on. WTF is that about? Don’t people sleep in their bedrooms?

I've just bought my 'dream house'. It's tiny but it's got things I always wanted...

beamed ceiling
window seat
enough sockets in the kitchen that it's not a kettle/toaster either/or situation and I can run my slow cooker AND make toast at the same time.
A door to the stairs (last house was open plan) to stop the dog being on the beds all the time
A quirky loft room with beams and odd corners.

There's a lot 'wrong' with it too and it wouldn't suit everyone, but I LOVE it!

Without a doubt, my favourite feature of my new build is the first floor laundry room.

A separate library (our dining room is lined with bookshelves). And I've always wanted a utility room.

Downstairs I would want a big kitchen but with no island or peninsula, just space for a big table and chairs, I hate perching on bar stools round islands. Also space for a sofa or couple of armchairs. A walk-in cool pantry. Boot room and utility room (laundry room on the ground floor for ease of hanging out in the garden). A pulley maid for laundry on wet days. Two living rooms. Patio or bifold doors from kitchen to garden. Huge garden with summerhouse and double garage for storage. Side access.

Upstairs - all bedrooms double and with no ensuites (maybe one for a guest room). More than one bathroom. Shower and bath in each. Big light airy windows, I hate dark bedrooms. Galleried landing with a window, sofa and bookshelves. Any verandas to be not overlooked. Craft room.

I had a sofa and armchairs in my old kitchen and they NEVER got used! So I had to choose between sofa or big pine table and chairs in my new kitchen - went for table and haven't regretted it!

A library with ladders on rails

I just want the sofa or armchairs in the kitchen so I can plonk myself down there for a few minutes with a cuppa while cooking or to look through cookbooks or magazines. A second armchair for if I have a friend round. I don't imagine it as a family room type set up. I definitely want a big table and chairs (at least 8).

Land.
Like my cousins' farms in Ireland. Land for miles. MY land, just to clarify, with my dogs roaming it like kings through hunting grounds.

I'm in a quandary about land. I'd like a huge garden and a detached house but I absolutely do not want to live rurally or anywhere secluded. I want to be able to walk to town (ideally less than a mile) and be in a street where lots of people pass by. I live in such a street now and it's lovely that more often than not when I go out to the car or to put the bins out someone I know will be passing and stop for a chat.

I've put a lot of thought into this, and live in a pretty great house with great space and light, big kitchen dining room and room for my kids toys, back onto a forest, quiet and peaceful. However if money was no object...

1. Front door into a large airy hall with massive cupboard for coats and shoes and downstairs loo.

1. Massive open plan kitchen, dining room and little snug area, maybe the snug through an arch way slightly separate. An island but with the hob on it for social cooking, wine fridge, American fridge freezer, cupboards a plenty so there's no clutter.

1. Snug would have a corner sofa, telly and kids toys.

1. Grown up lounge with a beautiful wood floor, nice rug, cosy sofas and chairs, books, telly and lots of flowers

1. Large bathroom upstairs with enough space for a bath and large open shower.

1. Garden all on the flat with no steps, for kids to run safe. Maybe 1/4 acre of lawn.

Ah big dreams eh

I self built back in the early 2000 after years in period properties.

I would heartily recommend

• a wide hallway with space for storage for coats, shoes etc etc. Make a nice entrance
• ideally can see through into the garden from the front door
• wet underfloor heating everywhere including upstairs
• solid construction internal walls even for non-load bearing walls (thermal gain + soundproofing and can put a picture up everywhere...)
• a Quooker, I will never be without one again
• a kitchen that is not a corridor to anywhere else
• consider internet access in every room and hardwire if necessary
• more powerpoints than you can ever imagine using
• power points and a tap on all 4 corners of the house, certainly front and back

Oh I would so love to build again...

My home is my dream home! It has beams, stone and wood floors, an open fire with inglenook fireplace, a stable door in the kitchen, a double range oven in a proper country kitchen and a beautiful big garden.. and is in the middle of nowhere with the most gorgeous views over fields with horses roaming...

However, If I want to crank up the dreaminess, my dream home would have a library, a tennis court and swimming pool (inside and outside with Italian mosaic tiles and a pool house) and of course, stables

A kitchen diner living area which look out over my garden which in turn looks out over a hill / the hills and maybe the sea.

So not much to ask then .

(The house itself can be small, a bit like the prefabricated homes on the Scottish islands. Will find a picture.)

Love -
Outbuildings
North facing pantry
Sheltered wood shelter
Land/gardens surrounding house
Woodland
Good sized entry boot room type area with large ‘dirty’ sink.
Stream but lying lower than house !
Mobile signal

My absolute nos which I would get rid of (and have before)
En suites
Conservatory
Kitchen island
Paved parking area if too large and municipal looking
Double glazed doors with fake stained glass motifs.

My dream house would be one like in the film Practical Magic!

So, victorian style (I think?)
Original touches - wooden beams, high ceilings, massive fireplaces and coving
Huge wooden staircase in middle of house
Loads of light all around coming in from large windows
Massive open plan kitchen, with cosy nooks and crannies and a sofa area
Sunny botanical room growing lots of herbs!
Many rooms that can be used in many ways - offices, gym, guest bedrooms, den, library, study, TV room etc
Reading room with cosy reading nook
Deep window sills everywhere for curling up on
Attic room with a balcony
A tower/lighthouse at the top of the house
Every bedroom to have a balcony and walk-in closet
Porch/Veranda all around the house with plants and swinging bench to sit in
Large basement/den area,
Huge gardens with trees, rose bushes and a vegetable patch
Walled 'secret' garden for plants to grow wild in
Breakfast spot in the garden
Bonus: Cliff tops and sea view!

Want:
Big utility/boot room
Big study/craft room
Reading nook/small library
Big kitchen with island
Wood floors, no carpets
Lots of light, velux windows
Balcony

Don't want:

Real fire or woodburner (beautiful but bad for you)
Swimming pool/hot tub
Home cinema
En suites

I would not have a conservatory.

I would have a boot room.

@TheVanguardSix @ExpletiveDelighted one of the reasons we want to move is for more land. I don't want to be isolated, so edge of village really. Very hard to find a great spot.

@Purplewithred have you had any issues with underfloor heating? My DH is worried that everything would have to be pulled up if there were any system issues! Solid walls sound fab, would definitely want those.

@BossAssBitch it sounds glorious 

@binkyboinky I know exactly the type you mean. Love a bit of clapboard!

I’d have a pantry and a proper walk-in fridge like they have in restaurants. I’d have either a bum gun or a bidet in the bathroom.

If possible I would also like a west-facing terrace with a sea view and two sets of stairs. Two staircases seems the ultimate in opulence.

If possible I would also like a west-facing terrace with a sea view and two sets of stairs. Two staircases seems the ultimate in opulence
"One long staircase just going up and one even longer coming down" (Fiddler on the Roof)

A kitchen island - absolutely top priority
Lovely big utility room
Study - working from home using the dining room table is a pain
An in & out drive
Walk in pantry
Walk in wardrobe
My own bathroom
Masses of storage
Indoor pool
Rural location