What 1 thing would you want in your dream house?

[Egog]

DH and I just bought our forever home, it's in our dream location, lots of space, huge garden... but it's falling apart. (The only way we could afford to buy here!) We've got a wonderful builder on board, and we've renovated before, but I wanted to canvass opinions- if you were taking a house back to its bones, what would you include when you re-did it?

It's a 5 bed Victorian detached with all the original features, albeit mouldy and crumbling. I can't wait to renovate the huge old windows, DH is excited about installing a kitchen island. I'm after inspiration- what would you be most excited about putting in?

2,200 is not bijou! It's a large, family sized house - much bigger than the uk average.

Yes, I forgot about cupboards......our last house (Georgian thatched) had a distinct lack of built-in storage and whilst we admittedly have too much a lot of free-standing cupboards (sideboards, bookcases etc), we were always struggling to find homes for all our stuff - not helped by the fact that the large attic had been converted to bedrooms in the '50s by a PO.....

Even though it was a refurb job and we reconfigured much of the space, we felt the lack of original built-in cupboards (most I guess ripped out by a PO in the name of modernisation!) let it down. If we'd stated our intention was to seek out reclaimed doors and reinstate them, but instead we chose to sell up.

We were therefore over the moon to find our newly purchased home has cupboards aplenty.....even though, as another project house, some come complete with kitsch (but not to our taste ??) louvre doors! DH's study even has an amazing linen press with original '20s brass cup pull handles.

Finally we've got storage in virtually every room.....IMHO a real luxury that many take for granted......

yes storage is so important. My old pantry is now a coat cupboard with shoes but it is not great, I no longer have an airing cupboard as the hot tank was taken out but still have a cupboard.

My airing is done on a shelf in the utility room under the boiler so it is quite good.

I would love a walk in airing cupboard.

On reflection we are a bunch of dull women trying to control the chaos of family life with our porno fantasies of utility/storage/boot rooms !!!

This is "dream house" - should we not dream/aspire a bigger just for fun?

A proper disco dance floor beneath a rug in the orangery for wild parties

A "parents retreat" - chill-out suite off master with mini spa and infinity plunge pool on a balcony - with dedicated spiral wine cellar

An indoor to outdoor lap pool (50m)...with swim up bar

Yoga/pilates studio

A fantasy tree house with wood-burner for summer camp outs under the stars and cosy winter reading den...

What would men have said would be in their dream home....??!! Doubt futility room would have made the list

Man dreams would include cinema, games room etc. all us women want is more room to wash clothes and iron!

My dreams for our forthcoming house are utility/laundry room, a kitchen that I design (and with a radiator) and shoe and coat storage in the hall! That and a 'grown up' lounge. Tbh I'd sacrifice the infinity pool and spiral wine cellar for those Unless I was also getting a full time housekeeper.

I would love a house with a verandah all the way round. Some older houses in Australia have this, probably from the days when people slept outside on hot nights. They are lovely.

echt my great grandad's bedroom was the varandah!

Even in winter? It gets a bit parky in quite a large part of Australia.

No immediate neighbours

siblingrevelry I'm still smiling at your choice - Michael Fassbender.
He sure beats a spiral wine cellar

For me - large kitchen, minimal cupboards but with a walk in larder (wiling to sacrifice kitchen size for a walk in larger).
A playroom and children's library.
A cosy corner to study and read. I'd love a huge old fashioned library but a cosy corner with a nice view would do.
A piano.
A boot room.

Larder, not larger!

Michael Fassbender in a spiral wine cellar ?

reading with interest as we are designing our house extension right now.

we'll have and upstairs laundry room and I'll have a sewing room - probably the two things I'm looking forward to the most.

oh yes, and a big arse kitchen!

Could you have a long "in and out" larder for all kitchen storage -- then you just need appliances and work surfaces for cooking/prep in the kitchen. Could even have dishwasher and bins in corner of larder so dirty pots/dishes are hidden? Like an old fashioned scullery?

walk in pantry is on floor plan already so definitely recommend it

Real fire in my bedroom.

A conservatory/dome on the roof.

A conservatory on the side of the house. Same amount of stories as the house.

One of those sunken 'conversation pits' they used to have in the 60s.

A big big bath.

Tiggy

or an observatory on the roof. that would suit you

A home cinema with lots of bean bags from Maison de Famille. They are most beautiful and comfortable bean bags in the world - we have one and when we move house later this year I'm going to throw out my old TV sofas and replace them with 6 bean bags!

Maison de Vacances, not Maison de Famille

A well stocked panic room.

a panic room? sure

but how about a soundproof dungeon playroom?
for when my kids need a little time out to calm down because they can't bloody stop screaming
wouldn't that be a bliss... aahh

and back to reality

A hobbies room, to sit on the laptop, sew/knit/paint. With a great view, reclining chair, and a little table to hold a tea/coffee pot, milk, sugar, cup and saucer.