If you could build your own home and put any invention or convenience in it that you wanted, what would you choose?

I feel that modern architecture has been really overlooking both the dumb waiter and the laundry chute. I’m sure they fell out of common use because they were unsafe for curious children, but with proper safety measures they could be an essential part of any home!

@Val123
Also, have you considered a central vacuum?

A hidden ironing board like my grandma used to have. The ones that fold up into the wall.

Also, I sooo want a house that has ramps and tunnels and holes for the cats to roam the house and have great vertical space. Something like this.

Solar Power and off the grid

TV in the floor in front of the toilet

TV on the ceiling over my bed

All rooms and the house sound proof

A room that you cant tell exists, but it is there

an army of those little vacuum robots

absolutely everything would be computer and voice controlled, everything (tv, tables, cupboards, wardrobes, beds) would be hidden behind a wall and slide out on command and there would be automated cleaning robots.

@ragingloli

I found this video the other day while wandering the web. It seems relevant to your interests.

Nothing fancy, I would just like a washer and dryer. I hate the laundromat!

@Foolaholic
well i don’t like the male voice

sound proof bedrooms
a gym with a personal trainer
an indoor swimming pool and jacuzi
garbage disposal

@Val123 Actually, there are “self-cleaning” kitchens…And, there are “self-cleaning” homes. I’d want one if I could afford it. Really it’s all about “dust-free” materials and having sweep-in vacuum shoots placed strategically in every room, hall & entrance of a home.

i forgot that i also want my own fusion reactor

@Foolaholic My dad’s wife had that. I thought it was pretty cool! Yes, I’d like that too, for my carpeted areas. But for bare floors even a central vac is more trouble than a simple trap door.

@tinyfaery O O O! I LOVE your imagination! That is SO cool! (And I’m in the process of creating a hidden ironing board….as soon as I can get my husband around to finishing that little alcove we wound up with during the most recent spate of remodeling, that has no other purpose!)

@ChazMaz (You lika TV??) Rooms that you don’t know exist: I’ve always had a dream of having a family room with one wall being nothing but a huge book case, and by paint and placing and lighting you don’t even notice that you can actually go around the bookcase to get to a bedroom behind it! When I was a kid we lived in a house in Florida that had exactly that feature and when I realized you could go behind the bookcase to get to my folk’s room, well, that was just the coolest beans I ever smelled!

@raginglili—you can barrow my fusion reactor, K?

In every bedroom I would have a little door thing you pull open to drop your laundry & it would all go downstairs to the laundry room.

Yes! AND I’d put my close closets in the bathroom.

@seventeen123 Those are called clothes shoots. Most homes built in the 60’s have them near me…Mine is the only one without :( We plan to put in an upstairs W/D sometime in the future so that we can do the laundry where most of the laundry is created.

@seventeen123 That reminds me…..when I was growing up we had just such a clothes drop in the upstairs bathroom, where our bedrooms were. Mom would yell at us to clean our rooms, and we’d simply pick everything up, toys, books, everything, and drop it down the clothes shoot, and lo! They would all reappear in out room in the next few days, clothes cleaned and put away, and toys and books put neatly away! (As an adult, thinking back, MY response would have been to shoot the kids!!! Ach!)

@SpatzieLover Amen to that! Like I said, we tend to wash our clothes, take them to our room, but when it’s time to change we go to our rooms, haul the clothes we want to the bath room, take our shower, and then we throw the dirty clothes in the clothes hamper IN the bathroom…at which point we take them IN to the laundry room, then IN to our bedroom , then IN to the bathroom…so why not just have our clothes closets IN the bathroom?! And have the washer and dryer in their own little niche IN the bathroom!

I would install a ledge under all the bottom kitchen cabinets so that I could reach the top kitchen cabinets better.

I hate being short.

Basically, I want a gymnasium complete with a foam block pit and climbing grips all over the walls and ceiling.

I want a waterless shower- the kind that cleans me with light. now where did I put that 2.5 million

Oh yeah… I want a sunken room that I can put that thick foam stuff they put in the floor of some gyms. Then I want to pad the walls and put a clear non-glass door with some little holes in it that I can shut with a number lock on it, but that opens automatically when the fire alarm goes off. Then I want to be able to make it into a play room where nobody can get hurt. Go ahead, fall down. You’ll bounce back up.

@avvooooooo I’ve always wanted a library ladder installed in my kitchen for the “short” thing, too. It would be so much easier to keep the kitchen clean and organized!

http://www.fluther.com/disc/52779/if-you-could-build-your-own-home-with-anything-you-want/

I’d have a game room with table tennis, billiards, air hockey, foosball, darts, etc.. and a theater room with an 80” screen, theater seats, the whole nine yards!

Also, a bar… most likely near or in the game room.

Oh, and a spa room for the wifey.

I would love to have a laundry shoot, so no need to drag all the dirty clothes downstairs every time. And maybe also have a rooftop glass enclosed (it’s very cold here) sunroom and pool to relax in the afternoon.

In the old “Webster” tv show, they had a staircase that was hidden behind a grandfather clock in the living room and opened up in the kid’s room (also behind a grandfather clock, I think). I’ve always wanted to have a secret staircase and secret rooms in my home. Think of all the crazy things you can do in a hidden room, and in worst case scenarios, hide from intruders (which happened in one episode of “Webster,” unless I just imagined it).

And of course, every guy wants a theater room with huge screen, great sound and comfy chairs.

@erichw1504 Oh yes! I’d have a games room with an antique, leather pockets billiard table in it, with a bar, adjacent to the pool outside.
@cinddmel A sun room FULL of plants, a place to hid out in the jungle and read.
@drdoombot Secret doors are always cool!
Why is that kind of stuff…giant tvs and stuff…so important to guys?????

I have lots of dreams in this regard.
But the thing I really want is an old fashioned wood stove. Heck it can even be new-fashioned. lol. Not too creative is it?

@RedPowerLady My husband & I want one in our basement, and even began looking at a few. They create such toasty-ness!

@RedPowerLady and @SpatzieLover You will LOVE it! I wish we had one. It’ll heat your house like nobody’s business!

Since I have 5 cats, a fully automated litter pan would be great. All I should have to do is buy the litter for it. It should do everything from scooping to disposing.

@erichw1504 Five cats?? Are you insane?? Can’t you train them to go outside? I have two cats and don’t have to mess with a litter box… Did you see @tinyfaery idear?! :)

I agree they are so cozy. They create warmth. And you can cook on them like make tortillas or heat tea. So wonderful. One of these days when I own a home (that’ll be a bit off) I plan on getting one.

@Val123 My husband grew up in a home with one, and my uncle has always had on in his home. We do LOVE them, just not in our house yet.

I thought of another “wish” item after seeing @erichw1504, a floor mop sink We’d put in our utility/half bathroom, for our cats to use, for us to wash the dogs in and as a utility sink.

i wish i knew how to post a link but about a year ago i asked “what would your dream home have in it?” or something like that. you might find more answers in that thread.

Two ideas that I’ve always had:
1) Under-house garage (only works on some landscapes)
2) Built in christmas lights (discreetly of course)

@J0E Oh! That reminds me. I’d like to have a hidden closet in the living room, accessible by a sliding panel, that, when you open it, you can slide out an already decorated Christmas tree! Then just slide it back in when you’re done!

I have 5 cats too.

I have always wanted a main floor laundry room, mudrooms at both doors for boots and coats and a real oldtime solarium/conservatory so i could grow amazing plants, and sit there on wintry days.

@faye Me too! We’ll get there!

A library, complete with library ladder and hidden door behind a bookcase. A big, two part room for an arts and crafts studio/woodworking shop (to keep the sawdust away from the freshly painted stuff) with plenty of lighting, table/counter space, storage and a utility sink. A dedicated office space. A private place to nap outdoors. Bedroom level laundry room, with two washers and dryers along with another utility sink. An elevator for later on, when my husband and I are likely to need one. A large walk-in shower (no ledge to step over, and no curtains to fuss with) with multiple body sprays.

Honestly, right now I’d settle for a second bathroom. :/

@augustlan YES!! A library!! With a hidden room behind one of the shelves!

Probably already said, and a great question, a geothermal system.