Question of the Day, Sunday, August 9, 2015

lately i've been seriously considering selling my house and buying a new house. along these lines, for today's Question of the Day --

If you could choose any house/condo/cabin/apartment etc, anywhere -- What are some of the things you'd be looking for, that are important to you with your preferred dwelling? We're talking about for your primary, main residence. For example, is size (square footage) important to you, or that it must have at least an acre of land? Or, is it more important to you that the space (square footage) in your dwelling is made the most of? how about setting -- do you prefer city living or suburbs, or even rural/country living?

Let your imagination 'run wild' on this! Have fun with it!

i'll go first!

i prefer to live in a house, but a cabin style home would be fine too. some of the things i feel are important with a house for me are:  rural setting -- more rural is preferred but i'd be okay with semi rural if the house was on a wooded lot where the trees provided a natural 'privacy screen' around the edge of the property, i prefer some land -- maybe a minimum of 1+ acres, i don't mind a small house -- say minimum of close to 900 square feet, the smaller the square footage the more i'd want the space the house has to be made the most of -- planned carefully in order to use every bit of the limited space, one-floor living would be ideal for me, i need a full kitchen -- no kitchenette because i cook/bake/preserve, i definitely must have wood studs in the walls -- no metal studs (my cats must have cat wall furniture, which need wood studs to be attached to), no highways very close by, and a 'bonus' for me is if the house has a screened porch or deck that could be converted to a screened porch.

in looking at many (many) real estate listings recently, i've found myself drawn to the very small houses. not tiny houses (http://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/...es-you-ll-love-big-time-slide-show/index.html   and  http://tinyhouselistings.com/), though i do really like how tiny houses make excellent use of their space. i've found myself wondering if living in a tiny house on the large end of square footage might work for the cats and me -- as long as it had a loft (s) in it.

okay, now it's your turn!

What would be perfect for me is something that I don't think even exists.  Now that the kids are on their own I would like a small house on a small lot in a semi-rural area.  Most homes in that type of area are large and on a large lot.  I grew up on a farm in a very rural area which is nice but it can be inconvenient.  We drove 45 miles to get to a good size supermarket, 30 miles to a doctor or dentist appointment, and 70 miles to get to the closest mall.  I prefer something that would be more convenient but still have that rural feel to it.

An two bedroom apartment outside of LA, CA. It must be a senior apartment building with no steps. My knees won't tolerate them.

Denice said:

 
What would be perfect for me is something that I don't think even exists.  Now that the kids are on their own I would like a small house on a small lot in a semi-rural area.  Most homes in that type of area are large and on a large lot.  I grew up on a farm in a very rural area which is nice but it can be inconvenient.  We drove 45 miles to get to a good size supermarket, 30 miles to a doctor or dentist appointment, and 70 miles to get to the closest mall.  I prefer something that would be more convenient but still have that rural feel to it.

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oh, that sounds really lovely!

Muffy said:

 
An two bedroom apartment outside of LA, CA. It must be a senior apartment building with no steps. My knees won't tolerate them.

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very nice!

When we bought this house our main requirements were at least a half acre of land, no Home Owners Association, 3 bedrooms and 2 baths.  We found that and then some.  

I love where we are but I would make some changes if I could.  I'd add a basement.  They aren't common here but boy would that be helpful!  I'd also like a guest or bonus room.  With no basement, bad weather and small children; the walls can close in on you.  My house is pretty much open concept so it doesn't feel small; but that extra space would be so great!  The other thing I'd add is a half bath on the main side of the house.  We have 2 bathrooms; but they are both on the far side of the house.  That can be challenging if you have something on the stove and/or your potty training small children.    We already added the wood stove but now that i've got one; i won't ever want to be without a woodstove or fireplace.  

What we have now is just perfect, but if I could change anything I'd lift the whole place up, house, land, woods, mountain and everthing, and set it down closer to the ocean. I miss the beach.

I would like an old, large farmhouse. Four bedrooms, three bathrooms, very large kitchen with fireplace and a large pantry with plenty of storage space and a baking nook, large living room with high ceiling, and a separate dining room. I would like an attic, but it doesn't have to be finished. I do not want open concept at all. But I would like an open stairway to the second floor. Wrap-around front porch that's perfect for swinging or lounging. You could play board games on the front porch or flop down with a good book on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Large master bedroom on the second floor with its own bath, perhaps a fireplace, second bath for everybody else, third bath on the first floor. Lots and lots of windows with natural light throughout the house. A finished basement would be nice, but not vital. But I would like a shower in the basement. Three-car attached garage. On about 1-1/2 acres with lots of trees and plenty of room for a garden and flowerbeds. Pool is optional. No homeowners' association as they're a pain to deal with all the time.

My dream home would be inspired by Spanish and Mediterranean architecture. With an small inner yard with a small fountain on a wall and flower pots. The living room would have window-doors that look at this yard, and that in hot Summer evenings, we could open and have dinner in the yard. The kitchen would have to be big, and I'd like 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and an extra room for storage. Everything would be painted in bold colors, kinda like Mexican architecture. As I go to pottery classes, I'm making a tile border for a bathroom in shades of blues, greens and red. Surrounding the house, we'd have a garden, with lots of succulent plants in pots, and some fruit trees. And in the back of the house, a roofed gallery, for Summer evenings too.

I would like a small house with lots of glass and light on the beach. Ideally it would have enough land to have a decent size garden.

A large home on the beach in the Florida Keys. A big kitchen with lots of cabinets, a big walk in pantry and plenty of counter space. A large screened in porch that I could use part of for a pool area and part of for a large custom catio for my babies so they could enjoy the ocean view/sounds/smells as well. The home would have to be custom so I could add lots of walkways, cubbies, perches, etc for them for while they are inside. My only human child is a junior in college so my furkids would be the ones I built the house around with some room added for us.   

On a large island, a house perched high up on the rock, surrounded by a few acres of wild forest with ancient fir trees that shoot up higher than the house. Stone steps go down from the house to the ground, then a path to explore the land which ends with a little pond in the back. 

MoochNNoodles said:

 
When we bought this house our main requirements were at least a half acre of land, no Home Owners Association, 3 bedrooms and 2 baths.  We found that and then some.  

I love where we are but I would make some changes if I could.  I'd add a basement.  They aren't common here but boy would that be helpful!  I'd also like a guest or bonus room.  With no basement, bad weather and small children; the walls can close in on you.  My house is pretty much open concept so it doesn't feel small; but that extra space would be so great!  The other thing I'd add is a half bath on the main side of the house.  We have 2 bathrooms; but they are both on the far side of the house.  That can be challenging if you have something on the stove and/or your potty training small children. 

  We already added the wood stove but now that i've got one; i won't ever want to be without a woodstove or fireplace.  

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i definitely feel the same about no Home Owners Association -- as well as lot rent or condo fees or similar. just no.

in looking at real estate listings, i don't necessarily require a wood stove in the house but i'd have one installed before the first winter in any house i bought.

Norachan said:

 
What we have now is just perfect, but if I could change anything I'd lift the whole place up, house, land, woods, mountain and everthing, and set it down closer to the ocean. I miss the beach.

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    living near the ocean is very nice. i also like living near lakes and streams/rivers.

Winchester said:

 
I would like an old, large farmhouse. Four bedrooms, three bathrooms, very large kitchen with fireplace and a large pantry with plenty of storage space and a baking nook, large living room with high ceiling, and a separate dining room. I would like an attic, but it doesn't have to be finished. I do not want open concept at all. But I would like an open stairway to the second floor. Wrap-around front porch that's perfect for swinging or lounging. You could play board games on the front porch or flop down with a good book on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Large master bedroom on the second floor with its own bath, perhaps a fireplace, second bath for everybody else, third bath on the first floor. Lots and lots of windows with natural light throughout the house. A finished basement would be nice, but not vital. But I would like a shower in the basement. Three-car attached garage. On about 1-1/2 acres with lots of trees and plenty of room for a garden and flowerbeds. Pool is optional. No homeowners' association as they're a pain to deal with all the time.

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that sounds lovely! a porch(es) is one of my requirements in looking at houses.

missycab said:

 
My dream home would be inspired by Spanish and Mediterranean architecture. With an small inner yard with a small fountain on a wall and flower pots. The living room would have window-doors that look at this yard, and that in hot Summer evenings, we could open and have dinner in the yard. The kitchen would have to be big, and I'd like 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and an extra room for storage. Everything would be painted in bold colors, kinda like Mexican architecture. As I go to pottery classes, I'm making a tile border for a bathroom in shades of blues, greens and red. Surrounding the house, we'd have a garden, with lots of succulent plants in pots, and some fruit trees. And in the back of the house, a roofed gallery, for Summer evenings too.

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wow! that would be a very beautiful home!

Margd said:

I would like a small house with lots of glass and light on the beach. Ideally it would have enough land to have a decent size garden.

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that would be a wonderful home to live in!

Winchester said:

 
I would like an old, large farmhouse. Four bedrooms, three bathrooms, very large kitchen with fireplace and a large pantry with plenty of storage space and a baking nook, large living room with high ceiling, and a separate dining room. I would like an attic, but it doesn't have to be finished. I do not want open concept at all. But I would like an open stairway to the second floor. Wrap-around front porch that's perfect for swinging or lounging. You could play board games on the front porch or flop down with a good book on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Large master bedroom on the second floor with its own bath, perhaps a fireplace, second bath for everybody else, third bath on the first floor. Lots and lots of windows with natural light throughout the house. A finished basement would be nice, but not vital. But I would like a shower in the basement. Three-car attached garage. On about 1-1/2 acres with lots of trees and plenty of room for a garden and flowerbeds. Pool is optional. No homeowners' association as they're a pain to deal with all the time.

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That sounds great to me too!  I do also love historical homes as well, as ling as there are no major projects to be done, & I could afford the upkeep. I love the character of old houses.

However, with it just being Angel & I, it couldn't be too big.  I've often thought if I ever won a lottery, I would maybe just get a nice detached town home, so I wouldn't have to worry about landscaping myself.

As long as I had 2-3 bedrooms, & a FROG (Finished room over the garage) room. at least 2 bathrooms, or 2 & 1/2 would be good. I think I'd probably just buy a nice little house in a nice suburb, so I would have more of a yard. Yes, a good sized screened in porch would be nice for Angel to have to.  I wouldn't  want to be too far out from stores, or a hospital, etc..

Kat0121 said:

 
A large home on the beach in the Florida Keys. A big kitchen with lots of cabinets, a big walk in pantry and plenty of counter space. A large screened in porch that I could use part of for a pool area and part of for a large custom catio for my babies so they could enjoy the ocean view/sounds/smells as well. The home would have to be custom so I could add lots of walkways, cubbies, perches, etc for them for while they are inside. My only human child is a junior in college so my furkids would be the ones I built the house around with some room added for us. 

 

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that sounds like a truly great home! you're the second person to mention a pantry. and now i think about it, i'd like a pantry too!

SwampWitch said:

 
On a large island, a house perched high up on the rock, surrounded by a few acres of wild forest with ancient fir trees that shoot up higher than the house. Stone steps go down from the house to the ground, then a path to explore the land which ends with a little pond in the back. 

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very nice! that would be a lovely location.