If you were building a house...

[ifindoubtdoit]

What's the one thing you'd do most people don't?

For me it's aircon throughout.

Where I live it's so rare, not even the mansions seem to have it. Yet in the summer months the heat is unbearable at night and open windows result in either lots of bugs or the birds waking you at 4.30am!

One level only. HATE stairs

I don't get the upstairs laundry room either - I would much rather a decently sized utility room downstairs and a laundry chute.

If I was designing a house to build it would include a walk in pantry, a huge deep, shaped bath, a walk in wardrobe and a craft room just for me.

A toilet accessible from the garden. Nice one, not cobwebby or dirty. Just to make it easier for kids playing in the garden or entertaining.

When we renovated our house the boiler was moved up to the top floor, and I had a massive drying cupboard built next to it, with rows of thick wooden dowels. In winter I hang all my washing in there and it dries overnight. It’s brilliant. I kept my washer downstairs in the utility though, because most of the year I hang outside.

My dream new build house would have massive glass walls overlooking Norwegian fjords or some such spectacular view. And a natural swimming pond.

Oh goodness dream home air con, swimming pool, cinema room I mean bedroom😂😂. Laundry room by bedroom. If over floors lifts. Huge fridge freezer.

library / craft room would be a high priority

and a cellar / store room / garage. I have so many boxes of 'things I like to keep' like the children's old school books and old photo albums and inherited pictures / little bits of furniture etc. Plus camping gear and sports gear and everything. To have one big clean dry storage room to keep them all would be marvellous.

@VenusClapTrap

When we renovated our house the boiler was moved up to the top floor, and I had a massive drying cupboard built next to it, with rows of thick wooden dowels. In winter I hang all my washing in there and it dries overnight. It’s brilliant. I kept my washer downstairs in the utility though, because most of the year I hang outside.

My dream new build house would have massive glass walls overlooking Norwegian fjords or some such spectacular view. And a natural swimming pond.

Loving this idea!

I built my house and I put a sound proofed laundry room down between the bathroom and en-suite. It has its own access straight to a sheltered drying area (let's air in but not rain!) and I don't bring any washing up near my kitchen. LOVE IT!!

@burritofan

Someone explain the upstairs laundry room to me please – easier to put a bedding wash on, yeah, but what about hanging out to dry? Far rather a downstairs utility with a door to the utility garden (dreamhouse would have a utility garden).

My wish list would be: larder, library, lake. Ancient orchard. Separate dining room as well as eat-in kitchen. A walled garden.

we have an upstairs laundry room, because I never understood the point of a, washing filthy clothes where food is made 🤢🤮 b, carrying mainly dry laundry downstairs only to carry it back upstairs when wet & much heavier. it's illogical

all things equal it's easier to carry something heavier while going down then going up. so if I wanted to dry things outside I can still do it and carry dry & lighter things upstairs.
it's more energy efficient

another point is that instead tripping over heaps of dirty clothes in the busiest part of the house (kitchen) it can all be shut away upstairs.
no nasty smells or sights either.
after a bath it's so much easier to tidy up as everything is on the same level.
no more chucking stuff down the stairs which then creates a tripping hazard!
and as we mainly tumble dry it's much quicker to put clothes away.

also we got rid of laundry hampers in bedrooms. no more begging kids to pick up after themselves.
everyone knows to put dirty stuff in the laundry room, if they want it washed.
if it's not there then tough cookies, it doesn't get cleaned!

hope this answers your questions.
thanks for coming to my TED talk😄

we have an upstairs laundry room, because I never understood the point of
a, washing filthy clothes where food is made 🤢🤮
b, carrying mainly dry laundry downstairs only to carry it back upstairs when wet & much heavier. it's illogical

But if you have a downstairs utility, your dirty clothes aren't near food. And why would you be carrying wet clothes upstairs?

I'd always liked the idea of a chute as well but hadn't thought of the chimney/fire aspect.

But, yes, a basement for me as well. And a verandah deep enough for a sofa/rocking chair. And then you can store your chopped wood underneath it and access your basement from there as well.

First through: Space for a home lift.

With my disabilities, accessibility is big in my thoughts in ways it isn't for many others my age. I'm not sure I'd put one in from the start (I'd worry about maintenance costs when it's not really needed), but I'd want designed in space for it if it becomes needed.

For something I'd put in from the start in my dream house that most don't, pull-down cabinet shelves. Never having to get up on my tip toes while in the kitchen/having to get someone taller get something or put something away for me, never fearing I'm going to lose access to something on my less mobile days, that would be nice, that's on my wishlist.

I might put in rise and fall countertops in magic money land - having standing & sitting height (or just ones that deal with my spouse being nearly a foot taller than me) though I'd need to see them in person first to see if they're as good as advertised.

Downstairs utility, kitchen garden to the side and formal garden at the back, basement garage and bike room with a shower room in it so I can have a shower when I come back from a ride or commute.

no more chucking stuff down the stairs which then creates a tripping hazard!

Mine would be:

• air con
• large workshop for DH
• large preserving room for me (for making jams, jellies, pickles etc)
• all bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms plus a family bathroom
• big sitting room plus a separate snug/library
• large walled garden

@SwedishEdith

In the UK most household have their washing machine in the kitchen.
I hated that system

In Hungary and in a lot of other European countries the washing machine lives in tje bathroom (or at least it used to!). But you can't do that in England, you are not allowed normal electric sockets in any wet rooms

@ZingDramaQueenOfSheeba when we lived in the Netherlands our laundry area was on the top floor landing. Big difference was that the house was made of concrete so there was no weight bearing concern

We have the washing machine in the bathroom, I’d never go back. A laundry room would be brilliant.

Other things - all on one level please
Huge garden - an acre would do I think, bearing in mind we live in zone 2 of London
Loads of light
Outdoor kitchen/breakfast area that gets sun in the morning where I could have my coffee
Very good soundproofing

[quote GnomeDePlume]@ZingDramaQueenOfSheeba when we lived in the Netherlands our laundry area was on the top floor landing. Big difference was that the house was made of concrete so there was no weight bearing concern[/quote]
@GnomeDePlume

we had it in the buildings plans so we'd have all the weight bearing reinforcement and vibration issues dealt with.
we also had a floor drain installed to deal with any potential excess water or flooding issues if wm broke down.
a floor drain is quite standard in Hungarian bathrooms, everyone has them

I would love some of the following features:

A little tunnel that goes between the kids rooms.

A craft room for me that has a TV and bed 😅

A panic room

Hidden cupboards here and there, and a safe

Things like hidden storage within doors

Nice grand staircase

A huge boot room and a ban in coats and shoes, hats, scarves, gloves etc in the rest of the house

Ground floor laundry room with laundry chutes from each bedroom or bathroom

A board games room with custom made game table, fridge and bar

A present wrapping room (or maybe area in my craft room) with beautiful wrapping paper, ribbons and card making stuff.

A library overlooking the sea. How amazing would that be. Just a great big soft, pillowy armchair facing a huge window, looking out to sea.

Mind you, every time I wanted to sit there either DS or the bloody dog would be in it.

Not planning on building a house any time soon, but if I were I would consider designing it with accessibility in mind. Bathroom to be wheelchair friendly. Room that could be turned into a downstairs bedroom etc.

The house I live in now would be totally unsuitable for someone disabled. Steps between rooms, narrow staircase, no downstairs bathroom etc

I'd like a pantry, a large utility room and a nice solid undercover area outside that could be enjoyed in all weather.

Now I've seen present wrapping room suggested, I wonder if I'm either too easily pleased or missed the point

Another one that would have a laundry room upstairs. Had one for 5 years when living abroad, and I really miss it! Considering that almost everything that's washed lives upstairs in the first place, it makes total sense. We never had noise issues (it was next to my sons room, not a bother), and made life so much easier. I tumbled dried a lot of stuff (bedding, towels etc) and what needed to be hung went on the airer. I'd still have a good sized utility room downstairs though, a large square room, not some galley space. And it wouldn't be accessed off the kitchen either.