Favorite custom features in a new home?

[cleo27]

Hello,

It looks like we may be building a new house within the next year or so and are meeting with some builders to get some ideas on pricing. The builder we really like does a lot of custom stuff and seems really willing to include extras and not charge very much or at all. (For example free arches in the dining and living room, upgraded hardwood throughout the entryway and kitchen, granite counters.)

Are there any features of your house that you totally love, that we might not think of?

A couple things I am thinking of are a mudroom with storage cabinets, spice rack in the kitchen cabinets, vanity in the powder room (instead of pedestal sink). I was just wondering if anyone has any other ideas. I'm also thinking about built in bookcases, but I'm not sure where.

Thanks!

[mommylamb]

I wish we had built in bookcases.

This might be standard now in new houses, but we have the lower cabinets in the kitchen that have the roll-out shelves. It's really convenient.

[brittone2]

My wishlist would be builtins, wherever I could fit and or afford them. I'd like open bookshelves on top, and closed cabinets below. That gives a convenient place to hide puzzles, board games, kid toys, etc. in a living or family room. Could have them flank an entertainment system or fireplace.

If you have a lot of china/entertaining stuff, you could consider a butler's pantry or just some sort of builtins in the dining room for extra storage?

Definitely a mudroom. If we remodel our current house I'm planning a mudroom w/ a washer/dryer and utility sink. Flip up bench or similar where we can put balls, tennis rackets, outdoor stuff. Room for a countertop of some type or table for folding. Saw a cool built in (was $200 dollars though) pull down drying rack recently in a magazine. It looked like a wooden baby gate that folded out, giving you lots of room to hang clothes that you wanted to air dry.

[WatchingThemGrow]

This might be standard now in new houses, but we have the lower cabinets in the kitchen that have the roll-out shelves. It's really convenient.
I've tried both the cabinets and the pan drawers. I find the pan drawers to be much easier than the cabinets with shelves.

Much of our house has been updated, so nothing installed by a builder. I'm sure our builder is deceased since our house is 50+ years old.

-some doors with blinds in the glass
-vanities, not just pedestals
-bottom drawer of a vanity can be a stepstool for kids (really wish we had this!)
-walk up attic (not pull-down staircase)
-adjustable Closetmaid shelf-track systems instead of just a rod
-cabinets in the mudroom that accommodate the recycling bins (loove this!)
-bottom corner cabinet open for storage -not a lazy susan- I really like being able to nest the long/odd pieces in there
eta:
-dimmer switches in bedrooms
-the flat decor light switches are so nice. i'm lazy
-undercabinet lighting

Obviously, there are a ton of add ons.. you'll have to narrow down this list of 10,000 things to what's important to you ;)

[Momof3Labs]

Love our hardwood throughout the whole house (you can always carpet over it if you want, but it increases the value of your home). Mudroom with sink, washer, dryer (make sure to leave enough height and depth for the big front-loading units, even if that's not what you want right now). Our kitchen island has huge drawers for pots, pans, etc that I absolutely love. Pantry. Plumb your basement for a bathroom, even if you leave it unfinished for now. Laundry chute in a 2 story house (don't have one but really wish that we did). Upgraded cabinets/fixtures in the kitchen and bathrooms.

[brittone2]

Our house is smallish and nothing elaborate, but we do have two walk in pantries, which I loooooove having. I have a small kitchen overall but they really help. I use one for food, and one for all of the big kitchen items (crockpot, standmixer, food processor, etc.)

Building in a recycling center somewhere is a great idea (mudroom or kitchen). We have three large-ish garbage cans on a shelf in the back of one of our walk in pantries (a perfect fit by some strange coincidence) and then a rod holding them in place so they don't tip.

I like the tip about the blinds embedded in the door glass. My parents put one in in their house and it is a nice feature to have.

[AngelaS]

BIG laundry/mudroom with a space to hang laundry, put mittens, etc.

[MaiseyDog]

We have a walk in pantry that on one wall has a small built in desk that is wired for internet and electricity. I love having my computer in there. I can leave the bills out or what ever mess I'm working on and not have it cluttering up the rest of the house. We don't have room for an actual office and I refused to have the computer and bills in our bedroom (where it was before we moved) It's worked out great. It's right off the kitchen so if DD is playing on it I'm near by and no one can see see it when we have company over. It's a perfect set up for us.

[ilfaith]

I'd love to have built-ins in my closets.

[brittone2]

We have a walk in pantry that on one wall has a small built in desk that is wired for internet and electricity. I love having my computer in there. I can leave the bills out or what ever mess I'm working on and not have it cluttering up the rest of the house. We don't have room for an actual office and I refused to have the computer and bills in our bedroom (where it was before we moved) It's worked out great. It's right off the kitchen so if DD is playing on it I'm near by and no one can see see it when we have company over. It's a perfect set up for us.

I saw a setup similar to this in a magazine (one of their concept homes IIRC) and it was cool. We've considered doing this if we end up remodeling. Glad it works out well for you!

[elektra]

Ooh how exciting!
I love my house, but it was built in the 50's, and although it has been updated quite a bit there are certain things that haven't been.
My wishlist:
Walk-in closets
Kitchen island
mudroom
3-car garage
big master bedroom suite
glass or granite counters (not a big fan of our tile)


Things I have and really like and would want to include if starting from scratch:
hardwood floors
layout with bedrooms separate from living areas
open floor plan
plantation shutters
skylights
recessed lighting
pull-out cabinet shelves

[SnuggleBuggles]

Laundry chute!

Beth

[lovin2shop]

You've gotten great suggestions so far, but one simple thing I'll add is an outlet inside your bathroom cabinets for hairdryer, flat iron, etc. We recently remodeled our master bath and I have a tower cabinet that I just open the door, use hairdryer, close door. In fact, I wish that I had added an extra outlet/space for our electric toothbrushes.

You can also do similar appliance garages in the kitchen. I remember seeing a hidden pop-up for a kitchenaide mixer or cuisinart. I love having a non-cluttered countertops!

[niccig]

My dreams that we will never have in our 1940's house.

Basement, unfinished is fine - for all that storage.
Walk-in pantry
Pot drawers - in fact if we remodel the kitchen, I'm only having drawers on the lower cabinets. SIL has that and it's much easier to find things.
Pull out trash cans for recycling and trash
Space for all the appliances so they are not on the counters.
Laundry room with utility sink for washing things like paint brushes. I have to use the hose or the kitchen sink.
Mud room that has storage for shoes, coats, backpacks etc.
Little office area off kitchen, for all my household files.
Closet system
Attached garage with door near kitchen. MIL has there and it's simple to pop out for recycling bins/get things from freezer.

[Nyfeara]

We have a laundry chute - very convenient.
Central vac is also very nice.

One thing our house had that made life so much easier, was a conduit (basically an open PVC pipe) that ran from the basement to the attic. It allowed us to easily run additional phone/cable/electric lines from the panel in the basement to all the upstairs rooms for ceiling fans, attic fan, and cable/phone jacks. It's nice to have if you want to add anything after the fact. If we were to build, I'd want to have this all wired from the start (but that's our personal preference). We also added motion activated outside lights.

I've heard lots of people rave about radiant floor heating, but we don't have it. I wish we had a bigger mud/laundry room, work area off the garage or a more oversized garage, and would love to have the blinds in the sliding door.

Another thing that bugs us now, we don't have a regular door from our garage to the driveway, just the big garage doors. We always have to open one of them to take out the trash, etc.

[mommylamb]

Another thought- ceiling fans in every bedroom. We have one in ours, but I wish we had them in our other bedrooms. They really help with energy costs and are so nice. Also, I'd love to have an attic fan.

And someone mentioned recessed lights. We have them in several rooms, but I wish we had them in our bedroom. We don't have an overhead light in there, just lamps, and it really irks me.

[maestramommy]

A mudroom would've been really nice in our house. As well as built-in bookcases. Hardwood and tile throughout would've been awesome!

[justlearning]

Here are the main things I love in our home and would want to have in any future home:

* Large walk-in pantry in kitchen--we have a great one, but the one thing I wish it had was an electrical outlet. It'd be nice to be able to have electrical sweepers/vaccums as well as cell phones, etc. charge in there. I also wish we had an outlet in our laundry-room closet.

* Lazy susan in corner cabinet for spices, etc.--I cook a lot and would never again buy a house without this cabinet (or something else that worked just as well). I love, love, love having tons of spices in there (I keep them in nice labeled jars in alphabetical order) as well as oils, vinegars, nonstick sprays, etc. I love being able to quickly grab whatever I need and being able to store a lot in there.

*Mudroom--ours is actually a combined laundry room/mudroom and we keep all of our in-season shoes in there (we don't wear shoes in the house) as well as bags, backpacks, coats, etc. Having a similar room is definitely a must-have in any future home for us.

* Built-in bookshelves -- We have these in our main living room/family room and they're wonderful for storing the boys' toys. At first, I wish that we had cabinets below instead of open shelves but the open shelves have ended it working better for us. I have 12 really nice baskets (from Pottery Barn) on the bottom shelves and they're great for organizing all of the boys' toys in that room (e.g., lincoln logs in one, magna tiles in another, cars in another, etc.). Being able to easily access them to put their toys away has worked out very nicely. We also have built-in bookshelves flanking our fireplace in our master retreat that allows us to use that area as our library. We have all our books on the shelves along with some comfy chairs in there for reading/talking.

Here's what we don't have but that I'd like to have in a future home:

*Main-level office--my office is downstairs, which is inconvenient so I use our mudroom to sort/shred mail, etc. but then have to do all the filing downstairs. (I also keep a laptop in our butler's pantry off the kitchen to use to look up recipes, etc. but then have to walk downstairs to get the printed page.) I wish I could do it all in one place.

* A good size area of unfinished basement--our entire basement is finished (except for a small storage area) and carpeted, but I wish we had an area that wasn't. It'd be really nice for the kids to be able to play basketball indoors, ride plasma cars around, play pingpong, etc. on a concrete surface instead of carpet. I guess hardwood floors would work too but I'd rather have it be an area with a floor surface (and with walls) that I don't mind getting destroyed. Having an entire house that's nicely finished makes me much more high-strung when the boys get carried away and start throwing things that dent the walls, etc. I wish they had an area that they could be crazy boys in without my worrying about it. (We live in a cold climate so much of their winter is spent indoors.)

* A good-sized shower in the master bedroom along with a bench--our shower is small with no bench and it's very uncomfortable for me to try to bend over and shave my legs. I end up sitting on the edge of the tub and shaving there before getting in the shower, which isn't convenient.

* More padding under the carpet in the basement--our floors down there always feel cold.

Edited to add: I just thought of something else that's a really nice feature in our home, although not necessary considering our kids are same-sex: In their bathroom, they have a large double vanity and then a door that separates the vanity from the toilet/shower. Growing up sharing a small bathroom with my brother, we were always fighting over the bathroom--he couldn't get in to shower when I was drying my hair, etc. We would have really appreciated having the bathroom my boys have now. We have this same configuration in our basement bathroom now as well, which is handy if we have multiple guests stay with us in the basement (or parents with older kids).

Edited to add one more--I just remembered that one of the main things we liked about our floorplan was that the kids' bedrooms and our master bedroom were on the same level (important to me with small children) but that they were separated with a loft and bathroom in between our rooms. So, we feel like we still have lots of privacy in our room (much better than when I was growing up and my room shared a wall with my parents' room--I heard way too much!), but we're close enough for them to come to us in the middle of the night or for us to be able to protect them in the case of a fire or intruder, etc.

[kellyd]

If you have an island in your kitchen, a seperate wash sink is super nice, also depending on size, cabinet for garbage both by you main sink, and your stove. If you're getting a large stove / built in cooktop I'd lean towards 8 burners instead of 4 w/ the additional grill and griddle.

[LarsMal]

A couple of little touches I've seen in some of the new construction models we've looked at are:

- wrought iron newel or baluster (not sure which is which) posts for the railing (the poles) with the wood banister is a really nice look.

- Not sure if the laundry would be in the mud room, but I like having a utility sink in our mud room.

- crown moulding throughout the first floor- not just living/dining room. We have a triple crown throughout the entire first floor that the original owners had put in- LOVE it!

[cmo]

You've gotten LOTS of great suggestions, some of which we put into our house when we built 5 years ago, some that I WISH we did! The one thing that I would add is a plumbing feature: near-instant hot water at all faucets. When the house is being built, the plumber will add another hot water pipe that keeps hot water circulating in the pipes at all times in a loop, via a small pump. It takes about 5-10 seconds to get hot water in the showers & sinks in our house (except the two we cheaped out on, and still regret!). I know that our water bill is almost half of similar-sized homes on our street, and we live in a drought area. It is also very convenient to be able to wash just a couple of dishes at a time and not worry about running the water for 3+ minutes just to get it warm (which is what we did at our old house).

Another thing I would suggest once you have a floor plan is to imagine where every last thing might go, and plan your outlets, light switches, which way doors swing (and if they will block anything when opened), and placement of HVAC vents accordingly.

Have fun! Building can be a rewarding experience, despite the occasional headaches the whole process brings. :-)

[elliput]

Somthing I love in a house is a covered back deck or patio.

[maylips]

My dad is a high-end builder and when we end up building, the things I'm going to worry about most being "custom" will be the unseen things - insulation, tankless water heater, etc. Make sure your builder isn't so concerned with the outward appearance that he doesn't build a strong, solid house. That's the biggest thing I see these days - houses with great granite countertops, beautiful crown molding - yet the house is falling apart around the homeowners.

That being said, the mudroom is huge, but I am also making sure it's in a square. Currently, our utility room in one long, narrow room and getting in and out of the w/d area with a clothes basket is a PITA. I will definitely make sure the w/d is facing me, rather than facing the other wall, kwim?

DH and I are tall, so I'm going to have taller counter top levels. This will help my back tremendously - the average counters were made for folks back when everyone was shorter.

Also, lighting will be a big consideration. We have too few lights in this house and it drives me crazy.

And, if money was no object, closet organization systems! Absolutely. In a lot of houses, the bedrooms are getting smaller and people are just putting beds and something to hold the TV's, while putting their dressers in their closets. It actually makes sense - rather than coming into the bedroom to get your underwear, then going into the closet to get your clothes, then coming out to get your socks....

Oh, and this is petty, but I want an electrical outlet on top of my front door to plug in Christmas lights without seeing the cords dangling! That and an electrical outlet on top of the mantel on the fireplace for the same reason.

[K-Bear]

Reading all these suggestions makes me want to build a new house now, too!

I would love to have a mud-room! That would be a must!

Laundry on the second floor (with all the bedrooms).

Built-in bookcases would be sweet:)

A separate room for an office.

Recessed lighting

What type of tv do you have? If it's a flat panel (or if you plan on going to flat panel once you move), can you have them set up the wiring now?

Closet organization systems

A finished basement with a small bathroom, kitchen area (that is - a little area with tile floors), a little bedroom and part of the basement can be unfinished

[octmom]

There was a great thread on this topic a few years ago. You may be able to find it if you search. I love reading all the ideas just in case I ever get to build my dream home. :)

A lot of great stuff has been mentioned here, but I will add one more-- pocket doors. When my parents built a few years ago, they chose pocket doors for the bathrooms that are attached to bedrooms. It's nice because they don't swing out and take up any space. They could work well for some closets too.

[mamaoftwins]

Wow, tons of great ideas!

I'm just putting my mark here, so I can more easily find this thread later, since we'll prob be moving in a year or so! ;)

[gatorsmom]

I haven't read the other responses yet but off the top of my head:

+a very large deep sink in the kitchen. We put in a Kindred Sink that is large enough to hold a commercial size cookie sheet (well it won't sit flat in there but I can put it in the sink and prop it against the side. Makes it very easy to rinse off all dishes and pans without making a mess everywhere. This sink is very large and VERY convenient. I love that all the mess can be hidden in my sink and cleared off the counters and

+a pot filler faucet above the stovetop so that large pots of water can be filled ON the stove. This is kind of a luxury item but very convenient if you do any canning, etc.

Heat elements running under the floor tiles. I so badly want these for our cold tile floors.

A faucet head that pulls out and sprays dishes in the sink.

+A laundry room separate from the mudroom. We have just remodeled a bit and put the laundry room nearer to our bedrooms on the second floor. They used to be in the mudroom right off the garage, which meant I have to drag lots of heavy baskets of laundry up and down the stairs every day.

+If you live in a wet, snowy area, some friends had a grill with a drip-pan installed in the tile floor in their mudroom. She said when her kids and their friends come in from outside, the snow just melts off their boots and into the drip pan. She's never had to empty it, it just evaporates. She said it's absolutely wonderful not to have a wet puddle on the floor to step in.

undercounter lighting
cabinets with pullout drawers
a double oven- very convenient for entertaining

Can't think of anything else off the top of my head but I'm looking forward to reading the other responses.

[gatorsmom]

Oh, I just thought of another one- wired-in smoke detector/carbon monoxide detector system. You'll never have to worry about changing batteries again or that annoying beeping when the batteries start to die.

[linsei]

Oh, I just thought of another one- wired-in smoke detector/carbon monoxide detector system. You'll never have to worry about changing batteries again or that annoying beeping when the batteries start to die.

Lisa,
Ours are hard-wired, but still require a battery for power failures and we still have that annoying beeping... Is there really a type that does not need a battery? (That would be great!)

[kcimato]

The one thing I enjoy most about my house is having the laundry room on the second floor with the bedrooms. It makes it easy and convenient to do the wash. Also when you fold the laundry, putting it away is a breeze. Next time I would have a table or counter of sorts to fold the laundry.

[gatorsmom]

Lisa,
Ours are hard-wired, but still require a battery for power failures and we still have that annoying beeping... Is there really a type that does not need a battery? (That would be great!)


Just asked DH that question. A couple of months ago when we were planning some renovations he mentioned that he wanted this for THIS EXACT REASON. But now, just a few minutes ago, he said that yes, the little smoke alarm boxes still do need batteries on some systems but he didn't know which ones. sigh. So, sorry, but it appears I"m wrong on this one.

[kransden]

My house was built in 05.
I wish I had a sink in the laundry room for messy stuff like paints and soaking clothes.
I have black sinks -no! I need an overhead light to wash dishes, which I don't have.
Make sure you have a full size garage. Mine is tight with the 2 cars.
Electrical outlet on the outside eaves of the house. Nice for xmas!
A dishwasher with an adjustable rack for tall glasses.
Pull out drawers in the kitchen are fantastic.
Closet systems need the "super slide" so clothes can slide smoothly not stop.

[Jeanne]

Aside from what is mentioned above, here's what we did and what we think works great:

Electrical outlets beneath each window.
Data and Electric ports in the floor beneath various pieces of furniture.
Custom size walk-in shower in our master bath instead of soaking tub
Built out closets with double doors - DH's is in the bedroom and mine is a room off the bathroom. He uses the bedroom furniture while I store everything in my closet.
All vents on the second floor are in the ceiling instead of the floor.



What I wish we did but didn't:

Have the house wired with the holiday light option. All oulets tied to one central switch would have been a lot easier.
Closet lights that are wired into the door so the light comes on as soon as you open the door.
Radiant floor heating.

[smilequeen]

I'm in the midst of building and it is fun. Not so fun to do long distance but still fun.

-crown moulding
-built ins, shelves with cabinets underneath
-wall of built in shelves in the study
-wrought iron on the staircase
-upgraded hardwood
-arched doorways
-nice lights, a chandelier instead of a fan in the master (but I hate fans), sconces, etc.
-real framed mirrors and sconces in the bathrooms instead of builder mirrors
-2 dishwashers in the kitchen, one regular, one drawer
-warming drawer in the kitchen
-pull out spice shelves around my range
-standard granite edge on my perimeter cabinets but fancy edge on my island
-furniture style cabinets
-adult height vanities in the master bath
-kids laundry room upstairs in addition to the mud room
-dishwasher and full size fridge on our basement bar
-bigger closets, built in systems
-floor outlets, dimmers, and wired for surround sound, speakers, and wall mounted flat screens, and an ipod doc

That's what I can remember at the moment

I kind of wish I had done crown moulding in the kids rooms, but I didn't. I think we're going to add it after the fact.

[gobadgers]

I think it has been mentioned already, but pocket doors are great. No matter how many sqft there are in a particular room, it's so nice to not have to account for the door-swing space. I think it's especially true for closets, bathrooms, ... anything that's off a bedroom where there's limited wall space.

In our condo and in several apartments before here, we kind of made our own pocket doors - DH takes the door to the master closet off the hinges :-)

[erosenst]

I don't have time to read all the PP's, so I'm sure I"m duplicating some things and forgetting others...but a 'top of mind' list:

* Drawers in the kitchen base cabinets for pans

* Rollouts and/or drawers in the kitchen base cabinets for everything else

* Two level bar for island (bar height to eat at; counter height to cook at)

* Prep sink in the kitchen (but could do without - it would be one of the first to go in hindsight)

* Dog door for dogs

* Cast iron drops for plumbing chutes - makes it much quieter when shower/plumbing is running.

* Toto brand toilets - by far the best, and some builders aren't familiar with them. (And no more expensive than other 'good' toilet brands.)

* Cabinet on top of the counter in the bathroom, with plugs for electric toothbrushes and smaller shelves for 'medicine cabinet' type stuff

* Step lights (work on photo cell, and have 15 watt bulbs to light stairs at night)

* Measure your stuff, and know what you want where. We were able to design our pantry with a shelf to hold the HEAVY Kitchen-Aid mixer at a height where it's easy for me to get it in and out. We also put the first shelf 36" from the floor, so we can store gift wrap, dog food, canister vac, etc underneath it in a convenient location.

* Put extra plugs whereever you think you might want them. They're very inexpensive when the walls are open.

* Make sure to include electrical outlets in the garage

* Not sure where you live - but if it's in the north/snow country, consider a 2 1/2 car garage, and raise the 'extra' area one inch - provides great storage that stays dry when the snow melts off your cars.

* We love our built-ins in the TV room - cabinets below, open shelves on top.

* Closet for electronics (satellite receiver, DVD player, iPod dock, etc.)

* Dimmers on lights

* Ceiling fans...or at least wiring for them

* Rough-in plumbing for bathroom and wet bar in basement, even if you don't plan to have them. Costs literally next to nothing when foundation is being poured.

* Recessed space for refrigerator, so a 'normal' one appears to be built-in, or very close. We recessed ours into the broom closet.

* Recessed spaces in the tub/shower surround to hold shampoos/soap/etc.

* Really think about how you live. If you don't take baths, don't build a bath-tub in the master bath.

* Instead of a walk-up or pull-down stair to the attic, see if you can get access through a door on the second floor.

* Hanging rack in laundry room.

* Laundry sink in laundry room - ideally next to washer to prevent drips after soaking

* Pull-out trash in kitchen with one container for trash and one for recycling.

* Start looking for towel bars, cabinet pulls, etc EVERYWHERE you go. They can be wildly expensive...or you can find some very attractive ones for really reasonable prices. Buy the latter :)

Hope it helps - have fun!

Emily

[cleo27]

Thank you all SO MUCH for all your awesome suggestions!!! I'm getting really excited about the prospect of building. :)

I just have to say that I'm totally feeling the BBB love after all the help I got with this post!! Thanks again!

[Mamma2004]

Adult height vanities in the master bath and duel shower heads are the two things I miss most from my old custom home.

DH and I finally decided that although we prefer the look of gorgeous pedestal sinks, we want the new master bath to WORK, hence our choice of a double vanity. Our builder never mentioned height - how high is practical? I love the idea of a taller cabinet and higher countertop.

Thanks!

[mom_hanna]

We have kitchen height cabinets for our vanity. Those are generally the standard if you want a height taller than the standard bathroom vanity, although I am sure you can customize to whatever height you want.

[emily_gracesmama]

Built ins in family room, and study/office if you are having one
Upstairs laundry with space to have a built in drying rack, wish I had the room for the drying rack, but I so love my upstairs laundry.
double sized, with two shower heads, master bath shower with seat, this is worth its weight in gold.
our hardwood in the kitchen area has gotten pretty beat, but it was included for the foyer and kitchen, we did hardwood on the entire 1st floor and I would have probably sucked it up and paid to have tile in the kitchen, i just think it would wear better and seeing the drips and spots on the hardwood makes me nutso, we will probably have to refinish the kitchen/foyer this summer after 8 yrs here

[alirebco]

You got some great ideas already and I agree with them but I just wanted to add a few:

*instant hot water faucet in kitchen (we use ours to brew tea, etc and it is awesome)
*whole house humidifier (definitely doing this in out next home)
*water purification system
*natural gas line piped in for deck for grill (no more buying propane for us!)
*grounded outlet in garage for extra refrigerator (very simple to do even if you don't have an extra frig right now)

[fattytuna]

Call me lazy, but if I can afford a custom built house, in every room upstairs, I'd put in trash/recycle chutes through the walls so that trash etc. would dump right into the the garbage/recycle carts that are in our garage on the first floor.