Renovation Luxuries

[littleone7]

We're in the middle of a full house renovation and I'm stuck for ideas!

Can you tell me what luxuries/must haves you'd put in your house if you were ripping it apart?

Thanks!

In ceiling speakers
I've got a pair from Lithe Audio and they're great. Especially when watching telly and films

I’ve just moved into a house that needs totally renovated so watching this with interest. We’ve just rewired and decided against USB so keys because that part of tech is changing too quickly just now.
I did a thread on utility rooms and got some great ideas, some of which I’ll be using. This was it
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/4216910-Utility-rooms-can-we-have-a-things-we-have-learned

My dog would love a warm water shower outside.

Wow I am definitely taking inspiration from this thread!

Dual towel radiator in bathroom so when your heating is off you can use electric in the summer
Have a really good plan with your lighting it can make such a difference
Warming drawer in the kitchen

A bidet
A centralized vacuum cleaner system.
CCTV inside and out
Automated lighting
High efficiency log burner
Heated glass panels in the windows
A fisher & paykel refrigerated drawer
A Bose integrated sound system.
Air source or ground source heat recovery
Cabling installed for car charging even if you don't have it yet.

Just bumping this thread for any other ideas (I'm not the OP!) and to see if anyone has any recommendations for safes. I've read a couple of mumsnet threads about the need to make sure they are hidden because you don't want burglars coming back again if they spot them/making you open them. Makes sense. I don't have too much valuable stuff so maybe I'm more after a fireproof safe/box and then a very tiny actual safe that could be hidden...

Anyway, any other ideas? And what's the deal with USB technology becoming obsolete? As in USB connections full stop?

@furstivetreats

Just bumping this thread for any other ideas (I'm not the OP!) and to see if anyone has any recommendations for safes. I've read a couple of mumsnet threads about the need to make sure they are hidden because you don't want burglars coming back again if they spot them/making you open them. Makes sense. I don't have too much valuable stuff so maybe I'm more after a fireproof safe/box and then a very tiny actual safe that could be hidden...

Anyway, any other ideas? And what's the deal with USB technology becoming obsolete? As in USB connections full stop?

The USB connection becoming obsolete is rubbish. It will take years and years to replace it and, even then, it will just be another form of USB type (USB-C or, more likely, another version) - so very easy to upgrade. Would love those electricians saying this to offer up what they think will replace USB!

We are having a new kitchen, extension and shower room. Our luxuries are:
Underfloor heating
Whole house water filter (budget permitting)
Venting hob
Pyrolytic oven with slide and hide
Tumbled limestone flooring throughout kitchen, extension and out onto patio
Aged brass sockets and dolly switches
Perrin and rowe deck mounted bib taps
Walk in pantry

Oh, and I'm having a massive 80cm single sink, and a wall mounted tap in the pantry above my berkey to make filling it super quick and easy!

@littleone7 I think to some extent it depends on how big your house is ( mine is small )

So the ones I would not be without are

1. boiling water tap ( properly boiling) helps us as kitchen is modestly sized so no need for kettle on the counter top but also for pasta / other cooking - just lovely to have instant boiling water. Ours is a Quooker

2. lighting where you can put all or some lights on in a room so you don't have to go round and switch on every table lamp ( or indeed off ) and has a lovely thing where you can turn off all lights in the house from one switch by your bedside so you don't have to get up swearing & stomping because you think you may have left a light on

3. & I never thought I would say this - but I have a relatively small island in the kitchen with an induction hob. I hated the thought of it - bit like cooking on an iPad - but having had gas hobs since the dawn of time - this thing is fabulous - so quick and responsive and easy to clean and can be used as extra island space

4. really nice curtains and blinds properly fitted with very good quality mechanisms - so much cosier ( especially if interlined ) in the winter and just look nice - this is a luxury - probably not what you were after OP

I think the way to go ( unless you have a very big house which in our case we have not got - can't remember the poem but am sure others will ) is to think through what you do every day and allow for that being easier . Other cliches available on demand

All best

My bed has an Integrated safe in one of the drawers. Separate utility. Dog shower in utility (stinky spaniel). Lots of storage. Zoning lights with separate switches. USB ports in sockets.

www.landofbeds.co.uk/hypnos/bed-bases/hidden-safe

@Twizbe

Underfloor heating. I'm so pleased we got it in our kitchen / living room and our en-suite.

We upgraded on our en suite as well. A shower that actually fits my husband.

Don't get USB sockets. Our electrician told us they are a total waste of money as they become obsolete quickly. The standard 3 pin plug is more of a constant.

My biggest luxury though was an utility room. I love it

You can get double 3-pin sockets with two USB charger sockets. They fit in normal 2x socket holes. We find them useful- we had two of them fitted in the utility, and put up a shelf next to them, so it's the charging hub for the house! I also have them in my workroom, and we have them in the bedroom for mobile phone charging overnight.

Solar panels, I love mine.

We’re in the middle of a whole house renovation and have a lot of these things. I really really love my Japanese bidet toilet. It’s top of my list

@purplecloak The USB connection becoming obsolete is rubbish. It will take years and years to replace it and, even then, it will just be another form of USB type (USB-C or, more likely, another version) - so very easy to upgrade. Would love those electricians saying this to offer up what they think will replace USB!

Both my laptop and phone use USB-C now so I don't think USB becoming obsolete is that far away.

We're about to start an extension/refurb of our house. We're going for the usual underfloor heating, quooker etc. but hadn't considered a car charging port. Adding to the list!

USB becoming obsolete is unlikely given how much it is used however in any event a socket with usb is only about a fiver more than a socket without usb and so in the context of a house renovation it’s worth putting them in now even if there’s something new in 5-10 years’ time.

@HasaDigaEebowai "in any event a socket with usb is only about a fiver more than a socket without usb and so in the context of a house renovation it’s worth putting them in now even if there’s something new in 5-10 years’ time."

Agreed! The wiring coming to the socket location wouldn't be any different, so no extra costs there. And you wouldn't need USB on EVERY socket in the house. You may need to plan for a deeper socket housing box to accommodate a few small wires behind the faceplate. However, as we're talking high-end finish, it's likely you'd be considering sleeker, flat/low profile plates for socket and switches and they ideally need deeper boxes anyway.

But all new iphones have USB-C connections (and all apple laptops).

USB is already obsolete in our house!

There are wall sockets with USB-c option

New iPhones have both actually. So usb is only obsolete if you want it to be. And the likely way of iPhone charging is wireless. Plus there are plenty of products other than iPhones that use usb.

Extra width between the island and any wall units. Makes a big difference to the feel of a kitchen.

Framed out windows (internal architrave around the reveal) look higher end.

Long full lined curtains with proper headers. No tab tops or grommets.

Space in utility/laundry room. We have just turned our utility room into a pantry and made a larger laundry room.

Storage, storage, storage so that only lovely things need to be on show. All the clutter and junk can be hidden.

Loving the idea of ac for the whole house as it’s not so common in the UK. Any idea how much this costs for let’s say a house of 4 bedrooms, 1600 square foot?