Which of these would be 'must-haves' in your ideal house?

[ourbabygirl]

Poll coming...

And what else would you add to the list?
What would you definitely *not* want in a house?

Thanks for weighing in! :)

[sarahsthreads]

I would *not* recommend a walk-out basement. One of the things I loved about my house pre-kids and HATE about it with kids is that the house is built into a hill. It's a lovely view from the back of the house...

...but you cannot see the entire backyard from anywhere in the back of the house, not even from the walk out basement (which does not even walk out into the fenced part of the yard). I would give just about anything to be able to open the back door and let my kids run around and play in the fenced in yard while I kept an eye on them from the kitchen or wherever. I envy my friends who can do that.

Sarah :)

[ett]

I asked a similar question several months ago and got a lot of great responses.

http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=433291&highlight=recessed+lights

[lhafer]

Large closets and extra storage space.

Easy access to the attic. Whether that be a normal lockable door that you can get to from the second floor, or an actual stairway (instead of the chincy pull down ladder) from the first floor.

Large laundry room (separate room - not a walk through) with a utility sink

Mud room where can drop your purse/shoes/backpacks, etc

Every bedroom with their own bathroom

3+ car garage with at least one of the bays opening into the kitchen/mudroom area

[waitingforgrace]

Large laundry room

Walk-in pantry

[Pyrodjm]

My must have in a dream home the isn't listed is a family closet. I would settle for a good size walk-in in each bedroom though.

[mmommy]

I'm a city dweller, so I just wanted sidewalks from this list :hysterical: but i thought it was interesting reading what people elsewhere might want.

[brittone2]

My must haves:
From your list, lot larger than 0.25 acres.

If I wanted it to be my forever (through retirement and beyond) house, I might consider making one floor a necessity. A lot of forever houses don't end up as forever houses, so that's trickier.

There are lots of things I like on your list, but they wouldn't be deal breakers for me. I strongly, strongly prefer all bedrooms on one level, but recognize this is somewhat regional and it wouldn't necessarily be a dealbreaker for me unless it was super uncommon where I was living (and could impact resale).

Under other:
Mudroom or space that can function as a mudroom (we have a 3 season room that is at our back door and works as a mudroom for us. With three kids and a dog I consider this a necessity. The 2 car garage was once detached but the 3 season room now connects it to the house.

I have a long list of would-like-to-haves, but those are my "needs" for my family.

Laundry on main floor or 2nd floor (I prefer main floor).

[AnnieW625]

I voted for a couple of different things because depending on where we were living we could want different things.

We live in a post war rambler built in 1950. I love the 1950s style, and my dream is to own a completely restored 1950s house including at least a cute 1/2 bath with pink and maroon tile or maroon with pink accent tiles. I know that is completely horrid to some people, but I am a huge believer in making houses look like the decade they were made in. The only thing I would not want in my perfect 1950s house would be wood paneling. We have painted paneling and I can't wait to finally remove it from our walls.

If we stay in our current area my idea house would be a long sprawling ranch house on at least ..30 acres, but .50 would be nice with a larger kitchen and I would like the kitchen to have an island for seating and vintage look (although I think the Big Chill line of appliances is HORRIDLY overpriced! I'd buy a Wolf over that) or fully working built ins. I voted for sink in the island, but a lot of that would really depend on how large the island is and how much space we'd have for it. I would like 4 bedrooms as well, one would be an office/guest, and three would be for us. I'd like an attached master bathroom as well. A Jack N Jill bathroom for the second bath might work as well to gaurantee at least 2 bathrooms, but I'd be fine with a 1/2 or 3/4 bath and a regular full size bathroom as well.

If we were to move to another part of the country (DH is pushing for Dallas, Austin, or Nashville) I'd probably be okay with a ranch or a two story. DH has always wanted a two story. As far as bedrooms goes I would want whatever is popular in the area and seen as a selling point. I think having a master on the main floor makes a lot of sense esp. if this home is a forever home, but I know in some places that just doesn't sell. Of course I could have a two story here as well, but there is something about that classic ranch or rambler that just suits So Cal. If I had to have a 2 story here it would be a colonial or spanish style revival and would be in a few very select areas of my neighboring city.

I like my granite countertops I have in my house now (we didn't put them in), but I am not 100% sure I'd get them again. I think I would go with something like recycled glass or even concrete, which was standard in a lot of 1950s homes.

I am not one that has to have stainless appliances either. Depending on the color of the cabinets and the countertops I think that black appliances are starting to grow on me. I know bad for re sale, but anyone that wants to finance stainless appliances for 30 yrs. needs to have their heads examined.

I would love a pool in my home as well. It would have to have a proper cover or a fence as well.

Oh and we'd want an attached garage or at least if not attached something that is easily attainable from the street.

Oh and I would want non MDF blend cupboards.

Larger closets would be a must as well, but I don't like the walk in closets that you have to go through the bathroom to get to (DH thinks I have a screw loose for that one).

A built in shoe rack would be nice as well.

I will only consider a home on smaller lot (1/8th of an acre, which is standard in 95% of my city) than we have now if it is on the water.

[arivecchi]

We just bought a house this summer. Our musts:

- 3 acres or more
- private/secluded lot
- cozy but large enough home (we dislike really large homes)
- master on same floor as kids' bedrooms
- at least 4 bedrooms
- finished basement
- large yard for kids to run around in

So for us, it was more lot driven than house driven. We passed on nicer houses in favor of a lot we liked a lot.

[khalloc]

I voted for:

1. Windows in bathrooms
2. 2-story
3. Sidewalks in Neighborhood

I've had a walkout basement before. it was in the front of the house and I hated it. I like a classic basement. I like the first floor to be at ground level. I dont want to climb up or down stairs to go out any door of my house (4-5 steps OK, but not enough that I am doing a whole floor of steps.)

I like bedrooms to be separate from the living area of the house. So 2 stories is ideal. I wouldnt consider a house if I had to have a bedroom on the main living floor (unless it was a mostly unused guest room).

I like island kitchens, but I dont think its that important to have to have room to sit at one. However, I do like a large kitchen with enough room for a 4-6 person table.

I HATE HATE HATE a kitchen island with a sink or stovetop in it. Thanks but no thanks. That would be on my "house better not have this" list. I would buy a house with this, but I would have plans to change it. Especially a sink. I couldnt stand to have a sink in my island. I have a cooktop now and its not my favorite. Oh, I could do a prep-sink in the island, but not the main sink. A prep-sink would be nice.

The only "others" I can think of is to have a Master Bathroom, good closet space on the first floor, lots of storage, & decent sized bedrooms. Laundry on the 2nd floor would be nice.

[mackmama]

My home ideals:
Contemporary, newer construction
Master BR near DC's room
One BR/BA in a different part of the house for guests
Playroom for DC
Large laundry room with a sink and lots of counter space
Elevated W/D - easier on back
One level home with no basement
4 car garage for plenty of storage
0.5-1 acre flat yard
Tall ceilings throughout
Can see yard from kitchen
Large island but no stovetop on island
Walk-in closet in master with plenty of room for both of us
Large closets throughout
No front yard - just hardscape or easy maintenance
Hardwood floors in living areas, carpet in bedrooms

Location ideals:
Family-friendly and tight-knit community
Walkable to restaurants, hiking
Walkable to schools
Sidewalks
Homes not on top of each other
Homes that look different from each other

[Gracemom]

The most important for me from your list are a bedroom and full bath on the first floor. My mother and my DH's father are elderly and can't climb stairs, so it is a necessity that they have their own "suite" downstairs when they visit. It also came in handy for me when I hurt my ankle, and also when I was recovering from surgery. I love that guests have their own space downstairs, and my DH, kids and I can have our own space upstairs.

[BabyBearsMom]

My dream house would be:
*a single-family home on about .25 to .33 acres (not a big lot because DH and I don't have the time to do the yard work and we don't want to pay a fortune for a yard service).
*At least 2,500 sq ft (finished)
* It would have a 2 car garage and 4 bedrooms.
*It would be situated on a cul-de-sac.
*It would have all hard wood floors on the main level but carpet on the upstairs and basement.
*It would have a large eat in kitchen that is open to a family room. The kitchen would have lots of storage space and counter space and a breakfast bar.
*A living room with a high ceiling and fire place that is the focal place in the room.
*The master bedroom would be on the same floor as at least two of the other bedrooms. The masterbedroom needs to be large, have a walk in closet and a master bath with double sinks and a soaking tub.
* The other bedrooms need to be a good size
*The basement would be finished with a large unfinished storage space. The finished portion of the basement would be at least two rooms - one play room and one man room for DH.
*Laundry would need to be on the main level or the upstairs.

[gatorsmom]

We were looking for a house with our must-haves in this area and didn't find any so we are fortunate enough to be in the position to build a house with the things we think are important. We are in the building process right now.

I insisted I have a house with NO WALK OUT BASEMENT. Our last house had one and I worried that it was another door I had to make sure was locked. DH travels for work all the time and my OCD monster has me rechecking doors throughout the night. I hated that walk out basement door! Also, I always wondered if the kids as toddlers, would get out that way without me knowing. DH isn't great about locking up doors so it was always possible he used the basement door and didn't lock it (or even shut it) behind himself. As they get older I hate that it's a way for them to sneak out or sneak friend in. I insisted in our new house to not have a walk out basement but unfortunately we will have to. The lot is freakin' sweet but it's on a hill and although I talked DH into moving some dirt over to cover most of the basement on one side, some of it will still be exposed. We plan to put an outside door at the bottom of the steps though so it will hopefully be easier to secure.

One of my top MUST haves were to have all the kids' bedrooms on the same floor as ours. Preferably NOT on the main floor. I want to be able to sleep at night knowing they are not wandering the house, climbing out a window or that someone is climbing in. I"m a very heavy sleeper and when DH's not there I want to rest assured they are safe in their top-floor bedrooms. Our new house will be able to lock off the upper floor from the main floor/main staircase. Yet, if the kids are scared, I want them to be able to run into my room at night easily and climb in my bed to snuggle.

My other top must have was no blind spots. What I hated about our last house was that I couldn't not see the kids except from the second floor when they were playing on our driveway. I loved that house but I hated that blindspot. Also, there was a side of the house where there were no windows at all. There was a steep hill on that side that the kids loved to explore and I couldn't see them at all. I also had the same complaint about the backyard as Sarahsthreads. I couldn't let the kids run around the back of the house because I couldn't see them. The house we are building now will have the garage up against the hill and not easy for the kids to climb on. All the funnest activities areas will be behind the house where I"ve put lots of windows. :tongue5:

DH insisted on a lot with some acreage. It didn't care so much but he found a reallly nice lot and we grabbed it.

I've had islands with sinks in the center, cooktops in the center, and nothing in the center. I think it's totally personal preference. We are putting the cooktop in the island of this house just because I will be able to look out over the kitchen/great room while I"m cooking instead of cooking with my back to the room which I hate. I've found that I prefer being able to look out while I"m cooking.

We are making this our forever home and putting a big office on the mainfloor with a handicap-ready bathroom off it. One day, if we need to, we will move into it as our mainfloor master. Until then, it'll be my office and a guest room.

I don't care so much about being able to walk to places or having sidewalks. I grew up in a more rural setting and loved that.

I insisted we have a decent sized mudroom. We have a lot of activities going on for not just my 4 kids but DH as welll. Add to that winter coats and boots and outdoor gear and things get mixed up and crowded fast.

ETA: One of the things I dont' want is anyone eating at the island. We have a nice big table for everyone to eat at while facing me in the kitchen. There is no need for everyone to be eating at my island where I'll be preparing meals! I find it interesting that that is a top "want" in the poll.

[meggie t]

I'm a city dweller, so I just wanted sidewalks from this list :hysterical: but i thought it was interesting reading what people elsewhere might want.

Almost the same for me except I just want a window in the bathroom! I despise new construction bathrooms that don't have windows. They are just so stuffy. I also don't like islands of any sort in the kitchen. I like traditional older homes so my must haves are few - hardwoods throughout first floor, EIK would be nice, formal dining room, full basement with intention of finishing it out.

[elliput]

From your list-
- larger than .25 acre lot
- sidewalks

Not on your list-
- 3 car or oversided garage with shop space
- covered backyard living space (deck, screen room, etc where the cover is part of the actual roof line.)
- large laundry room
- pantry room with enough space for a freezer

[sophiesmom03]

my additions:

walk in pantry
walk in closet in master
storage on bedroom level (can be knee height, but want room for off season linens etc.)
decent linen closet
laundry near bedrooms
central a/c
patio
fenced yard (love the fenced yard but hate the cost of adding the fence)
ETA well insulated, charm, wood floors, and a centrally located, efficient wood stove for winter!

[MamaMolly]

I would NOT want the washer/dryer to be accessable only from the outside of the house. I hate walking through the rain or mosquitos to fiddle with laundry. This is the second house we have had with outside laundry. The other one was in a tiny outbuilding with realllllllly low ceilings that always freaked me out to have to go in. Creeeeeeeeeepy!

[essnce629]

The only "must-have" on your list that I really wanted when we bought our house almost 2 years ago was having a single story house.

With two boys, I just didn't want to deal with them running up and down the stairs, falling down the stairs, jumping down the stairs, sliding down the stairs, etc! And I didn't want to have to climb stairs every time I needed to get something out of my room. Plus, I like being able to sleep in on the weekends and still be able to hear if anything crazy is going on the living room. I also wanted to be able to check on them easily if they were playing in their rooms and I was in the kitchen cooking.

My other must-haves:

Garage
Separate laundry room inside the house (not in garage)
Large master bathtub
Double sinks in master bath
Walk-in closet in master bedroom
Central air and heat
Extra bedroom to use as a playroom/guest room
Decent storage-- linen closet, coat closet, storage closet, cabinets in laundry room, outside storage shed, etc.


I will say that not having sidewalks would be annoying, but luckily our street does have sidewalks on both sides, but some of our neighboring streets do not.

[maestramommy]

The one I don't see on the list is attached garage. After living with 2 kids in a 2nd floor walkup (from the parking garage) I said our house MUST have an attached garage. Esp. since we were moving to a region with a lot of weather.

[Neatfreak]

See, I like a separate garage over an attached garage. I am nervous when there are more than two entrances to my house to worry about being compromised!

I'm a big fan of having a mud room, and what I've learned I don't like are high ceilings. Our current house has 14' ceilings on the main floor, and neither DH or I are comfortable getting on that high a ladder to change lightbulbs or clean the ceiling fans.

[ourbabygirl]

Thanks for weighing in!

Many of the things mentioned by all of you are things that are current house has, so I guess I'm kind of taking them for granted by not including them on the list... I would definitely be looking for those features in another house.

Since our house was built in '99, it has a 3 car attached garage (we live in the 'frigid' midwest, so the newer houses all have this), and it also has a mudroom/ laundry room as you come in from the garage. It also has a lot of storage in the house (an attic which we don't use or need for storage, but also a basement which is currently unfinished, so it's got a ton of room & stuff that we store but would probably be fine dumping out & would never miss it! :ROTFLMAO:).
We don't have a big kitchen pantry (which, I agree, would be nice), but we do have plenty of cupboard space, so it is something to keep in mind for another house.
We also have a formal dining room that we originally used as DH's office, & it's now the kids' play room... it's awesome, 'cuz it's off the kitchen, so since our kids are so little (1 & 3), it's convenient for them to play in, esp. since the basement isn't finished for them to go down & play in.
We currently have a modified 2-story, so there are 3 bedrooms upstairs, & 1 on the main level, but I love the look of traditional 2 stories, with 4 bedrooms upstairs, & possibly a laundry room if it's set up that way.
We don't have a walk-out basement, & it's something I regret about this house. I grew up with a walk-out, & my parents and siblings all have walk-outs, and I think they're *so nice* for entertaining & for when the kids get older. I'd love to be able to have a play date downstairs and just go in & out as we please, instead of having to go out through the kitchen, onto the deck, down the big set of steps, and to the yard. It's a pain with little kids needing to trek in to the potty, and it would be nice to have the space downstairs for entertaining and just having guests come in and out as they wish. I'd like to have more ways out to the back yard; it's a hassle & a traffic jam having people come up through the patio doors right into the kitchen, where people are sitting at the kitchen table.
We do need a basement because we get tornadoes here (even had one in our city 2 years ago, & we got a new roof out of the deal :loveeyes:). So part of the basement would need to be safe, and without windows, to use in case of severe weather.
I'd like to have a bedroom & full bath on the main floor for guests and also possibly mother/ MIL to stay in.
I think a one-story (or what they call a 'rambler' here) would be cool, because our current house has bad heating & cooling upstairs, and I think it would be easier to have things stay warm & cool all on one level. It would also make it easier to live there for a long time (more handicap-accessible). DS' room upstairs bakes in the summer, even with the ceiling & box fans on, and the blinds & drapes totally shut all day & night. And it's freezing in there in the winter. In fact, the whole upstairs' heating & cooling is wonky; it's a much different temperature up there than on the main floor, so I'm not sure I want to deal with that again.
We currently have .5 acre, but it's so much for DH to take care of... we actually recently hired a lawn service to mow & trim & put down stuff for weeds, because it easily takes him 3 hours or so on a weekend, and he dreads doing the yard work. So that's why I'd like less yard, but more privacy (we can see probably 17 houses from our back yard, even though we have half an acre, fenced in), and many more shade trees. It's one of the deal-breakers of our current house, I just can't go outside much with the kids in the summer because it's so hot & sunny back there. We planted a ton of trees when we moved in, but did it mostly around the perimeter, so the only shade we have is from a patio umbrella. :wink2:

[newg]

my "other" musts would be:
a full-size basement (ranch or 2-story)
laundry room/mudroom
2+ car garage
space for a playroom (main floor or basement)
fireplace

[mommy111]

Even though houses are a sore spot for me right now, a 2 level house is highly desirable. Where I live, houses are so exoensive, there are no must-haves!!

[sweetsue98]

Must haves

Large lot-don't want to see other houses
master bath
walk in pantry
mud room
Large kitchen

[fivi2]

I don't think my house has a single thing on your list!

I guess our only "must" was a good location.

Our current is a 2/1 - if we were shopping, I'd say a 3/2 is a must, but I can't think of anything else!

[specialp]

None are must haves meaning I wouldn't even look at a house without them. I do, however, love my tall ceilings and kitchen island which has seating for two. The closest to a must have would be a bedroom on the main level, but only because it is nearly impossible for resale here if you don't have one.

[JElaineB]

So for us, it was more lot driven than house driven. We passed on nicer houses in favor of a lot we liked a lot.

That's true for us as well. We bought our house based on location and lot size (we have 6 acres), though the house does have some nice updated features it still needs a lot of work (original was a 1926 house, which has been added on to twice). We live just outside city limits, and can walk to DS's school and a bus line, but we are still in the "country" - which we prefer. We like to have space and not be surrounded by other houses. We like not having covenants and we like being able to have farm animals on our property if we want (though we don't have any at the moment). My in-laws are about a two minute walk down the street (we can see their house from ours) and that was a big plus for us also.

[ett]

Where I live, houses are so exoensive, there are no must-haves!!

I know what you mean! When we were house hunting 10 years ago, our only must haves were attached garage, more than one toilet, and house not on a busy road.

[KrisM]

None, really.

I dislike walkout basements because you're so far removed from the yard and if you have a deck, it blocks the view pretty much. I like letting the kids out from the kitchen and being able to check on them easily.

Most of the others are neither likes nor dislikes, really.

For me, I wanted a mudroom and I wish it was bigger than it is.

The neighborhood was very important. Sidewalks would be great, but I love living on our cul de sac with many families with kids. Many are SAHMs too, so the kids can play with friends most days.

I like being able to see most of the first floor from my kitchen.

I'm not a huge fan of super tall ceilings. I don't want to work that hard to heat my rooms in the winter :).

I wish I had a walk-in pantry.

[arivecchi]

So funny to hear that so many people want sidewalks and cul-de-sacs. The only thing we did not want was neighbors! That was DH's only must NOT have. :rotflmao: I fully realize that is not the norm though. :)


I'm not a huge fan of super tall ceilings. I don't want to work that hard to heat my rooms in the winter :). Same here! I used to have a house with really tall ceilings and it was always freezing, yet I always got gigantic gas bills. Such a waste. It made me crazy.

[daisysmom]

In many ways, I live in my ideal house -- we renovated a 110 year old brownstone and I love everything about it except for its uber-urban location, and that wears on me (for instance last week, someone tried to steal our copper downspouts from off of our house).

The house had (and has) incredible moldings which I loved in all of the rooms, and we redid the kitchen and the bathrooms, making many of them bigger in doing so.

The only thing that I didn't do, and which I regret now, is figuring out a way to have the laundry room out of the basement. Either the main level or bedroom floor would be so nice instead of the basement. Our basement is huge, has a playroom and tons of great storage areas beside that, but I hate schlepping up loads of laundry every night to fold. My mother said that would be my one regret when she saw what we were doing to renovate it, and she was right.

[GaPeach_in_Ca]

I know what you mean! When we were house hunting 10 years ago, our only must haves were attached garage, more than one toilet, and house not on a busy road.

:yeahthat:

Our must haves were 3 bed/2 bath, single family and neighborhood... Oh and not needing a lot of work.

[fortato]

I would never ever buy another house with an ejector pump, or a septic tank. No way. We've spent way too much money maintaining this thing, and there is nothing we can do to improve it. Never.

AND- I will never buy another house that does not have central air conditioning. Having to install, remove and store window units is a pain in the ass.

and I want a fenced in front yard... something that will keep the neighbor's kids out of my garden.
AND... I wish this house had higher ceilings, we can't put ceiling fans in the bedrooms because of the energy saving lower ceilings... blah.

[MamaKath]

My others would be:
*A yard larger than a 1/4 acre but smaller than an acre. We have an acre that is pretty flat, has a few large oaks, and no real fancy landscaping. It is a pain to take care of!
*Not many stairs to go up or down to the main living area (kitchen included). Having grown up in a split-foyer (go in the door then stairs up and stairs down), I would not want to always carry groceries up lots of stairs! My house now has a few stairs, but I can actually drive up to my backdoor and unload into the kitchen. I love the ease of it!

[mjs64]

I've been following this thread on my phone but just now was able to see the options for the poll. I could only say sidewalks, and that's a maybe, not even a must. For me, must haves would be a good school district, lots of light, a good sized yard, preferably one i could view from the kitchen or living area, and more than one bathroom. I have low standards--we live in Southern California and rent, and I was just recently so happy to rent a house with 1.5 baths and a yard! Ideal for us!

Eta: In my ideal home, I'd have a mud room too. Don't care about islands etc.

[niccig]

My list is:

* kitchen big enough that 2 people can cook w/o tripping over each other
* master bath
* mudroom that isn't the laundry room
* extra bedroom for office/guest room

And I will never get them I don't think we're ever going to leave this house.

[brgnmom]

from your options, I picked the following features in an ideal home:

- at least 4 bedrooms
- kitchen island w/ space for breakfast nook & counter-height chairs
- single-story/ranch style
- sidewalks in the neighborhood/walkability factor

[boolady]

I voted:
Windows in each bathroom. I love natural light and really want it in the bathrooms where people are getting ready, putting on makeup, etc. At our last home, 2 of 3 bathrooms had no windows and I found them incredibly dreary.

Room in the kitchen for an island with seating. I love to cook, so love the idea of DD and/or DH hanging out at the island keeping me company/doing homework or artwork or cooking with me. We have room now for a kitchen table, but it's not exactly the same thing.

Sidewalks; however, as long as it was a walkable neighborhood, sidewalks themselves wouldn't have to be an absolute.

I would also like:
A mudroom/back entry area inside the back door. The kind you see in the Pottery Barn or Ballard Designs catalogs. I drool over those. :) Our present set-up isn't too bad...we have a powder room/laundry room/mudroom to the left as soon as you walk in the back door, but the door from outside doesn't open into it...it opens into the kitchen. I'd love it if everyone had their dirty shoes off before they were in my kitchen.

A master bedroom with room for a small seating area. We have room in our master right now for a nice-sized chair with ottoman and a reading lamp, but I mean an actual area that would accomodate a loveseat and a chair or two and maybe some built-in bookcases. And a fireplace.