To ask: if you could design your house, what would be essential for you?

[theDudesmummy]

Hi, I know this is not really an AIBU, I am posting here for traffic, but I really would love some thoughts on this. Essentially we are renovating an old derelict stone house completely by ourselves, we have got to the stage where the roof is on and we can start to design the interior. It is basically just walls and roof at the moment, no plumbing, electrics, nothing. So we can put in anything, wherever we want.

The kitchen will be built on at the back, entirely from scratch, it will be big (40 square metres).

So we can put in absolutely anything we want, how we want. If you had the choice, what would you deem essential to include in your dream house. It may be relevant to note that we are older people (50s and planning to grow old in this house) and have only one child left at home, DS is 11 and has special needs (no physical disabilities).

I am looking for ideas not just about big important things, but maybe little features/lifehacks that people have put in their homes or would have put in if they had had this opportunity.

If I had a big kitchen, I would have one of those enormous fridges which have ice and cold water dispensers. Our fridge is so packed at the beginning of the week that things get pushed to the back and freeze and I can't see what I've got. Also people (aka DH) constantly forget to fill the filter jug 🙂

I would have a laundry room upstairs next to the bathroom; washer, drier, ironing board etc all in that room. Clothes can go in there after bath/shower, door shut and things don't have to be on display esp in winter when some clothing can't be put in the drier and need to be hung out -it can all happen there...and when it's all done just a short distance from that room to the bedroom cupboards and drawers

I would have put a light fitting and socket in the loft. We have to go up with a torch.

That is so funny, when me and DH were talking last night, as I was telling him I was going to put this post on MN and we were discussing what we saw as priorities, the ice dispensing fridge was number one! I had one in a previous life (previous marriage, XH got custody of the fridge!) and it was great.

Outdoor plug socket and if you have a dog, a hot water tap outside so you can wash them down after a muddy walk

I would actually personally have the kitchen at the front, and the living room at the back so that you have a view of the garden from the living room!
I’d make sure there was a bathroom on each floor with walk in shower for when you get older.

Aga, separate utility room, loos on each floor, boot room, outside power and taps, log burners and open fires, sitting room and den area.

Sounds lovely, what a great project.

Plan where your furniture will be placed and have sockets put in the floor where you may want lamps, saves trailing leads and extension cables.

A boiling /chilled/sparkling water tap

A clothes steaming cupboard

Walk in pantry. Boot room. A small sitting room with enough space for 1 chair and a bookcase a my hidey hole.

Oh you lucky thing, that sounds like a lovely project to be taking on!
Here's my tuppence worth:

• I'd love a pantry/larder type room off my kitchen for storing small appliances, baking supplies, seldom used items (like Christmas ware etc) and dry/tinned food.
• I would make sure to have a second seating area. If you're lucky enough to have the funds, I'd make a full second sitting room/lounge. If not, then I'd put a sofa and tv in a corner of another room. It's nice to be able to watch tv in peace away from other family members sometimes
• I'd also factor in laundry - a separate laundry room would be the ideal, but not always possible. I'd definitely look at trying to incorporate a space where I could sort and fold laundry, and where I could store laundry waiting to be ironed.

That's all I can think of for now! I hope you get lots of great suggestions and the Best of luck with your project.

You've probably planned these things but... we made our kitchen almost half kitchen/dining/big tv huge sofa & rug overlooking the garden... this one room gets used all the time by everyone (two other 'reception' rooms not used daily as this is the hub & sounds like you've got the space. I did all the separate dining room thing in the 90's - never got used... Always had washer/dryer/ironing stuff upstairs IF you have the space... We're also planning to downsize in the next year (in our 50's/60's) and I'm not tecchy/modern - my style is Chinese/shabby-chic - but would embrace all new simple tech with lighting/in kitchen/would always have locked-glazed porch before main door, but we live near a city...

Thanks for the replies. The upstairs laundry room is a great idea but we may not have the room for that upstairs ( by far the biggest area will be the kitchen). Definitely lights in the lofts (we have three lofts as the walls go all the way up to the roof). Outdoor plug also great idea!

We cannot put the kitchen at the front because of planning regulations but there are gardens both front and back...

Plentiful storage near the front and back doors for the coats, umbrellas, parcels etc.This is my biggest bugbear and what makes my house untidy.A relative has just moved into a 3000sq ft new build and there's no storage as you come through the doors.Their children have continued to carry their bags and coats to the kitchen table in the same way as they always did. My house was renovated a few years ago and one of the best things we did was to site the utility room beside the bedrooms rather than near the back door.The utility room has its own external door and that has also worked well.

Huge kitchen with an island and aga. Would like the conservatory to lead off the kitchen. At least 4 bedrooms with at least 2 (preferably all) of them with an en-suite. A really impressive hallway as you come in with a gorgeous stairway. A light and airy living room. A large landscaped garden with a patio area for bbqs and a hot tub. I mean I’m easy really 😂

Figure out where you will put your Christmas tree and put a double socket there so you don't have wires trailing to the nearest one.

Upstairs laundry room with washing machine, tumble dryer, ironing board, laundry baskets.

A boot room/mud room for when someone comes in from the garden, a place to wash dirty football boots, a place for wet wellies/shoes.

Agree about lights and socket in the loft. Outdoor sockets either for Christmas lights or to plug the lawn mower or power washer in.

Walk in shower, something that feels luxurious to shower in.

Yes to coat, shoe, bag storage as you come in the front door. Massive cupboard so you can hide it all away.

We've just bought a house, lovingly designed and built by an older couple who now have to leave it owing to health issues. They thought of absolutely everything. A huge kitchen island, coffee making corner with dedicated sink, gigantic gas cooker, drawers everywhere, three doors apparently concealing cupboards, but when opened, reveal three actual small "rooms" - a utility room with beautifully designed shelving, a space complete with extractor fan for woks, and other smell-inducing cooking methods. Then a huge walk-in pantry, with tons of storage, and a door leading through to a laundry room with washer, dryer, freezer space, ironing station with hanging rails, and a sewing nook with drawers and cupboards, incorporating under-cupboard lights for fine work. A door leads out of the laundry into the garden and retractable clothes line. Last in the line of doors is a linen room..massive shelves that will hold every item of bedding and towels one could ever desire. In the linen room is a hotwater cylinder which can be solar, electric or gas. So beautiful, and I can't wait until we can move in-only 4 more weeks now!!

So far we have actually planned two living rooms, one is the lounge as you come in (used to be kitchen/lounge combined in original house but now we are adding whole new kitchen), the other is smaller and will be TV/gaming room.

Ooh yes outdoor double sockets front AND back... my dad 'insisted' on those when we did this house & they've been invaluable - if you've got workmen/car valets outside... Christmas lights etc... and taps front and back... soundproof flooring as much as poss... I'd never have sash windows/roman blinds again as much as I love them... all kids/family always left them up or down as they were a faff My DD has just managed to put laundry stuff upstairs in v small space- stacked washer/dryer inside fitted-cupboard in tiny room...

I don’t mean put the extension at the front, I mean put the kitchen in the house and put the living room in the extension. Presumably that would be allowed? Otherwise if you put a sofa in there you end up like pp said where you spend all the time in the kitchen and use it as a living room and never use the other rooms so it’s a bit of a waste having them. But definitely get a pantry cupboard in it! And lots of plug sockets.

At least one downstairs and one upstair loo are absolutely non-negotiable.

A decent sixed bedroom and shower room on the ground floor to future proof the house for old age.

A laundry/utility room/boot room

A large walk-in pantry shelved out from top to bottom, to house not only storecupboard ingredients but small applicances like slow cookers, pressure cookers etc. This saves the need for excessive expensive fitted kitchen units. No more scrabbling to the back of low cupboards to reach things. Just walk in and look up and down the shelves to see what you need.

Plenty of kitchen worktop in a long run or an island. I can't stand kitchens where all the work areas are bitty and broken up.

At least one bath tub.

A south or west facing garden.

A master bedroom that doesn't face west - too hot at night in the summer.

A lift.
I appreciate you don't need one now but, if it's your " forever home" it will come in useful later!

A utility room/cupboard on the same floor as the bedrooms for doing laundry and plugging in cordless vacuum one per floor.

Well thought out coat and shoe storage.

Underfloor heating in the kitchen if the budget allowed!

Oh and I wouldn’t go for an aga, I’d go for an oven built into an upper cabinet so that you don’t have to bend down when you’re old. And an induction hob.
I’d get a sheila maid if you have the ceiling height too.

Such good ideas! There is a small entry area but we are knocking it down and rebuilding it more nicely, will have shoe cupboard, coat hooks (maybe coat cupboard, a good idea!)