things that give you House Envy

[BVP246]

i would say
big modern layouts

Definitely agree with location

Tidy rooms

Outside kitchen/diner
Pool
Kitchen island
Big plot
Garden swing
Utility room - especially upstairs
Dressing room
Balcony
Window seat (in my library..)
Hot tub (I don't care it's a Mumsnet sex pond - it's bloody wonderful for my joints!)
Overlooking water - sea, river, lake - anything

Want to keep though my lovely neighbours, walking distance to everything I need and short walk to countryside plus 15 mins on train to city

Air conditioning. That's it. We are sweltering in the Pacific Northwest.

Declutter do, with a place for everything and everything in its place.

Having looked at a lot of Canadian houses online, I LOVE their basements.
Also the high end homes all have dining room at the front, kitchen at the back and (totally pointless but gorgeous) hidden butler's pantry tucked between

Definitely a swimming pond.

I'd like:
An upstairs laundry room
A family bathroom big enough to have separate shower
An en-suite for the guest room
A boot room when you come in by the front door for all the coats and bags
A separate office block in the garden
(Please)

Oh and a sink in a utility

I'm always jealous of a mature garden with lots of colour. A large pond or even better a stream running through.
Housewise, I lust after a house like an old Vicarage that's been well looked after, all clean and airy and polished.

Can I be really (not stealth) boastful and say Ive just bought a house and we take possession of it this week - and I think it meets most of the preferences of this thread!

1920s-30s detatched
The features that sold it for me - high ceilings, 3 good bedrooms, large dining and living rooms but with a kitchen that can be closed off from them with glass doors (Im not the biggest fan of completely open plan kitchens), lovely elegant staircase and a nice balcony off of the master bedroom, all airy and light, south facing garden with a high brick wall along one side (am thinking of rambling roses, holyhocks, lavender and peonies along it next year) plus a private gate to a really nice park, lovely area 5 mins from a beach and good schools.

But the thing I am most excited about is the basement!
Its surprisingly airy and all rooms have natural light from high windows so it really doesn't feel as if you are underground, its got underfloor heating and damp proofing throughout and two separate entrances.
At the moment its fitted out with.
a large bathroom (double spa tub and huge shower compartment),
a large utility room which is part divided into a boot room and a sort of walk in wardrobe where we can store outdoor/sports/winter clothes
A shelved room (3.50x3.30) that has been used as a larder/storage room but that could repurpose for a teenage bedroom
A large (7x3.5m) room which the previous owners used for parties - we are planning for it to be used for table tennis, weights etc
and two further rooms (4.70x 3.70) and (310x3,20) which aren't so flexible because of the layout e.g are used to access other spaces, but we are planning a gaming/hangout room for the teenager and a space for crafts/creative stuff for our youngest in them

Downsides - there's a bit of work needed with an extension roof and a beam in the cellar, some cosmetic work to the hall, and though we know the place has wooden floors under some pretty boring carpet we don't know what state they are in or how much it would be to restore or replace them
Also there is a stove and chimney breast that is just on the borderline between wonderful authentic feature and domineering hideous monstrosity.

But I am just so happy we finally have a house again!