What things would you like if you were building a house?

[wintertime6]

We're now starting to think about more of the detail in the house we're building and I just wondered what things I haven't thought about that you would have if you were building a house?

I'm really analysing how we use our current house and what things would make the new house more functional. Little things like a little cupboard in the kitchen to put keys and wallets, a charging drawer to charge phones and tablets without them sitting out on the work surface, having sensor lights in the larder which come on automatically when you open it etc.

What would you have if you were building or doing work to your house? Just things that make a difference to how you use the space, however small.

I am refurbishing a house at the moment and am incorporating lots of these things already. Integrated undercounter fridge drawers was on my list, but how do you make them match the rest of the kitchen? We are having to go for a cheaper kitchen: Wren or something - so trying to figure out how you make it 'match' the rest of the units. My friend has one in her kitchen Island and it's amazing. Especially for fruit/veg and bottles.

@Purplewithred “make sure the kitchen is an enclosed area, not a walkthrough to somewhere else”

May I ask why? Would you not want to join it with a formal dining room?

Great ideas and I am taking note as we will be doing a bit of remodelling ourselves.

Laundry upstairs
Car port
Walk in pantry. We have one now and on the verge of moving and I'm going to miss it the most
Beer / wine fridge
USB sockets but be careful as new iPhones have different style charging cable so wouldn't fit and not sure if this is a move to standardisation
Walk in wardrobe / dressing room
Definitely a view in the bedroom if available. We don't have curtains and full length windows and waking up to the sunrise is so refreshing

Is this going to be your forever home? Include space you can fit a lift into and storage for a mobility scooter / wheel chair - you may never need either but if you do you will be glad you did.

My HA property was built for people with mobility difficulties, and I don't know if these are standard now, but low light switches and high plug sockets, all doors 1 m wide.

Insulation and the most efficient heating, solar panels, windmill, whatever you can do to bring the bills down.

Charging points for 2 cars, or at least all the electrics for it.

Because of arthritis the only exercise I can realistically do is in water so if I had the space a swimming pool or if I didn't then one of those mini pools where there are water juts and you can swim without going anywhere.

I'd love a pantry, my kitchen faces west and in summer everything not in the fridge goes off.

A self cleaning toilet - you have probably never even thought of it but think about never cleaning a toilet again. If you go for the Japanese ones you can can get rid of toilet roll and have a warm water wash and an air dry.

Central locking. No checking windows and doors, just click you key like you do with a car. You can also link to the fire / smoke alarm so that in a fire the doors / windows unlock for you to get out.

How old are the children? If they are small then think about a child sized bathroom suite, either on its own or put in child sized toilet next to an adult sized one, the same for a wash basin so they can go to the loo and wash hands without needing a step.

My fantasy house has:
An upstairs laundry room
Buildt in full height cupboards in the hall
A kitchen big enough for a dining table and a sofa and chairs
Sockets with built in chargers
A separate bathroom for my husbands sole use I can't hear any sound from in the bedroom
All very full and practical. I'd also like a games room big enough for table tennis and a pond big enough for ducks.

You need this designer onboard

You sure do, she's a friend of mine and is amazing!

I think Purple means that the kitchen should not be a thoroughfare, you shouldn't have to walk through it to go somewhere else (which I agree with).

The things we are really glad we planned for and have in the house:

• Two separate ovens, if you have the space do it
• Kitchen, dining room and living room open into open plan or remain separate with sliding doors in the walls. It makes the house so easy to use
• Separate play/games room that can grow and evolve with the kids - sockets are key here as gadgets become more of the kids lives in pre teen and teen years. We have what could be described as a small en-suite space off this room but it’s for storage with shelving floor to ceiling. It is a small but invaluable space, allowing the room itself to be spacious
• Shared en-suite for two kids bedrooms (saves the main bathroom)
• Storage in master bedroom and bathroom
• Great advice from my MIL when we were building which she was so right about - don’t walk through your back door straight into a utility or laundry room. Instead walk into a small hall and put a door on the utility room. Yes, you loose some space but (and it’s a big positive but) you can simply close the door to a messy utility room on a given day and enjoy coming into your house from the garden. Everyday I am grateful for this guidance
• Under counter bins in the kitchen (recycling and waste)
• Pull out larder for food and a separate smaller narrower one under the counter between the sink and dishwasher for cleaning products - the under sink area is just for teatowels, sponges, etc
• Water cylinder and water softener are in the garage allowing us to use the ‘hot press’ as a walk in airing and drying space. We added a few extra feet to this space when designing which was a win as we store all over Christmas decorations here - no need for attic storage and all that hassle
• We spent more than we thought we could initially afford on insulation, the right decision

What I would have done differently

• Put in Underfloor heating
• Used Concrete floors for first floor to allow sound proofing (all walls are block and concrete)
• Thought more about the relationship between indoor and outdoor living

Others have mentioned things like lighting. I think that great advice to consider. Our kitchen, breakfast room and bedrooms are lit perfectly but our living room needs to be re positioned to suit our usage. Put some time in that planning.

The ones I am adding to my list from this thread (thank you)

• Outdoor charging point for cars
• Two dishwashers

Lastly, in contrast to many: we had a sink and a dog wash area in the utility room up to last year. We took it out as it was under-utilised and a dumping space. So glad we did, we don’t miss it at all and the space is better and easier to use as a result (our dogs are small sized so instead we use a large basin/baby bath type thing that is sorted away when not in use). A better option for us

Oops. I was replying to newyearnewrule.
Hadn't refreshed the page!

@NeverRTFT oh they look fab! Something like this:
Houzz
Neptune
hidden bar

Don't do USBs—they may well be obsolete, and then you'll have useless ports in your walls.

Lots of built ins. Bookcases, cabinets, etc.

Yes to walls—how else to show art? I hate open plan everything, particularly kitchen to dining room; I like to hide dishes. I like a kitchen with space to sit (ideally a small sofa, but just a kitchen table will do).

It's a bit naff but I like the laundry upstairs if possible, with a utility/mud room downstairs.

@petitdonkey could you tell us more about your lighting designer and how you found them?

My top requirements would be a downstairs loo, possibly with a shower in.
A utility room so the washing machine and dryer can be shut away and I have a separate sink to bathe the cat (she's very old).
A dining area that is away from the living room - either separate or at the end of the kitchen.
Cupboard space and built in wardrobes, no house I have ever lived in has enough cupboard space.
Woodburner as a priority.
Ensuite to the main bedroom.

As much hidden storage as you can cram in. Use the dead space under the staircase, so make sure there are either drawers in the stairs or they lift up so you can hide stuff like shoes in them. Any void space above the stairs, boxed in properly with doors so you can use as storage. Use as many nooks and crannies as possible!

Under floor heating, especially in the kitchen.

Vertical radiators to avoid taking up horizontal wall space.

Plug sockets with USB ports and more of them than you think you’ll need.

Ethernet cable ports near the tv and in the study so that the internet is able to be plugged straight into the tv/computer without cables being nailed to the skirting boards

Really boring, but I would love a proper walk in pantry!!!!

I would make sure I had underfloor heating especially downstairs. A downstairs shower in a boot room to shower the dogs after a muddy walk. A huge island in the kitchen with loads of work surfaces. A walk in wardrobe. A separate playroom/snug.

Have a watch of heather dubrow's house tour on you tube. I cannot afford a house like hers, but she has some good ideas that could be scaled down for normal people.

For me, I insisted on a cupboard for the ironing board. This is in a separate utility room.

We have a downstairs office and separate playroom. Both these could be a single bedroom should we need on for an elderly parent or us when old.

In addition to these things I would consider light and shade, the direction you get the sun coming from at different times of the day in various rooms. I've come to realise as I've moved around various homes how much I prefer a slightly irregular shaped house rather than a rectangular box as I like private little nooks and crannies to sit in outside in the garden - when we had our extension done I specifically asked the architect to make me a few to sit out in hidden from the neighbours and I love them

I want a Japanese style sitting bath, I hate lying down in bath but would love one of these

For all those who want recessed shelves in their showers yes they are amazing, we also have a little shower bench which is great for leg shaving

Don't do USBs—they may well be obsolete, and then you'll have useless ports in your walls.

Not necessarily, I replaced on plug socket with a USB plug socket, it could be swapped back in a few mins.

We have a japanese toilet in our en suite which is fab and a large built in tiled bench in the shower which is incredibly useful. I love my dressing room. Its such a luxury to have so much space in the bedroom because the clothes are all in the dressing room. We also have both a skylight and a window in there so its lovely and light. Im extremely glad we went for doors rather than having open rails which would have looked messy.

I'm about to get a new pantry. Its large at 4m x 2m and will fit all my old kitchen units in it and I'm very excited about it.

Also an everhot.

@IJumpedAboardAPirateShip

I want a Japanese style sitting bath, I hate lying down in bath but would love one of these

For all those who want recessed shelves in their showers yes they are amazing, we also have a little shower bench which is great for leg shaving

We have this, is great, the water bill isn’t so happy thugh.

(Not our actual tub, but the catalogue photo).

I would also put sockets in the roof for christmas lights and have permanent brackets for them.

So many good ideas, I love the thought of an upstairs laundry room but I would also add a washer/dryer and shower in a room next to my large boot room specifically for washing Ddog and Ddogs very hairy bedding.

@SimonJT yes something like that! I have a bath once a blue moon so it would suit me as I’d want it deep but a normal length bath would have twice the water