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.

... oh, an outdoor swimming pool would be nice, as well as the indoor one!

An indoor pool would be the perfect luxury fixture in my house too!

I'd build it to ensure a south facing rear garden.
I'd have as many windows as possible.
I'd have a great security system.
A small sitting room at the front, and a large sitting room at the back.
En suites with showers to bedrooms (godsend with visitors, adult kids)
Tonnes of storage
Large Dining kitchen with walk in pantry
Separate Dining Room for less casual dining
Plenty of plug sockets, including some under or near front windows to allow for light fittings/cameras etc
Outdoor plug sockets and taps
Utility room to house washing machine, dryer with a separate sink and cupboard big enough to hold ironing board and vacuum.
Downstairs cloakroom
A large covered entrance, open porch
A garage with lots of storage room above

Got much of this already and it works for us

suspicious of the bathtub

There's a tale 😂😂

The thing with U/F heating is that you have thermostats in each room/zone. So our utility room is set to 10 degrees, kitchen is about 18 degrees and the bathroom 20. Our bathroom towel rail is linked to the central heating system but it also had an element wired in so we could turn it on in the summer without switching on all the central heating.

How big is the floor space? I think I would prefer fewer larger rooms to lots of little ones (but I am in an old townhouse with 2-3 rooms per floor).

With something so "blank" I think I would try to find a local architect with experience in dealing with buildings that age. There are probably all sort of clever tricks such as the siting of bathrooms/loos/wastepipes that might save you thousands. (You need George Clarke!)

I would avoid a log burner or open fire. They create quite a bit of dust and involve stacking, chopping and carrying. Also they are not good for your health or the environment. You could have an oil fired glow fire or maybe use bioethanol fuel instead.

A Qooker. Avoid tall side by side American fridge freezer as you will not be able to reach the top shelves. Maybe under counter F/Fs.

A safe. A gun cupboard?* Security lights/cctv. Gravel outside.

Storage for recycling inside and/outside.

A bathroom with wheelchair accessibility and space for a carer to assist with bathing. Space for hoist (further down the line). Avoid a low level loo they are difficult to get up from.

A shower with an integral seat. A bathtub that is easy to get in and out of with grab handles or seat. I loved a good soak in the tub but advancing years and poor mobility means I can't manage it now. I would love one of those Japanese wooden bathtubs.

• Good job I saw my typo. I typed gin cupboard.

@SardineJam

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 was going to say exactly this - an upstairs utility room.

I would also have a "boot room" that opens to the garden, with a shower and a lav in. I get so sick of taking my gardening shoes off every time I need to come in for a wee ...

Loads of storage, including cupboards big enough to take bulky things like suitcases.

A walk-in pantry

Big built-in cupboard in the hall for coats, etc

A really good-sized, deep bath (my bath is so small I can't get my tits and my knees under the water at the same time, so useless for a good, long, soak)

At least one real fireplace

You've already got a big kitchen, will you use it as a living room as well? I'd love a really huge dining kitchen, where I could be cooking but still chat to guests. Two full-sized sinks, at least one of which is by a window, loads of worktops and 3 times as many power points as I think I'll need, a shallow drawer for spices, at least 2 ovens (built in, to save on bending), a minimum of 5 burners on the hob, a wine cupboard, a huge American-style fridge/freezer and a warming drawer.

I'd also have loads of hanging space in the bedrooms, I even hang up t-shirts now, so they don't have fold lines when I get them out of the drawer.

In my last house we had all the loos, bathrooms etc on the same N facing wall. Superposed. That saved a lot of time & money
We had a general architects plan, but before putting up dividing walls were able to play with the soaces using plaster to draw out the rooms on the floor.

Beware of American fridge freezers! Personally I find them totally useless (not to say tacky...). For me the best is to have a fridge with a bottom freezer section both measuring at least 75-80cm wide so that you can comfortably fit in big dishes, long fish, pizzas etc I have seen so many people trying to squeeze in pizzas in a vertical position (with all the filling therefore falling off) in their American Fridge Freezers because they wouldn’t fit in a flat position.
We also have a spare fridge/freezer in a separate room/pantry near the kitchen where we can keep bottles fresh and store more food. The fridge (as large as it is) tends to fill up very quickly when the house is full!

@Coconut2010

Beware of American fridge freezers! Personally I find them totally useless (not to say tacky...). For me the best is to have a fridge with a bottom freezer section both measuring at least 75-80cm wide so that you can comfortably fit in big dishes, long fish, pizzas etc I have seen so many people trying to squeeze in pizzas in a vertical position (with all the filling therefore falling off) in their American Fridge Freezers because they wouldn’t fit in a flat position. We also have a spare fridge/freezer in a separate room/pantry near the kitchen where we can keep bottles fresh and store more food. The fridge (as large as it is) tends to fill up very quickly when the house is full!

Totally agree with this. I have one and it's shit.

Decent sized walk-in in pantry, with room for a second fridge/freezer

Second hob and oven (would make life easier when I have all my wider family round post-Covid)

Large utility/laundry room with ample cupboards

Extra loo and walk-in shower downstairs

Boot storage area - especially for after those muddy walks

Ethernet cable installed throughout as well as WiFi.

We've just done this! To be honest we had some restrictions as some roos already there, but my favourites are

Utility / boot room next to front door so coats, shoes and freezer stuff /water etc don't clutter house
Big hall and vaulted hallway/stairs with velux windows for extra light to brighten house (important fir me)
Large kitchen lounge diner with French doors to garden (young kids)
Snug with corner bifold doors, so that room looks like it's floating ceiling /garden room when doors open - very tranquil space
Loads of access to the garden now (used to be rubbish access through master bedroom only before conversion - so rarely used the garden)
Made loft space into a room by boarding it and putting velux window in - used as spare bedroom/cinema room/office - great space
Converted eves into storage space so great use of dead area to make new loft storage - for access doors in loft room
Boiler has its own room now so not ugly in loft room, plus cctv and internet all housed here so no ugly wires
Three en suite bedrooms and a main bathroom with large bath and shower
Double sink in master en suite (got fed up with DH leaving beard shaving in our sink lol 😂
Loads of light due to velux windows and French doors /bifold doors around house, big velux windows in upstairs bedrooms again for light

We have a converted bungalow, so main bedroom and spare room in downstairs footprint along with main bathroom hence lots of space fir bedrooms and bathrooms - footprint of our home is 10,5m x 14m downstairs 10.5 x 6m upstairs plus extra loft room of about 5x8 m

Good luck!

I am not fussed about enormous houses but ideally I would like one a bit bigger than I can afford.

My dream would be -

A large master bedroom with enough space for a super king bed (I only have room for a double in mine!) An en suite and walk in wardrobe with a dressing table.

2 further bedrooms big enough for double beds and wardrobes without feeling squashed.

A 4 piece family wet room upstairs.

Downstairs - a large living room with enough room for a huge corner sofa. Nice dining room. A large kitchen with an island. Downstairs toilet. A utility room and good storage space.

I'm not actually that fussed about garden as I don't spend much time in it and I hate the upkeep - I prefer to go out on warm days. So just a neat tidy garden with a small seating area.

Underfloor heating ...
Downstairs shower room with easy access to hot tub in back garden ..!

Loads of storage.

I designed my house, within the shell of a 14th century building. The bit I have appreciated the most is my office I think. Obviously COVID has probably given it extra value.

Kitchen is very good too.

We had a house where the kitchen /diner faced east (lots of morning sun and warmth for over breakfast) and the lounge faced west so lots of evening sun. I would build a decent sized utility room so clothes can be hung, wellies stored well etc . Most are too small.
I don't like open plan living - am quite happy sitting on my own with my choice of tv and no one else's noise in the evening. And I like radio 4 on in the kitchen when I'm cooking (I know I can wear earphones but prefer the radio blaring), so no open plan for me.

A pot-filler faucet. I wish I had one. But that would require the stove to be against a wall and it isn’t. It’s on an island in the middle of the kitchen. So I will never have one.

You sound eminently sensible so have probably thought of this already, but somewhere to dry your clothes. Those things you can hoik up to the ceiling would be great.

Design your kitchen so you can think about outdoors access ie for bbqing.

Definitely good size utility/laundry room and a separate boot room (adjacent to the door you will use for frequent access)

Instant hot water tap and waste disposal in the sink. A boot room if you have dogs, muddy children or like outdoor activity, a wood burner so you have a different source of heat (we are semi rural and suffer power cuts in bad weather).

We’ve just about got our house how we want;

4 large double bedrooms, en-suite
Huge airing/laundry cupboard and lots of storage, space to hang shirts etc before ironing
Our kitchen opens onto the garden and is by far the biggest room with massive island, American fridge/freezer with ice and water dispenser, underfloor heating and a sitting/dining area. Most importantly a wine cooler!
Separate utility room with a dog washing area. a separate dining room for more formal occasions but with large French doors so we can open it up to the kitchen too.
Living room also overlooks the garden with large French doors and a log burner, separate TV room/study downstairs which is a must when the football is on!
We have outside sockets and taps front and back which I’d highly recommend.
Large south facing garden with a gym, lots of storage and a large patio area plus our favourite space which is a heated, lit pergola and attached decked area which we use for outdoor entertaining - large dining table (also has a BBQ, pool table, tennis table and hot tub) and a relaxed seating area with gas firepit. It has been absolutely amazing during the last year and worth every single penny!

If I could change anything at all I’d have even more sockets, a separate breakfast cupboard in the utility and a slightly bigger en-suite in our bedroom so that’s our plan for this year!

A couple of proper walk in cupboards. One downstairs and one upstairs. But generally loads of cupboards.
An internal door into the garage, if it's the same building.

Rooms all accessed off a central hallway, rather than leading off each other.

I wouldn't have a laundry room upstairs.
I love to line dry clothes- for environmental reasons, but also because nothing smells so sweet as laundry dried in the fresh air.
I would perhaps build a small laundry hatch from upstairs to a basket in the utility room.
I would also create a small studio for yoga and meditatation.

Large clear windows in the kitchen overlooking the garden for when I’m washing up. Large patio for sitting on when it’s sunny. Big recliner in the kitchen.