If you were building a new home, what would be your must haves?

[tcufrog]

Also, what would you do if you were injured or became disabled and could no longer get up the stairs?

When our older son was a baby, I sprained my ankle. I was a SAHM and all of the bedrooms were upstairs. Taking care of our baby during the day while my DH was at work was a nightmare until my ankle healed.

 

[prairie_girl]

When our older son was a baby, I sprained my ankle. I was a SAHM and all of the bedrooms were upstairs. Taking care of our baby during the day while my DH was at work was a nightmare until my ankle healed.

A few years ago, my husband became an amputee and wheelchair user. We ended up moving because we had no bedrooms on the main floor and we had to convert our dining space to his temporary bedroom. We’re in an accessible apartment which is perfectly fine, but if we ever moved to a house, first floor living would be an absolute must..even if we didn’t ‘need’ it.

 

[Caseheidi]

I have a cousin who not only had outlets put under their eves for Christmas lights, they also put them on a time system that she can control from her garage. I really want that.

I would also add a pantry, and make it large. I also want the shelves in my lower cupboards (and full size ones) that pull out. And double ovens would be wonderful.

We had friends build a house last year, and their walk in closet was huge. They told me that they were going to use part of it as her sewing room, so I mentioned to make sure it had outlets. He was sure it would since they were told they would have them every 6 feet. He decided to call and check, only to find out that they did not put them in closets, so he had them add it. I would recommend that you have them in all your large closets. Especially if you have any charging appliances like vacuum's.

I agree with making sure your home is accessible (ADA). My Mom lived with us for a few years, and really needed to use a walker. It didn't work in our home, and so she had to use the hallway walls for balance. Make sure your halls and doorways are wide enough, and maybe even hardwood/tile floors.

 

[Timandalicia]

Things I appreciate about my house:

outlets everywhere! - There is one in a hallway that I didn't understand when I moved here, but then realized I can plug the vacuum in there and reach every main room.

Things I would correct if I ever built my own:

separate AC zones for each floor! - Right now we have to freeze the main floor to make the upstairs comfortable for sleeping.

main floor storage!!!!

a screened back porch.

We are building too. If you are someone who uses a rechargeable swiffer or similar, you might want to put an outlet in your closet or wherever you keep it.

 

[pwdebbie]

Just seeing the discussion about electric v gas. Has anyone mentioned solar power? Someone told me the other day that since adding solar panels to their roof, they actually get paid by the power company each month as what they generate from the panels is more than they need so the excess "flows" back to the power company. (I don't understand this and I'm explaining this as was explained to me.) When Extreme Makeover: Home Edition did a house near me, a large solar panel was installed in their yard. An option if you don't want it on the roof.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Just seeing the discussion about electric v gas. Has anyone mentioned solar power? Someone told me the other day that since adding solar panels to their roof, they actually get paid by the power company each month as what they generate from the panels is more than they need so the excess "flows" back to the power company. (I don't understand this and I'm explaining this as was explained to me.) When Extreme Makeover: Home Edition did a house near me, a large solar panel was installed in their yard. An option if you don't want it on the roof.

That's a good point! I wonder if that's one of their builder's options?

 

[Vatrahaki75]

Two master bathrooms. Nothing fancy. I just need to get away from my husband of 20+ years when he downloads.

 

[_19disnA]

Make sure to do your research on any solar power system you are considering. Some power companies do not let you feed power back into their system and many who do only give you a fraction of the credit they charge you for an equivalent amount of power. No matter where you live, the sun only shines for 1/2 of the day and any of the supposed savings have to be factored into that. Running off of batteries the rest of the time or on rainy/cloudy days can drive the price up significantly. May make sense in some parts of the country, but for many other areas you will at best break even on what you spend. If new construction, better windows and/or increased insulation will probably provide a more immediate return.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Although separate from the age stuff I mentioned, I have learned there are things I cannnot live without - simple things, but still...when these didn't work in my townhome, my misery was high!

1. A working dishwasher - the bigger and better cleaning the better.
2. A working washer and dryer - same
3. A bath/shower with HOT water and STRONG water pressure. Some of the new bathroom installs somehow get you cold trickling water. This matters to my quality of life so much that when I gut my bathroom (which has the best of both), I will not replace the fixtures on my bath...
4. An actual pantry - it doesn't have to be huge, but it does have to exist (some homes are getting rid of this for more cabinets - don't! I changed a closet for one b/c my townhome didn't have one)
5. Full house HVAC (if I'm in Florida, that AC needs to work everywhere)
6. Really good windows and doors where you don't hear neighbors outside and you don't feel heat entering the house and where you have a level of safety from them.

I know - simple things - but needed things.

 

[Stratman50th]

We purchased a piece of land in a 55+ community in Florida and we are heading down next week to do our design meeting to pick out all the stuff for the house. We have the ability to move walls, do stretches to the entire house, basically, anything we want. (Wel, my wallet may disagree with that last statement

this is our 1st time building and hopefully our last time moving so I want to get it right.

is there anything that your home doesn’t have that you wish it did or something that it has that you are so happy it does?

any advise is welcomed but looking for inexpensive add ons that would be difficult or expensive to add later. Thanks!

list so far.
Cabinets all the way around the island. (No pantry in our floor plan)
Gas line Spicket (probably not the right word) in back for the grill
1 outlet plug on each exterior wall
An outlet plug on the center of the living room wall for the tv
Garbage can holder in kitchen cabinets
Long thin window at the top of the master shower for light
Windows in garage door

So we did this 5 years ago. Got a lot right, but since it was our first time, missed some things. Mostly small stuff but irritating.
Having both of my parents in home hospice as well as my mother in law having the house completely handicap accessible was a priority. 36" doors. Ground level access. Roll in roll out showers with no doors. The island in the kitchen has enough room all the way around for a wheelchair. Grab rails already installed in the showers and next to the toilets. Large seats in the showers.
Lots of can lights in the ceiling to cover the entire house. Surround sound wiring done ahead of time as well as Internet cabling. Chase through the wall so electric, HDMI and cable can be hidden without exposed wiring. Electric in the floor for powered theatre chairs. 10' ceilings are a nice visual touch, but keep the rooms cool in the Florida summer.
What I did wrong or didn't think of. I would have made the car garage 5' deeper and 6' wider. The RV garage is 75' deep, but only 18' wide. I should have bumped that to 20'.
Inside. We have a long, open concept house that starts at the kitchen and runs all the way to the patio. Should have put light switches that work the same lights on both sides of the house. The master bath Las an L shaped counter with two sinks. Light switches are just inside the door, but there should be another set next to the second sink. I should have put a second exhaust fan in the shower to pull out the humidity. Mold is a constant issue in Florida. Because of the position of the windows and doors in the master bedroom the TV, and bed can really go only in one place. Should have put in some can lights at the head of the bed along with their corresponding switches within reach.
Oh yeah. Our hard surface driveway, walkways, etc are pavers. We went around the entire house. The house is stucco. The walkway keeps the landscaping string tmmers from tearing up the walls.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Although separate from the age stuff I mentioned, I have learned there are things I cannnot live without - simple things, but still...when these didn't work in my townhome, my misery was high!


3. A bath/shower with HOT water and STRONG water pressure. Some of the new bathroom installs somehow get you cold trickling water. This matters to my quality of life so much that when I gut my bathroom (which has the best of both), I will not replace the fixtures on my bath...

On this item--we redid our master bath on short notice, due to a leak. We had recently finished re-doing the kitchen, which I made 90% of the decisions on. Plus, I don't really care about bathrooms, so long as they have the basic functions, so I let DH have at it. The contractor talked him into one of those nice "rain shower" shower heads--to be fair, DH loves it. The problem is, it doesn't have the pressure to fully rinse my short but extremely thick hair. I solve this by using the (stationary) hand-held shower head, which you can take down, but resides in the position of a regular shower head. That has the pressure I need. OTOH, the rain shower one has LEDs that glow different colors based on the water temperature, which is a fun feature. I let the shower warm up while I brush my teeth--it turns green, time to rinse and spit!

 

[Tess]

Gutter guards (if you have gutters on the house)
Walk in shower with bench seat
Outdoor outlets and water spigots on all four sides of the house
Huge pantry
Spice rack pull out cabinet
Pull out drawers in all cabinets.
USB outlets for laptops and/or computer in various locations throughout with centralized modem and router so WIFI works throughout
A pool with bird cage and lanai (that would be a must for us)
WHOLE HOUSE GENERATOR!

 

[NAB]

in the kitchen I wish I had more pot drawers? Those deep drawers that pull all the way out. Have 2 when redid our kitchen , want 2 more instead of bottom cabinets. So I don’t have to take stuff out of cabinet to get to the back stuff.

 

[Stratman50th]

in the kitchen I wish I had more pot drawers? Those deep drawers that pull all the way out. Have 2 when redid our kitchen , want 2 more instead of bottom cabinets. So I don’t have to take stuff out of cabinet to get to the back stuff.

Most cabinets have slides available that are attached inside the cabinet. Not a drawer as they are behind the cabinet door. That's what we ended up doing. Might be a cost effective retrofit for you.
EDIT:
Sorry the angle isn't great but that's a big Kitchen Aid mixer on the slide.

 

[Alicefan]

We have a rather large home, 2800 sq, spread out over 3 floors. We have a grand total of 2 closets not located in bedrooms. That's it for storage space in this house. It continues to baffle me how the house is so big but has so little storage. We do not currently have a garage but are planning to add one at some point. I told DH when we build the garage I want to make it 2 stories and just have unfinished storage space on the second floor to get all that crap out of the house. He is unconvinced it is necessary. I bet he changes his tune when I threaten to start throwing out the boxes for his die cast NASCAR car collection because I have no where to put them and I'm sick of tripping over them.

I have a very small 3rd bedroom that I turned into a walk in closet. My dad did the same in his house, only his 3rd bedroom is huge! His house is pretty big as well, but only standard size closets in every room.

 

[Alicefan]

One more major thing for me. I wouldn't have a single tree anywhere remotely close to my house. I'm surrounded by trees right now, and my house stays filthy, my yard is back breaking work so there's an extra expense to hire someone to keep the leaves and pine needles in control, and I had a squirrel chew $6,500 worth of wires on a car that had 21 miles on it. NEVER AGAIN!

 

[TwoMisfits]

One more major thing for me. I wouldn't have a single tree anywhere remotely close to my house. I'm surrounded by trees right now, and my house stays filthy, my yard is back breaking work so there's an extra expense to hire someone to keep the leaves and pine needles in control, and I had a squirrel chew $6,500 worth of wires on a car that had 21 miles on it. NEVER AGAIN!

Amen...I'd actually go further and say my entire exterior of the home would be designed for durability and no maintenance. That's part of getting the "structure" right...

 

[NAB]

Amen...I'd actually go further and say my entire exterior of the home would be designed for durability and no maintenance. That's part of getting the "structure" right...

So agree no wood that will need painting.

 

[piglet1979]

My must haves might be a bit simple. We have a small old house. But maybe they will be helpful

1. A 2+ car garage. I am done parking outside in the winter
2. A pantry and more cabinets/counter space in kitchen
3. a second bathroom. We only have one right now with 2 teenagers
4. just generally a bigger house so we can have room for guests.
5. updated electrical. We blow fuses all summer
6. central air. Right now we use window air conditioners.

 

[piccolopat]

All electric is a personal choice. One I wouldn't make. During Hurricane Florence, we were out of power for 4 days, but we had hot water from our natural gas-powered hot water heater. If I'd had a gas stove, I could have cooked, too.

Now we have a whole-house generator--I think DH felt guilty because he was locked in at work while I held down the fort for 5 days (without power for the first four). It's powered by natural gas.

Some people live where this is less of an issue--I mentioned up-thread that some nearby neighborhoods have underground power lines. So, if the OP has that, he can go with whatever type of heating or cooling he likes. But, I would also consider the entire state of Florida to be a hurricane zone, so he needs to consider that he'll get hit, sooner or later.

Our home is all electric (which we actually like) and we added a propane freestanding fireplace just so we have heat during winter outages, use our BBQ for cooking and just bought a small inverter gas generator for powering electronics, a tea/coffee maker and small microwave. I don't know what some politicians are thinking when they continue to advocate for eliminating all fossil fuels to go with all "green" electricity. Some areas of the country (think norther California) don't generate enough power now and have rolling brown and black outs at times. Most existing homes would need substantial electricity upgrades to power new EVs and accommodate solar storage battery systems (if they have the room for one). Don't get me started on the outdated and archaic system of stringing wires on poles.

Plan for the future. That includes the possibility of reduced mobility and increased demand for electricity to power EVs and all electric appliances. For convenience, plan for adequate storage for everything you need to store - coats, holiday decor, luggage, etc. I would love a large walk in pantry, a butler's pantry that included a coffee station to keep DH's stuff off the kitchen counters, large laundry room that includes storage for all cleaning products, vacuums, etc. We absolutely must have a ceiling fan in almost every room. An oversized garage is also a must to accommodate today's bigger vehicles and still have room for a workshop. Think through each room so you know where you will need outlets. Heated tile floor in the bathroom. There are so many more important decisions to be made than the color of your walls. Good luck!