Creative design ideas in your dream house - or for your future dream house

[Bamaman]

Again, thanks to those that have shared so many thoughts about what makes a retirement home easy to live in. I think about all the easy ideas have been covered.

I still like a retirement home that's not too big and not too small--and one one level. It is nice to have a basement for additional space for hobbies and guest accommodations.

We have 6" walls that are well insulated and relatively efficient on utilities. My future HVAC changes will be to add Mini-Split heat pumps with evaporator heads and remote controls for each room. They can cut heating/cooling costs in half.

I'm very thankful to live in the middle of the country where houses don't have to be built like tanks, and where we can still afford to own our homes for reasonable building costs.

 

[pb4uski]

DW and I agree that our dream house would include a large music room - say 25 x 30 feet so that we could host musical events at the house. Never going to happen, I can't imagine that a 1200 sq ft ranch with an attached 750 sq ft music studio is going to have much resale value and we can't afford a custom build in any of the places that would have enough musicians to make the dream a reality. But it is our dream...

Sounds just about the same size as my detached garage. A detached garage might have resale value. Hmmm! Mine also has amazing acoustics, due to the very high ceiling in there. Maybe you could find/build something like that?

That sounds about right... my oversize 2-car garage is 24x28... so attache a 2-car garage to your 1200 sf house, frame it for garage doors that can be added later and build your music room with an eye towards easily converting it to a 2-car garage when you sell. In fact, perhaps even put the garage doors in so you can open things up when the weather is good.

My 2-car garage was about $34k but that included attic trusses, stairs and a floor above the garage. Or you could go with a 2-car garage with smaller bonus music room above... our space above the garage is ~16 x 24.

 

[zinger1457]

They give tax credits for solar tubes? Solar tubes are just round skylights...what am I missing?

It was over 10 years ago when I had it installed so not sure if the tax credits (federal and state) are still available. I didn't notice any difference in heating or cooling cost but I only have one installed, definitely use the kitchen lights less.

 

[RobbieB]

My kitchen light I upgraded to a 4 tube (48 inch T8 32 watt 2850 lumens each) florescent fixture. The kitchen is well lit and doesn't use much energy.

 

[RobbieB]

I had 2 brick facades on either side of the garage door that suffered rotting mortar with the resultant bricks falling out. Knowing nothing about masonry I built the "fence facade" and it came out very nice. Frame;

And fini;

There is a matching one on the other side of the garage -

 

[45th Birthday]

One thing I do not know if anybody has mentioned: a central vacuum.

I never have one, but often wish I do. I have severe hay fever and dust allergy. So, I do not dust but always vacuum not just the floor but also the furniture and shelves so as not to stir up the dust. If I could just move from room to room with a long hose and a brush instead of lugging a big upright, I would be able to do that cleaning job more frequently.

Perhaps all I need to do is to buy another vacuum for the upstairs, so as not having to lug it up/down the stairs.

We have central vac systems at both our places. We tried using it in the first place we had and finally gave up and got a regular vac. Just didn't do a good job, and the hose can really do a number on the paint around baseboard corners. In the second place, the thing is unplugged and we have never used it.

 

[MooreBonds]

I'm currently designing my "forever home". One thing I noticed on the Houzz.com website that I had never seen before: kitchen wall receptacles which are mounted to the underside of the wall cabinets (and hidden from view). Much better than having it on the backsplash, not only a visual eyesore, but also a pain for those that are tiling the backsplash.

 

[Music Lover]

I'm currently designing my "forever home". One thing I noticed on the Houzz.com website that I had never seen before: kitchen wall receptacles which are mounted to the underside of the wall cabinets (and hidden from view). Much better than having it on the backsplash, not only a visual eyesore, but also a pain for those that are tiling the backsplash.

I've seen them before and have always wondered why the idea never took off. It's definitely an option that I would consider. I've seen some beautiful tile jobs "ruined" by an unsightly electrical plug.

 

[Philliefan33]

I'm currently designing my "forever home". One thing I noticed on the Houzz.com website that I had never seen before: kitchen wall receptacles which are mounted to the underside of the wall cabinets (and hidden from view). Much better than having it on the backsplash, not only a visual eyesore, but also a pain for those that are tiling the backsplash.

Does that put the outlet box into the cabinet at all? Or the wires? A sleek backsplash would be nice, but not at the expense of obstacles in the bottom cabinet shelf.

 

[Philliefan33]

If I were building a new home, I would put some effort into designing and installing "smart home" features, especially those that can be voice controlled with the Amazon Echo.

 

[RunningBum]

Does that put the outlet box into the cabinet at all? Or the wires? A sleek backsplash would be nice, but not at the expense of obstacles in the bottom cabinet shelf.

There's usually room to put recessed lighting under a cabinet and not be visible from eye level, so you could do the same thing with power outlets. It'd be like mounting a power strip under your cabinet.

 

[W2R]

Last night I thought of something else my dream home has, that I love but wouldn't have thought to get otherwise. It has a mail slot about waist high, to the right of the front door. Mail drops into the house and onto a small table that I have strategically placed inside.

A mail slot is nice because passers-by can't see mail piling up and so the house always looks occupied. Which it is, but if I forget to get the mail for a few hours or for a day, then I think this is safer for me. Nobody can go through my mail either. Also, unlike my situation with a fairly small mailbox at my prior home, here there is always more than enough room for the mail.

I've seen them before and have always wondered why the idea never took off. It's definitely an option that I would consider. I've seen some beautiful tile jobs "ruined" by an unsightly electrical plug.

I think maybe I know why! I like having mine on the wall above the backsplash but below the cabinets (which is where they are). If they were actually on, not below, the bottom of the cabinets then they'd be horizontally oriented and I'd have to crane my neck or fumble around to plug anything in. This is probably a case of "different strokes for different folks", weighing convenience vs beauty I suppose.

 

[Clone]

Okay - I will admit it right here and out loud. My dream house includes... a bidet. A real one that is a separate fixture.

We put one in the house we just built. If one of us gets to the point where we can not wipe our backside, this will take care of the job. It is located and plumbed in such a way that it could be easily removed and a stand alone sink could be installed there.

We have heated tiled floors in the bathroom. My wife loves that warm floor in the morning.

Walk in shower is oversized and has all the blocking installed for hand rails and grab bars. Plenty of room is we ever need to get a wheelchair in there.

Formal dining room which is fitted with smoke detectors and egress windows so that it could also be used as a third bedroom on the main floor. We use it as a formal dining room. We find that we have more guests and larger family holiday meals now.

The second bedroom on the main floor has a full bath on a short hallway off the bedroom. We can close a door on the far end of that hall to make that into a second master suite on the first floor.

We do have a full basement, but it is not finished at this time. We have roughed in a full bathroom and there are plans for two or three more bedrooms down there, but we don't need them.

The garage has three bays facing the street, and the bays are extra deep. The bay furthest from the house is double deep, so technically it is a four car garage. This area can be used to store a boat, motorcycle, or 4th car if need be. It can also function as a small workshop if somebody wanted a hobby room where the dust was not inside the main house.

We have a spot for a washer and dryer in the mudroom (between the garage and front hall) as well as a hook-up in the master closet. Right now the W/D sit in the mudroom, but DW is considering trying it in the master closet. Master closet is about 8' x 15', so we have room for it.

There is a front porch on the house that is 9' x 26'. We had them put a door from the basement to the area under the slab. (Most houses they just fill this in with dirt.) This gives us a storm shelter about 8' x 25', with concrete walls and ceiling. Heavy steel door. If a tornado comes through, that is where we will be.

Dual sump pumps on separate electrical circuits. The second pump goes through the side of the house. That way if something happens to the primary pump, we have a second path. The contractor thought I was nuts to ask for this, but it was only an additional $500. This summer, we had a rain burst of like 3" in a half hour, following a lot of rain that had everything saturated. The second pump did run. Our neighbor had water in his basement... Somehow, it seems like the sump connection to the storm sewer was blocked. Maybe there is some type of valve in there? At any rate, the primary pump could not get rid of the water, but our secondary pump kept our basement dry. Several of the neighbors are adding second pumps now.

Total square footage is 2000 sq ft. We love it so far!

 

[Ronstar]

My dream house design includes a man cave bunker - about 500 sf - to include home office and photo studio. And of course a 2000 sf outbuilding for woodworking.

 

[FIREmenow]

On the one home we had built (likely the last time we'll do that) I did just that. I don't remember where I got the idea, possibly my own brain but it really did come in very handy. I wired my own CAT5 cable through the house, as well as some audio/video. Always nice to know where to create a hole for a wall plate without worrying about hitting a pipe or electric wire...

Along those lines, on my last house I ran a piece of empty, open-ended 4" PVC pipe between floors in an accessible closet up and down, and some other 3" PVC sections underneath floor (within joists) to get from one side of the house to the other easily. Came in handy for snaking wiring later.

 

[RunningBum]

Along those lines, on my last house I ran a piece of empty, open-ended 4" PVC pipe between floors in an accessible closet up and down, and some other 3" PVC sections underneath floor (within joists) to get from one side of the house to the other easily. Came in handy for snaking wiring later.

I did one between my attic and basement, which I've used for two things. I wish I'd have provided an access panel to it somehow on the main and second floor. I also kind of wish I had done one or two across the house as you did, though I don't know if I'd have gotten the places right where I might use them.

 

[jjquantz]

That sounds about right... my oversize 2-car garage is 24x28... so attache a 2-car garage to your 1200 sf house, frame it for garage doors that can be added later and build your music room with an eye towards easily converting it to a 2-car garage when you sell. In fact, perhaps even put the garage doors in so you can open things up when the weather is good.

My 2-car garage was about $34k but that included attic trusses, stairs and a floor above the garage. Or you could go with a 2-car garage with smaller bonus music room above... our space above the garage is ~16 x 24.

OK, pb4uski and W2R, the "finished 2 car garage" is now officially on my list of options for house hunting/building when DW retires.

Oh, Musiclover, we currently have a dedicated music room downstairs, too. It's about 16x24, but with the low ceilings the space just sounds cramped. It has been a more than adequate rehearsal space for strings/flute/harpsichord and ensembles up to about 6 players, but there's just not enough volume to act as a performance space. Plus 4 keyboard instruments take up a lot of floor space.

 

[jabbahop]

Two little details we liked so we built them into our home.

1) Hanging bar stools for the kids @ the kitchen counter. Kids can't knock them over or easily fall out. They also don't scratch the wood floors. http://www.seatinginnovations.com
2) heated garage. It is great avoiding having to get into a frozen snow/ice covered car in the middle of a new england winter.

 

[doneat54]

2) heated garage. It is great avoiding having to get into a frozen snow/ice covered car in the middle of a new england winter.

Have this in my shop. In the ugly winter storms, it is wonderful. Come home with an ice and snow encrusted car, put it in the shop turn on the heat (just to even 50 degrees if I am not going to be doing anything in there) and the next morning every thing is gone and dry (ok, cruddy road salt/dirt is still on the car). We have natural gas plumbed to the house and I bought a used 160kBTU furnace used in a 4 bedroom house and had it permitted and hooked up by a lic. pipefitter. Can work in a T shirt in there in January if I want to.....

 

[pb4uski]

+1 I have a HotDawg propane heater in the corner and can fire it up when desired. I usually keep it about 40F and then kick it up to 55F if I decide to work in the garage or wash the car or whatever. It seems to warm up the place (24x28) pretty quick.

 

[Koogie]

Last night I thought of something else my dream home has, that I love but wouldn't have thought to get otherwise. It has a mail slot about waist high, to the right of the front door. Mail drops into the house and onto a small table that I have strategically placed inside.

You must not live in a frigid climate.. We had one of those in the Money Pit™ (two houses ago). As you say, it was great when you went away but in winter it was hellacious. It was like an open hole in the side of the house. I eventually blocked it up with rigid foam just so it wasn't like a horizontal chimney...

 

[W2R]

You must not live in a frigid climate.. We had one of those in the Money Pit™ (two houses ago). As you say, it was great when you went away but in winter it was hellacious. It was like an open hole in the side of the house. I eventually blocked it up with rigid foam just so it wasn't like a horizontal chimney...

Oh, that DOES sound awful! I never thought about that aspect of mail slots. It isn't a problem here in New Orleans, fortunately. We have a pretty warm climate.

 

[W2R]

OK, pb4uski and W2R, the "finished 2 car garage" is now officially on my list of options for house hunting/building when DW retires.

Oh good! I think that you will really enjoy having a big music room like that.

 

[RobbieB]

I'm ordering up a wood stove insert to install inside my "zero-clearance" builder fireplace. 75% efficient, uses outside air for combustion and has a 6 inch SS double wall flex duct to run inside the existing 8 inch rigid. Glass door that seals tight and lets you see the fire. 130 CFM blower to put the heat inside the house where it belongs instead of up the chimney.

Winter is coming and a fire is nice -

 

[braumeister]

Had a similar one in our last house. Loved it!