Hypothetical question, You're building a four bedroom house, what are some of the must haves you would want to add?

I like front entrances for humans rather than cars.

I like there to be a floorplan that doesn’t just have one path through it… I want there to be at least one O path, preferably one per floor.

I like balconies and turrets and ledges to sit by windows, and built-in shelves, walk-in closets other closets, etc.

I like interesting floor plans and prefer not to have cavernous vertical spaces.

I like full height basements rather than crawlspaces.

I like circulating heat – being able to send the hot air upstairs down to the bottom, radiators, and cycling heat from the roof and attic down through the house for efficiency.

I like solar panels.

I like glass-enclosed spaces and porches and/or balconies with roofs so you can be a bit more outdoors while still having shelter from rain.

I like laundry chutes.

I like places where cats can have litter boxes and food and places to sleep/hide and ways to get in/out, without being a problem.

I like having enough hot water and water pressure, and having accessible not-too-annoying water filters, and having my own well.

I like having few/quiet neighbors and access to woods etc.

I like sky lights that are tubes up to a light collector that gives good free light during daytime.

I like having separate enough spaces that multiple people can do things and entertain themselves separately without having to hear or be aware of each other.

I like having drainage that doesn’t go into the basement (e.g. French drain), and accessible gutters.

A backup power generator could be good.

VR room, hardener underground nuclear bunker, a small nuclear reactor, and a batcave.

It partly matters how big the house is. I’ve lived in 4 bedroom houses that are 2400 sq ft and houses that are 4,000 sq ft.

At least a three car garage, and the garage to be at least 35 by 22 so there is room for a closet and a place to put the trash can, stairs to the house, hot water heater and air handler if that’s in the garage that doesn’t interfere with a car space being a clear 10X20 space. An extra two feet on a garage is not very expensive, but it’s huge in comfort for swinging open the doors and accommodating everything in the garage.

Huge covered and screened patio. Minimum 20×12.

3.5 bathrooms or more.

His and hers master closets. Pantry cabinet or a closet in the master bathroom.

Pantry in the kitchen, preferably shelving only one foot deep in one area so canned food doesn’t get hidden behind other food. Also, shelving in a pantry cabinet or closet for small appliances at waist to shoulder height so you don’t have to bend or reach for those items.

A deep linen closet with shelving that can accommodate winter comforters and blankets. In the US you can buy standard shelves up to 20” deep, which is usually adequate.

Drop/mud area when you come in from the garage for keys and shoes and a coat closet.

One story living if possible. If you do this, consider noise from the living areas and the master.

Two car attached garage with utility sink

Warm climate I like screened porch at least 10 feet by 18 feet

Instant gas hot water heater

Extra insulation at least R-38 in attic; R-23 for walls and unheated basement / crawl spaces

Energy efficient windows and doors

Ceiling fans

Six foot high fence for dogs in backyard

Rain gutters

Central heating and A/C

Mother in law suite for long-term guests.

@KNOWITALL
That is called a “dungeon”.

@ragingloli As long as it’s not my personal space, they can call it anything they want. haha! It’s almost as if you know my MIL. haha!

It’d have to be a Craftsman style home.
I’d do as much as I could myself.
I’d make all the tiles for the bathrooms, backsplashes,sinks & fireplace surround.
Much of the woodwork would be done by my husband and I.
Stained glass inserts I can also do.
I would however refuse to hang and sand drywall. I really hate that.:D
A larger than average garage and a well lit studio space with direct access to the outdoors are the only extras I’d require. A lap pool wouldn’t be so terrible

I’d like a shower.

@rebbel A shower is an absolute must for us, if our house didn’t have one we sure as hell put one in, also a must is a washer and dryer, the rest are nice but those are absolutes.

@rebbel Why not just buy a convertible and go through a car wash?
Win-win!
and put your laundry in the back seat win-win-win

I would like a washer/dryer on the bedroom level, so I am not lugging baskets of clothes up and down the steps.

I wouldn’t mind if it were a ranch house, but with four bedrooms, it would be pretty big if it were a ranch.

I would like some porches. My grandparents had an old Victorian house which was on the banks of a river, so it built on the side of a hill. The house had porches on every level. One was a sunroom type of porch (we called it “the back porch”) and one was a side porch with glass windows and a door to the side steps. Then there was the front porch, that was with big windows and a door. You’d enter the front porch and then the main front door was inside of that. I’d like a house that had one glassed in porch and one screened in porch, plus a deck (maybe a deck with a roof over it) so that you’d have a few options for outdoor seating.

The house also had a pocket door that shut the living room off from the front hall. I know barn doors (that hang on a horizontal rod) are popular now, but the down side of a barn door is that you can’t hang anything on the wall because the door is swinging on it. The advantage of a pocket door is that the walls are still usable for whatever you want them to be used for.

I’d like two en suite bathrooms. One for the main bedroom and one for a guest bedroom.

My next kitchen will have drawers instead of cabinet doors on the bottom part.

My grandparents’ pantry was big enough that there was a chair in there and my grandmother would sit and talk on the phone in there. The pantry was really like a small kitchen, lined with cabinets and shelves. I’d like that.

Of course, central air would be a must.

Dungeon for the house staff

Hers and His bathrooms at least. I like @Zaku‘s “I want there to be at least one O path,” ... as a result of combining two apartments we have an “O” path and it does change the way you think about the space.