if you were building a new house...

[emily_gracesmama]

Personally I adore my second floor laundry! Double shower in our master bath is great too!

[ChicagoNDMom]

Lots of good suggestions here. I really echo maximizing outlet placements including in closets. I also would not install any desks. We bought a home with an installed desk and it was the first thing we ripped out. It will never quite be the right size/location/configuration.

[twowhat?]

Outlets in the floor are really nice. Don't forget the office if you plan on floating a desk! Other good places are in the backs of the built-in bookshelves. We often plug electronics in those to charge. In the kitchen, if you have an island or peninsula, be sure you have enough outlets so that you can plug in mixers, Vitamix, etc. Outlets up on the backsplash to plug in coffee maker and things like that. Outlets in closets too, and be sure to have enough outside. Porch, patio, etc. And outlets in cabinets if there are some that make sense for housing TV-related electronics.

Heated floors in the master bath. I rolled my eyes when we first discovered that we had heated floors in the master but OMG - it's divine!! And apparently not expensive to do during installation. Just be sure they extend the heated surfaces to where you would stand in front of the sinks, toilets, showers. Whoever did ours was super duper cheap and only ran a strip right down the middle. So in the winter we're always standing in the middle of our bathroom (instead of in front of sink) to brush teeth. I'm sure they figured we'd have bathmats in front of the sink but we don't. It is so nice to have a warm bathroom without forced-air heat.

I wish we had a nice soaker tub instead of a whirlpool. Keeping a whirlpool clean is just so...ugh.

We have good Toto toilets and they're definitely worth it!! Never had them clog except for the one time DD2 put a TON of toilet paper down one.

If you have stairs, see if you can get night lighting in the stairwell. We're considering installing some LEDs or something that we'd turn on at night and would illuminate the stairs just enough to be able to see. In case of emergency, so no one is fumbling to find overhead light switches.

Extra can lights in front of the built-in bookcases.

Under-cabinet lighting. I'd love to do LED. We have fluorescent and they still heat up the cabinets too much (not to mention being ugly).

Built-in shelving in the garage.

If there's attic space, ask them to lay solid flooring (plywood or similar) over the beams as they're able to. That way you can use the attic for storage and it's easy to move around up there. I would love a cedar closet for storage!!

Radiant barrier.

Ceiling fans in EVERY room, and the patio and garage. With controls at the light switch plate. We even have a ceiling fan in our kitchen and I LOVE IT. Makes drying washed veggies (for roasting or whatever) go so much faster!

Can you do plantation shutters or something like that? I really, REALLY miss the plantation shutters in our old house. They could shut out virtually all the light, making middle-of-the-day movie watching fantastic, no need for a media room! And in the summer they keep the heat out.

DEEP sink in laundry room. I love that we have a sink in the laundry room, but wish it were deeper, like our kitchen sink, for soaking or spraying off big messes. (And oh yeah, a faucet with sprayer hose in the laundry room sink!!!)

That's all I can think of for now

[AnnieW625]

Laundry hampers built into the cabinets in the bathroom like this:
http://www.homedecorators.com/detail...%5E57871990219

I would do plantation shutters

Built ins in a master closet

Sliding shelves in pantry and kitchen cabinets

Deep sink in laundry room or mud room

Honestly though look at adding things on your own because sometimes it ends up being cheaper.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

thanks everyone for all the ideas!! DH & I are making a list. good points about wiring/outlets to hide electronics. and built-in shelves/storage in bathroom for things like feminine products, toilet paper etc, i'd love that. DH wants a built-in recessed magazine rack for the master toilet (several houses in our subdivision have them, lol!).

as for master closet, i am definitely going to get built-in drawers, shelving etc. in our current house i totally regret not doing this and DH agrees. we had put in IKEA PAX system which was ok but not the best and didn't use the space as effectively (we just took it out). i do like having built-in drawers in the closet with lots of shelves for purses etc. ideally, i'd have a version of something like this (drawers, shelves/glass cabinets for purses).
http://www.houzz.com/photos/1676818/...t-philadelphia

outlets in closet- that is a great idea, didn't think of that. we do have those cordless Dysons and we have it mounted in our laundry room but it would be nice to put have it in a closet too.

gas log fireplace - this was already #1 on my list (well, after the closet built-ins, lol). we have a fireplace we've never used bc DH doesn't want to deal with firewood, the cleanup and he is super super paranoid about leaving fire burning etc so he'd never want to use it. i'd love the idea of a fireplace we could just turn on in the winter for extra warmth.

laundry chute - that sounds so awesome! however, our house layout is that our master bedroom is on 1st floor (and guest room too) and only kids rooms are upstairs.. so, not as useful.

plantation shutters - LOVE them (love the look, how they block light, love how they'd be easier to dust) however our realtor didn't recommend them for us bc of the kids issue. they can be rather pricey (~$500/window) and kids tend to play with them and break them and they're expensive to replace. We thought about doing plantation shutters on just some rooms (e.g. just on the front of the house)..but then a window in DS's room happens to be in front of the house! And sure enough, at the model home, within 30 seconds DS figured out the shutters of one of the windows and was totally playing with it. i don't see it ending anytime soon and don't want to deal with the stress of that. maybe when he is 10 or so we will have them installed (or maybe 12). LOL.

and kitchens with drawers - that is interesting! i can see how that makes sense so it is easier to access stuff and you are not reaching way in the back for pots, pans, etc. will have to look into this.

[gatorsmom]

Consider what kind of window treatments you want. If you want remote controlled shades have the electrician run electrical wire for that.

Consider where your furniture will go in your living room or family room, where you will have lamps, and then put some floor outlets in.

If you will have a fireplace with a mantel consider putting an outlet in the mantel to plug in a Christmas wreath or garland or other things.

I'd also go to the house site with cell phones too see how reception in. Maybe put in some hidden outlets where you can plug in boosters.

In any interior rooms, hallways and especially walk-in closets on the top floor I'd seriously consider putting in sola tubes which bring in natural light. They are relatively cheap and are simply wonderful. I love mine in my walk-in closet and laundry room.

If your master bedroom is far from the kitchen I'd consider if there is room (and an outlet) for a small refrigerator for drinks or bottles water.

Having the laundry room near the bedrooms is wonderful. Make sure you put a drain in the floor, though in case there is a leak.

If your house is multilevels, put a narrow closet on each floor for a vacuum cleaner. I have one on each floor of my house so I don't have to carry them up and down stairs. I wouldn't recommend a built-in vacuum system except for a kick-plate in the kitchen and mud room. Those kick plates (just like many hair salons have) are really convenient. But the system where you have to drag a hose from room to room is bulky and inconvenient.

Lots of storage in the basement for holiday decorations!

eta- fridge drawers are great for keeping drinks and snacks in an area convenient for entertaining. It keeps guests out of my main fridge. One drawer is for drinks, one drawer is the kids' snack drawer. I LOVE not having them rummage around in my main fridge for stuff.

A second fridge is great. And a fridge for drinks in the garage is wonderful too.

A dishwashing drawer for glasses in a bar area is wonderful too.

If you have a basement I highly recommend radiant in-floor heat. More people will be willing to hang out down there if the floor is warm.

[azzeps]

Hmm. These are fantastic lists, but I guess I'm the only one thinking that I wouldn't want all of these things rolled into my mortgage to avoid paying the extra interest.

[HannaAddict]

A good built in vacuum system is fantastic. All retractable hoses and works as well as our old Dyson. I would only get one if I could get the best kind with awesome hoses and make sure you do enough of them so easy to use. In addition to all the great ideas above, we love two dishwashers and wouldn't go back. And thought the elevator in our house was sort of over the top but it has been useful after an unexpected broken leg! And good for "aging in place" per the agent. Agree to run heated floors into toilet room of the bath. And I would do it in all the bathrooms that serve bedrooms if I was building and the kitchen under the hardwoods. Friends did that and it is wonderful. Think about Milestone for fireplace too instead of a plain old mantel. I would find an interior designer to help plan, it is invaluable in the building stage and can help with so many issues and ideas you don't think about unless it is your job. It would be money well spent if you can afford it. Have fun!!

[ShanaMama]

Lots of great ideas in this thread. This one is more cosmetic than functional, DH has always loved the look of spotlights in the outside of the house. It's not really expensive & just gives the house such a nice soft glow.

[egoldber]

Definitely more outlets than you think you'll ever need. Including the kitchen island if you have one. Ours only came "standard" with one, and we added a second on the other end. We also had an outlet installed inside a cabinet so we could charge things inside that cabinet.

Definitely drawers and rolling shelves in the kitchen. I can't even say how much I love that. I echo the advice to meet with a good kitchen planner. The one we had to work with through our builder was terrible, so we found another one that was terrific.

Conduit in the wall to run cables for DVR, etc.

Lots of overhead recessed lighting, especially on the main level. They are difficult and more expensive to add afterwards and no one ever wished for less light in a room.

Hose bibs on the outside of the house. Ours came with two standard and we added 2 more.

Extra high ceilings. If your basement will be finished or you plan to finish it, make sure that it is tall enough that it will have 8 foot ceiling after being finished. We had to have the builder dig an extra foot for that.

And extra wide driveway pad so that additional cars can park there vs. on the street.

A lot of thing things people have mentioned I would not have the builder do: closet systems, etc.

YMMV on the built in vaccum. Don't have it, don't miss it.