What features would your dream house have?

Private, screened, open air sleeping porches

I would have really a spacious entryway into the house, with storage to accommodate backpacks, briefcases, shoes, umbrellas, and baskets for hats, gloves etc. A place to sit, perhaps a windowseat, so you could either sit down to take off boots, or wait for someone to walk out the door with you. A table to catch keys, school papers, etc.

I would want a similar space between the garage and the kitchen, but more of a butler’s pantry, with space to store athletic equipment, partyware, tablecloths, coffee urn, etc. Perhaps storage for bulk purchases, like TP or paper towels, book shelves for cookbooks, small desk area to pay bills, etc. Sort of a “run the house” space.

First floor master bedroom, with a sitting room off the bedroom. Extra wide doorways and hallways. Library with lots of bookcases instead of a library, Large family room. Other bedrooms would have a study/work space incorporated into the room. Second floor sleeping porch.

Flagstone patio with fishpond; front patio or porch.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot, because I live in a 100 year old house with no storage space. We keep stuff to a minimum, but in reality, we should have purchased a different type of house. But we like the area.

• Large lot, south sun, wind-sheltered
• Architectural style: Mid-century Modern, Cliff May or Eichler
• Four to five bedrooms
• Three bathrooms
• Custom kitchen with pantry
• Room for entertaining/bar
• Custom outdoor grill area (inset Weber charcoal, not gas)
• Detached studio
• Native landscaping
• Off-the-grid solar
• Lap-sized swimming pool
• Private Jacuzzi
• Vegetable garden with space for three chickens
• Location: southern California, no more than 45 minutes from an urban metro

p.s. Are you buying?

Dirt floor root cellar. Big vegetable garden, chickens, a milk goat and a pair of sheep. Fireplace suitable for cooking (as well as a regular kitchen). Deciduous trees to the South, Evergreens to the North. At least ten acres, hopefully a creek. A well with sweet water. Stone walls. Sod roof, or copper if I can’t get sod. A studio for my crafting (dyeing, spinning, soapmaking, maybe pottery), and a good place for my husband to use for his brewing.

I don’t have a lot of requirements for my dream home, but it has to have a big front porch, I also want a nice backyard filled with hot pink lawn chairs, a fire pit and a flag pole with a pirate flag waving proudly.

I’d like to have room to grow pumpkins and corn too.

the only thing it MUST has is a fireplace so I can cuddle on these cold New England days.

I was considering asking this question myself, actually.

It would be an old house. I can’t stand those year-old suburban houses.
Secret passages – lots of them.
Books everywhere
Good art
A big fireplace
Lots of comfortable chairs and couches
A windowseat
Old trees outside – maple, elm or oak
A studio/workroom/lab
Lots of light and space, but also some small, cozy rooms
At least 2 cats

By the ocean, with one half of the house facing the sea—that way I can walk around naked. That and built in cat ramps, holes, and shelves, so my cats can wander in and out and up and down the entire house. I’d also like enough acreage to have a few farm animals.

@tinyfaery: Have you seen this house that was recently featured on Cute Overload? It’s optimized for cats! :D

That’s what I’m talking about.

O.O I am utterly astounded by the awesomeness of that house.

Retractable roof or huge automated skylight for in-bed stargazing.

I read an article about these somewhere and I believe they’re called Smart Houses or Intelli-houses or something like that but whenever you walk into a room, it senses your presence there. Lights come on, air conditioning or heating activates, or whatever else you’ve preset the room to do when you enter. You can also speak aloud and ask for things to happen when you enter.

As far as other additions to my dream house, here is more of what I’d like:

- an exclusive entertainment room with an overhead projector, complete surround sound system, connections for computer peripherals, and the rest of the works
– 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
– a spacious loft above the living/family room with a spiral stair case for access
– about 2 acres total for the property
– desert landscaping
– a custom built BBQ/Pizza Oven
– a swimming pool with Pebble-Tech coating and a waterfall
– I would have all the showers in the house have traditional wall nozzles as well as overhead ‘rain’ type nozzles also
– a game room with a pool table, dart board, all current game consoles (XBOX 360, PS3, Wii), and other toys I can find to put in there
– 3 car garage

I always wanted a hidden room. One of those, push the right book or turn the sconce type of rooms that nobody would know about unless I showed them.

Through the years it has had different purposes in my mind:
– Meditation room with blue walls and possibly clouds painted on the walls
– A sensory deprivation chamber or sorts with black walls and black furniture
– A fully pimped out room with furry walls and a nice big bed
– A video room with a console that controls all the cameras, home theater, editing equipment, etc…
– Now I am sort of back to the blue meditation room with places to put a book or a drink

Fireside, you are the new aged Elvis.

A better foundation than my current house has. Creak.

oh, then in that case, i definitely want pink toilets, too.

I think you would love Graceland.

i don’t know…graceland is a bit much for me. can’t i be donald trump? or how about bruce wayne?

but i guess it would be kind of cool to have a gate

An Endless Pool / Swim Spa

overlooking the ocean
no neighbors, private access, tree lined
high ceilings
lots of bathrooms and great walk in showers
neverending pool, starting in the house and going outside.
pool house (with cabana boys)
huge bedrooms, huge closets
media room
all on one floor
lots of floor to ceiling windows.
top of the line kitchen with marble accents and lots of wood
a few fireplaces
intercoms
security system
themed rooms
and lastly, a room with a safe for all the money I’d need for it’s up keep.

I’d like to have an outdoor shower where you’d be standing on a small patch of grass. I have yet to figure out the proper drainage system for this, or how to keep the grass cut.