What to include in home?

We're still a bit off from starting construction, but dh and i have started to meet with architects to draw up plans.

If you were to build a new construction/gut a house, what would be your must-haves?

Re: What to include in home?

A basement! We don't have one and it's a HUGE problem. I would never ever buy a house without one again.

A nice sized kitchen.... that's a big wish of mine.

Good sized laundry room with space to fold, etc

Master bathroom big enough for a nice sized tub!

Dedicated home office- I work from home a lot and have nowhere to go for quiet. I end up working from my bedroom on my bed!

Message edited 11/13/2017 11:47:52 AM.

Re: What to include in home?

Definitely a full size basement and bathroom in the basement if possible
Large eat-in kitchen
master bedroom with walkin closet
if possible it is nice to have 2 bathrooms on the first level
Open home concept. Love that the house flows and you can see everything. Great with the kids and for entertaining
2 ovens in the kitchen
separate laundry room

Re: What to include in home?

Laundry room upstairs, with soaking sink, and a drying rack inside of a room.

Home office downstairs.

Play room for kids toys with built in storage.

Four bedrooms.

Large master.

Walk in closets.

Large master bath with bench in master shower and separate jacuzzi tub. Separate master sinks with individual cabinets and a makeup table.

Large living room that opens to dining room to offer twenty people to sit for a holiday meal, but smaller when not in use.

Multiple car garage with built in storage.

Large kitchen.

I have nearly all above, but my laundry is on the main floor. I would love it upstairs like my last home.

I don't have a basement and I do not miss it at all. The only thing I would use it for is an in home movie theater, but I am ok without it. A lot of my friends with basements made their basements into home movie theaters with reclining comfy chairs.

Edit, lots of outlets with lighting near stairs and nice molding, hardwood downstairs, carpet upstairs.

Message edited 11/13/2017 12:00:10 PM.

Re: What to include in home?

Lots of natural light, and an open floor plan.

What to include in home?

Big closets - lots of storage space.

Washer dryer upstairs.

Hardwood floors in bedrooms (we did carpet and I wish we did hardwood).

We did a massive renovation 6.5 years ago. The builder finished really quickly in 2 months because DH was off work at the time and we made decisions quickly. In hindsight - we made some decisions too quickly because I was so excited to be done and out of my inlaws house. At the time - it was a lot bigger than what we had so it seemed massive but, now, after a second DS, it seems small.

What to include in home?

Basement
Two car garage
Eat in kitchen with Island and bar stools
Walk in master closet
Master bath with separate tub, shower and two sinks
Kid bathroom with normal tub
Office
Extra bathrooms
Open floor plan, lots of natural light/windows

Re: What to include in home?

We have a sunroom off the kitchen in the back of the house and I absolutely love it. It's my favorite room in the house, plus it's so handy being so close to the kitchen. DD can run around and play while I cook or do dishes or whatever. I'd also make sure to have a bathroom on the first floor. I'd LOVE to have a more open concept for our kitchen/dining room/living room. A walk in pantry would be great. And I'd get rid of our wall oven- it's too small and the cabinets above and below it are kind of wasted space. I'd rather extend the counter tops.

ETA: I'd also dig down our basement a little and finish it. It's fine for me down there, but my 6'8" DH can barely stand upright. I'd also love to have our laundry room on the first floor instead of the basement, but that's not a deal breaker for me.

Message edited 11/13/2017 12:38:38 PM.

What to include in home?

Things we have that I really love are an open floor plan, lots of natural light, radiant heat in the bathrooms, his and her custom closets in the master, master bath, reverse osmosis water filter kitchen, water softener.

Things I wish we had would be a garage/workshop for dh, an office, solar panels, eat in kitchen or counter seating, maybe ductless AC.

Re: What to include in home?

I would want a center hall colonial.

Nice open entry, formal DR on left formal LR on right, half bath in hall/ entry way, big open kitchen and den area--sliders off the back to stone patio.

4 bedrooms, master bath , closet and laundry upstairs. Another full bath.

BIG windows.

A finished basement with BIG windows so it doesnt feel like a basement.

I would want a decent size backyard that could fit an inground pool, area for kids to play / entertain, outdoor kitchen.

Two car garage

High ceilings

Re: What to include in home?

Lots of closet space
Large laundry room, with soaking sink, space to fold, and enough floor space for a drying rack.
Big open kitchen with lots of counter space, cabinet space, and a double oven.
Large dining room
Large master bath and another separate hall bath.

Re: What to include in home?

4 bedrooms

Washer and dryer on same floor as bedrooms/bathrooms. I hate dragging my laundry up and down the basement stairs all the way upstairs to the bedrooms.

Master bath with double sinks

Walk in closet in master BR

Rewire all outlets to have USB ports

Wifi enabled control for heat/electric etc

Double oven in kitchen.

Wine fridge

Large kitchen with island or ability to accommodate a table

Large dining area

Message edited 11/13/2017 1:48:17 PM.

Re: What to include in home?

Basically everything that I see on Property Brothers!

Re: What to include in home?

Also want to add to get separate zones for heating and AC for each floor. We have it for heat, but not AC.
Would love 2 hot water heaters too since we have base board heating.
I do love baseboard over central air. Had both and my house is a lot less dry.

Re: What to include in home?

We built our home and it has a lot of things that have already been mentioned. One thing I absolutely love is that fact that we have so many windows (33) and that they are big. We have 10ft ceilings and our windows are about 6ft from top to bottom. Also, higher ceilings make the house feel even more spacious. Also, think about the orientation of your house and what rooms are where. We get lots of wonderful natural light throughout the back half of our home where all of our main living areas are and it's wonderful and bright. The house behind me though always has shadows and doesn't get the same light in. Having the laundry room on the 2nd floor is also really great , especially since our bedrooms are upstairs. Another thing I really like is that our guest suite is downstairs and has its own walk-in closet and full bathroom and another linen closet just outside of it. This way our guests have their privacy since we all sleep upstairs and access to our downstairs living areas. Another thing I love is that our garages are split. We have a 2.5 car garage on one side that is side loading and a 1 car garage on the other that is front loading. I think houses are more attractive when you're not seeing a huge garage in the front.

Re: What to include in home?

What to include in home?

I would want most of the things everyone else mentioned. But I would need someone to clean it too! LOL

Re: What to include in home?

Re: What to include in home?

Walk in pantry
Finished Basement
Deep bathtub in master bath
Laundry chute
Bay window in living room

Message edited 11/13/2017 10:38:46 PM.

What to include in home?

We bought our home 6 months ago. On our list is:

Gutting and waterproofing the basement (we live in a high water table area)

Complete kitchen renovation/possibly expanding

Adding a half bath

Ductless air conditioning

There are beautiful hardwood floors under our carpet in the living room, so ripping up the carpet and refinishing the floors if necessary.

What to include in home?

Closets - I would have every bedroom have a walk in.
Large Pantry
Nice Size Laundry Room
Large Kitchen with an island and stools.

Re: What to include in home?

Just make sure whatever you do, insulate the heck out of your house ! We turned on the heat twice this year and my neighbor is running out every few days getting stuff for his fireplace. Make the house as efficient as possible

Message edited 11/14/2017 12:45:57 AM.

Re: What to include in home?

Re: What to include in home?

Wrote we bought our house I would have never thought I would want a bathroom in our bedroom

Now I can’t imagine life without it

Also our basement. It’s so great for parties

And the beer/wine fridge hats under our counter in the kitchen

Re: What to include in home?

If I was redesigning now I would want a huge walk in pantry