GTKY: Dream House

GraceUponGrace09 · August 2017

If money were no object, what would your dream house be like/look like? Pictures welcome.
(Stole this idea from another board.)

KatieEl · August 2017

The house we just moved to is pretty darn close to my dream house. I'd make some small tweaks to it, refinish the wood floors to a really dark brown, finish off our attic for a 5th bedroom, design our walk-in closet with California Closets, and upgrade the carpet in the bedrooms. But I feel really lucky that I love this house so much! My dream house would also have the property for a separate inlaw/guest/carriage house.

tdevlindrye · August 2017

This is my "realistic" dream house. In other words, this is the type of place I am actually planning on living in someday. If I won a billion dollars in the lottery I'd probably look for something a bit better, haha. This house sold about a year ago in my area and I think it's stunning!! I'd change the living room decor a bit to make it lighter and some of the bedrooms/bathrooms need some help, but the kitchen is drop dead gorgeous to me and the overall layout, size and location is all exactly what I want.

https://www.redfin.com/FL/Dunedin/2212-Elizabeth-Way-34698/home/48245590

missblaze · August 2017

The house we built last year is pretty close to my dream house, although now that I've lived here for almost a year, there are a number of things I would have done differently. It's 5 bedrooms, which gives DH and I our room, two kids rooms, and then an extra room and a guest suite. We had thought that DH's parents may be moving in with us at some point and factored that in when we designed it.

It's a very open floor plan downstairs, so I feel very comfortable cooking in the kitchen while DD plays in her playroom right around the corner. If I could, I would have designed the kitchen a little bit differently - it would be nice to have a big island since DH is a chef and we often entertain family.

In the upstairs the two kids rooms have Jack & Jill bathroom, which I fell in love with. However, now that we're having #2, I'm planning on putting the new baby in the 3rd bedroom until she's a toddler because I do not want DD bursting into her room through the bathroom in the middle of the night! I may have gone with the regular bathroom set up if I had thought it through (not the Jack & Jill); I clearly didn't consider what would happen haha.

tdevlindrye · August 2017

@missblaze Sounds nice! Pictures!!!

KatieEl · August 2017

@caeilievalor love how big that laundry room is too!

missblaze · August 2017

@caeilievalor

tdevlindrye · August 2017

@missblaze Wow, it's beautiful!!! And brick too!!!

I'm originally from Texas and almost all the homes in Texas are made of brick. In Florida brick is rarely used - it's all stucco. I miss so badly brick houses.

missblaze · August 2017

@caeilievalor Don't let it fool you - only the front is brick lol

ryannenikole · August 2017

We are actually working on the floor plan of our house right now! DH has the pictures, but we are building a shouse! It's a pole barn base, finished like a house. It's strong, affordable, and allows us to plan the inside the way we want. This picture is the shop, but it shows the colors and (kind of) what the outside will look like. The house won't be as tall, and it'll go where the camper is.

We are going with 1200-1400sq ft. We'll have 3 bedrooms/2 bathrooms, an office/music room, big laundry room, and a big, open kitchen, dining room and living room. We're also putting in a big front porch with ceiling fans and I'll have a path down to my garden next to the house. We're also planting fruit and shade trees! We bought 5 acres of pasture land so we basically have a blank slate to work with. We put in a pond already! The top is the "during" of the pond installation, the bottom is after!

auntieraindrop · August 2017

I love the old New England saltbox houses. If I had a zillion dollars, I'd have one of these, on the coast somewhere.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/p9/6y2hkx4a6n9c.jpg

With as much of the original woodwork as it's possible to preserve while adding in things like modern insulation and safe wiring. Or a modern reproduction of one would work too, maybe even better, colonial houses have some really big drawbacks like gross basements and they're not usually modern heat/air friendly. I'd love to have a working wood cookstove. My parents and my grandparents have them, and they're the center of the house all through the cold months. Not so much country kitsch as in the picture though, I am not so big on country kitsch.

The rooms in those older houses tend to be small, that's fine, I don't mind small rooms. Many of them have an addition with a porch on the back, that's great. I'd want 3-4 bedrooms and an office space.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/1d/yioze53tqw9k.jpg

Inside, I would love it furnished just comfortable. Casual, not historical. No carpets though, dog hair + carpets = bad smell. All hardwood or tile. Big squishy furniture. Bold, bright colors on the walls. Maybe something fun like a porch swing inside.

My big outdoor must haves include a safe fenced area for my dogs, and garden space for a vegetable garden. (I don't grow flowers, way too impatient.) And that's for any house we buy, not just my dream house.

Oh and since I have an imaginary zillion dollars, I'd also like one of these:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/iy/e8sn18h3ejb1.jpg

cyanope · August 2017

I would love to have a GIANT, old craftsman-style house by the coast (I'm in San Diego) with PLENTY of money to update it with all of the modern conveniences. I love open floor plans, and 1920's-style kitchens (think black/white marble, subway tile, and clean lines). I want a wrap-around porch, a HUGE yard, and lots of landscaping. If anyone is familiar with San Diego, I would basically just love any house that is in Point Loma or on Coronado Island.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/7l/imhw57siqmk6.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/j0/596gucmp6c0c.jpg

auntieraindrop · August 2017

@cyanope Craftsman is my second favorite style.

[Deleted User] · August 2017

We're still in an apartment, so honestly any kind of home would be my dream right now! But really, I'd want something pretty basic-3 bedrooms maybe. The most important thing to DH is the backyard. If anyone knows southeastern WI, we love a lot of the houses in Waunakee. But really, I just want a house!! Here's an idea:

GraceUponGrace09 · August 2017

I actually really love our place. We had it built soon after we were married and before we had kids. There are definitely things I'd do different now and if we are talking dream house...

I'd love a huge basement for toys/rec room/gobs of storage. A bedroom for each of the kids (we have a 4 bedroom house so the 4th child makes sharing - which is fine!), and a school room with a door that shut! I wouldn't want an enormous house though. I barely keep our current place clean and maintained. Unless I got a maid like @auntieraindrop mentioned!
And an amazing backyard. We have a nice big yard but since we built, all our trees are pretty small. I'd love a built in BBQ area, amazing pool, and good place to host guests.

trudytudy · August 2017

I am actually in the process of calling builders right now! We plan to build our long term home hopefully starting next spring. We are in a 3 bed house right now with a 3rd baby on the way. My office is in the living room. Our current house is ok but we are hoping to build a big country house that we can raise our kids in. @GraceUponGrace09 and @missblaze are we crazy for trying to build with 3 kids? Will we for sure go way over budget? Will we be able to stay married through the process (joking... kinda)!? I'm hoping for a farmhouse style and while I enjoy Joanna Gaines decorating, I'd prefer a much more simplified version of her work.

gilsam1 · August 2017

@cyanope My grandmother grew up and lived in Coronado. I have great memories of going to the Hotel Del

gilsam1 · August 2017

I would totally want to live in an historical home, probably a Victorian or Craftsman, but old Farmhouse would work too. Something about 100 years old which has been restored (with original features) and looks beautiful. Here's my ideal (sorry if the images are super huge):
Image result for victorian house

Image result for inside restored victorian home

mauera07 · August 2017

I'm with you @gilsam1 . I live in an old Victorian and I love it. Ideally I'd have an unlimited budget to restore everything that I want. This is a picture from the real estate listing that made me go look at it.

scatteringashes · August 2017

I'm with @schaze -- having any house would be rad. My husband and I have a decade worth of learning financial literacy, debt, and the poor credit scores that accompany those problems to tackle before we could even dream of our credit union approving a mortgage.

Perfect world would be three bedrooms, a large enough office space to share with my husband, and a fenced backyard. I'm not too persnickety about size or storage. Right now (and through July 2018) we live in a 3 bedroom, 1500 sqft townhome that we share with a roommate, so. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

musaftm · August 2017

@cyanope ....Omg, I was going to look up craftsman and you put it up already! That exactly! I'd love to have that!

egirl1025 · August 2017

I would have to say, absent winning the lottery and buying my dream retirement home in Hawaii, I feel that DH and I did pretty good at hitting the mark when we bought our "forever" home two years ago. The move from the city was not an easy choice, but one we did knowing that we would be having children and wanted to be able to provide a solid public education. There are a couple things that I would add, like a soaker tub in the master bath, some lockers in the mud room and would love to one day get around to actually decorating. I have this irrational fear of hanging up something, hating where I put it and then having holes in the wall. The main thing that sold us on the house was the large kitchen and open concept main living area. After that, all the extras were a bonus! It is 4 bedroom, 3 bath split ranch house with a finished walk out lower level. 4,400 square feet total. I would say it has a prairie/mission style design with a bit of modern flair. As someone who grew up moving every few years and never really living in a house that was truly "owned", knowing this house is ours gives me an amazing sense of pride and feeling of safety that I had always dreamed of having when I was younger.

The pictures I attached are from the original listing, so it is not any of our furniture. I have restrained myself from including all of them

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/ac/18juoqh805iy.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/kp/qr822wctdi4j.png

egirl1025 · August 2017

schaze said:

We're still in an apartment, so honestly any kind of home would be my dream right now! But really, I'd want something pretty basic-3 bedrooms maybe. The most important thing to DH is the backyard. If anyone knows southeastern WI, we love a lot of the houses in Waunakee. But really, I just want a house!! Here's an idea:

From when I lived in that area, Waunakee was definitely the place to be. I know a lot of people have started to move to Middleton, but Waunakee really has it all! Love that style of house. It's welcoming and has a lot of character. If your DD is anything like my DS he lives for going outside, so having a yard and open space is so nice.

Ready4theParty · August 2017

We really love the old farm houses. We almost bought one last year that was three stories and a basement. Ideally though we'd want 5+acres and a shop/shed for DHs construction business.

missblaze · August 2017

@trudytudy We built in a development with model homes that we could customize. I really know nothing about designing a home from scratch, which it sounds like you may be leaning toward. It was a pretty easy process for us, and we didn't go over our budget, but we had to make decisions about what was most important to us in the process.

leeeahyo · August 2017

We also recently built a home about two and a half years ago now. It's perfect for our growing family. I've always said it's everything you need and none of what you don't! It's a white cape cod style with black shutters, wraparound porch, and a red front door. At a little less than 1700sq.ft. there are 3 beds/2.5 baths and sits on about 8 acres. We are still getting around to landscaping/growing a few shade trees. I'm so the same way about decorating, @egirl1025! I have a hard time committing, but I think we are finally done as far as the main living spaces go! I think it's great to take your time with it so that you absolutely love it!

My dream though...which could probably be an achievable dream later in life once the kids have grown (and maybe one of them would stick around this area, middleofnowheresville, and would take over our current home). Further back on our land through the woods there's a gorgeous area that is a hill overlooking a good sized pond. My dream would be a teeny tiny cabin right there on that hill with a lonnng driveway to get there. I love the cozy seclusion and the simplicity that entails! It may or may not ever happen and that's okay, we have everything we need and more (especially the memories) in our current home, but it is the one and only thing I would consider leaving this house for!

[Deleted User] · August 2017

@egirl1025 that house is GORGEOUS.

GraceUponGrace09 · August 2017

@trudytudy I'm afraid I'm not much help either. Our experience was probably similar to what @missblaze mentioned only we had it built on our own property. We own 19 acres in the country. They had around 20ish homes to chose from and different upgardes but the majority of the work was done for us. We love loved it! Made it very simple, turned out beautiful, and they were so incredibly fast. From breaking ground to moving it, it was about 3 months. Also it was much cheaper than doing it fully custom.

mauera07 · August 2017

@missblaze couldn't you just flip the doorknob and lock the bathroom door from inside the room you want to put the new baby in? Not sure exactly how it's set up, I just hate moving stuff haha

missblaze · August 2017

@maueraa07 Yes, and I definitely thought about that. But then I run the risk of her banging on the door. Just seems easier to have her in the middle room, which is actually closer to our room anyway.

britmanering73 · August 2017

My dream house would be a farmhouse, hands down. Open floor plan, spacious fields, wrap around porch.

Peepster · August 2017

@egirl1025 OMG, your kitchen is to die for! And your home theater room?! *faints*

@missblaze Your house is gorgeous!

@cyanope YES, that house. A modern Craftsman exactly like that is definitely a dream of mine.

If money were no object, though? I'll take either one of these, please.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/166-Spindrift-Rd-Carmel-CA-93923/19379212_zpid/

This or any house, really, along the Carmel/Point Lobos/Big Sur coastline.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3444-Washington-St-San-Francisco-CA-94118/15081460_zpid/

Love the views. And the built-in ampitheater for movie screenings in the backyard!

Don't know what we would do with all that space in either house, but it's fun to dream about it, anyway. Now we just need that lottery jackpot!

Edit: Words.

Mudge85 · August 2017

So you guys got me searching on Redfin for houses in our area that fit within my dream house - while there are a few minor things I'd change... this is basically what I'd love.

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Chantilly/26632-Marbury-Estates-Dr-20152/home/56518167

bainidhedub · August 2017

I'd like a historic Colonial or Victorian exterior and layout, but modern and comfortable inside. A couple acres of land, big wraparound porch, nice wood floors and millwork, and a reading nook preferably in a round or octagonal tower room.

BelleZBoo · September 2017

I want bright, open, and grand but inviting. Herringbone hardwood floors too please. This would do:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/65-White-Oak-Rd-Wellesley-MA-02481/56615846_zpid

Cricket99 · September 2017

@bainidhedub you've basically described my dream house too. Historic colonial with all of the character still intact, but modernized in the kitchen and with central air and heating. I love older houses with 9 foot ceilings, and chair rails, and wainscoting. Give me all the character! I grew up in a 1905 farmhouse and just love it.

bainidhedub · September 2017

@Cricket99 I love the exteriors and bones of historic houses but I haaaaate when they're decorated inside like it's still 1830. Uncomfortable wooden chairs and frou-frou floral stuff is NMS.

auntieraindrop · September 2017

@cricket99 you would hate the house I grew up in. Hubby says it feels like a museum. Like, I actually slept on one of those beds where the frame is made from tight laced ropes.

sjb2215 · September 2017

The house DH and I bought last year is pretty close to our dream house- it's a 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom ranch with an open concept kitchen/living area and finished basement with a bar (DHs selling point)! Things I would like to add- a bigger mudroom from the garage, making the basement a walk -out and a better view. While we like our subdivision more acreage with a view would be great.

@schaze Waunakee is a very cute little town and love that house! We're not far from there about 25 minutes or so

Cricket99 · September 2017

@bainidhedub @auntieraindrop There is definitely a right and wrong way to do character. I also dislike decorating like it's still the 1800s, I mean we have modern technological advances like nice mattresses for a reason (so sorry you had to sleep on that garbage). We have a lot of antique English furniture, but the biggest compliment I get from people that come to my house is that the way that we've done the antique furniture makes our house feel warm and lived in, rather than like a museum. Like we actually use our antique bookshelves to store my romance novels, and we actually put our feet up on the coffee table, and occasionally put glasses on our side tables without coasters (le gasp!).

auntieraindrop · September 2017

My mom is literally complaining that her house has accumulated too much comfort and she needs to "declutter" again. It's not static and tomb-like enough for her anymore. Lol.

I think it's why I love the idea of an old style house built new. I don't like the subdivision/mcmansion look, because it's not what I'm used to... But dang it, I'd like to live in comfort too!

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