Domestic Bliss Report

Motherhood is hard work. If we don't stick together, we'll all fall apart.

Sunday, January 28, 2007

My Ideal House

This is my fantasy house--it doesn't exist in reality but, if we hit big on the lottery, it would be a lot like this. This is also a "distraction" post; if I brood much on the events of last week and the upcoming, I won't get anything done. But here goes.
My ideal house would be around 1700 square feet--not much more because it gets hard to monitor. The one I grew up in was around 1400, and I'm just allowing for the extra rooms.
It would have no more than 4 bedrooms. I think it's good and healthy for kids to share quarters. The wall between the kids' rooms would be collapsible--again, for ease in monitoring and bedtime stories but still allowing for privacy in dressing, etc. When they got old enough it would remain closed more than now when they're little.
The fourth bedroom would be a library. Not an office; it would have bookshelves along all the walls and shorter three-shelfers in the middle. A couple comfy chairs and we'd be set.
It would have a real dining room, big enough for a dozen.
There would be a room set aside for school, with the kids' texts and books and desks. It would have a large window, that one. It would be big enough to have a Quiet Reading Area too.
A basement would be nice, but only if it's one of those farmhouse basements that takes three or four rows of glass-blocks instead of the measly useless two. Two rows don't even let light in! The glass-blocks are optional, by the way. There would be a workspace there for Dale, complete with pegboard. Of course, the basement wouldn't leak.
It would have two and a half baths, the half being in the kids' room. Everywhere I've lived has had only one and it would be a nice change. The nicest, in fact.
The kitchen would be big enough to eat in as that's where we'd generally do it.
I don't care where the laundry is except: a) not in the kitchen and b) close to each other. One would think that goes without saying, but we did see a house where the washer and dryer were not on the same floor. Can you imagine trucking a heavy wet load of clothes up or down a flight of stairs? Probably the basement, but a first-floor laundry room would work, too.
I don't think Dale could stand it without central air, so I make that concession to my husband.
The garage would fit two and a half cars and a breezeway would connect it to the house. Another pegboard would be mandatory.
The Ideal House would be located on at least .75 of an acre, though I think I'd like a whole one. Hmm... Maybe five would do it.
Now, I don't care if it's a ranch or colonial as long as all of the bedrooms are on the same floor--just one of those weird fire paranoias I inherited.

Did I miss anything?

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4 Comments:

At 3:20 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You missed the four-oven Aga cooker in the kitchen (well, that's in *my* fantasy house anyway ;)

 
At 5:50 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Maid's quarters? Mother-in-law suite? Jacuzzi spa? What about a fireplace (or more than one)? Walk-in closets? Master suite with balcony?

I do like how your ideal house is realistic and not "18,000 sq ft....and that's just the foyer!"

 
At 8:28 PM, Blogger Heather said...

No maid's quarters; one could visit a couple times a week, but I wouldn't want to LIVE with one.
Mother-in-law suite--see above. There are reasons grown women don't live with their mothers.

Yeah, the walk-in closets would be nice, as would a balcony off the master bedroom. Hmm...

Like I said, though, much more than 1700 square feet gets tough to keep track of. I wouldn't want Robin Leach arriving with a camera crew asking for a tour.

 
At 8:39 PM, Blogger Diane said...

Our house is 1700 feet... I think it would need to be pan-dimensional to fit all the things you mentioned! I like the library, though - I've always wanted one, too. And the library must have a window seat. I've also always wanted a dusty old attic with a trap door and trunks of weird stuff left by past owners.

 

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