This is whining, and I know it. Most folks should probably skip it.
Edit: It turned into lots of dreaming, too.
There were many things to dislike about our house in Stone Mountain. I certainly don’t miss the landlord or the fact that it was impossible to enter or leave the house without going up or down stairs. I don’t miss the septic tank problems (and the ensuing backyard marsh), the ants, or the not-up-to-code wiring at all.
I do, however, miss having a separate space for entertaining. I miss that a LOT. It was great for Sam and the kids to have stuff going on in the playroom when I didn’t feel up to being around visitors. We don’t have that here in the apartment, and it’ll be a year or two (probably two at least) before we have that in the Castle.
My ideal house would have great big bedrooms, preferably with bathrooms and sitting areas for everyone. Yep, that’s extravagant. I’m dreaming, okay?
It would have two master suites on the main floor. Both of them would have sybaritic bathrooms with huge garden/jacuzzi tubs. Ooooh, I just had a vision of a roman tub. (sigh) I want a fireplace in my sitting area. And possibly a little wet-bar type area in each master suite—dorm fridge, little microwave, coffee pot, toaster. Yes, sometimes I feel THAT insular.
It would have enough bedrooms for at least two, maybe three guest rooms.
By preference, the bedrooms would be spread around the house to add to the privacy of each one. In fact, the sitting area of each bedroom would be where one enters from the rest of the house, to give the actual bedroom a little more insulation/isolation.
It would have a HUGE kitchen that flowed into a great room big enough for lots of friends and family to sit and talk and enjoy a nice fire (in the big fireplace) and game or watch a movie. I want a good place for a piano and making music in general in that room.
I want deep, comfy furniture that’s soft and supportive, like our current sofa. I want small tables and great lamps in all the right places. I want candle sconces, too, and ceiling fans absolutely everywhere. There will be NO rooms without good overhead and task lighting.
It would have another roomy entertaining space located away from the main living area—possibly with its own entrance. That space would have a half-bath and a kitchenette, and either commercial-grade carpet or hard flooring. I think hard flooring would be best, for dance practice. The walls would be finished with something that just couldn’t be messed up easily—maybe that paint that makes walls into marker boards? The furniture would be flexible and again, difficult to damage. It has to be able to be pushed against the walls or stacked for dance/martial arts practice, and we’d need to have storage for the good exercise mats to make the martial arts practice safe. One wall may need to be mirrored, with a barre.
If I really had my druthers, that entertaining space would be in its own building and arranged so as to have its own drive and parking, so that it could be used for community gatherings and the like. It might have a second floor with bunk beds and a bathroom suitable for such space. In that case, instead of a kitchenette, it would need a real kitchen, something like those found in church fellowship halls.
Anyway, that other entertaining space would be decorated largely by shadowkatt and any other kids living in the house. They’d pick the feel and the colors. It would have a great sound/video system, and a LAN set up just for computer gaming—one completely separate from the main LAN.
The house would have a big library/office—again, possibly with its own entrance. In fact, I think I want a server closet with a, okay, the word is missing—punch-something board? The room has to have room for multiple desks, files, scads and scads and scads of built-in bookshelves, and a library table for spreading out projects and research. It also needs comfy not-desk seats.
All the ceilings would be high enough to feel airy, and there would be lots and lots of light (natural and man-made). The whole place would have lots and lots and lots of big closets and great storage in every way.
We’d have network, phone, and cable TV jacks in every room. Oh, and speakers. Yep, need music everywhere. I want some sort of intercom thing—the three stations we have now are great, but can’t be expanded. That works SO much better than yelling! I want a wireless network, but outfitting all the PCs with wireless network adapters when we’ve already got the regular sort and router and all is rather foolish.
I want a sunroom that’s almost a greenhouse—plants everywhere, flowing water, subtle air circulation that feels like breezes, and catwalks everywhere for the actual cats.
There would be a marvelous studio for pottery and other messy arting. Incredible light there, especially.
We need a good workshop for building projects.
The yard mainly needs to be big enough to insulate us from neighbors. I want fresh flowers all the time, fresh veggies, and fresh herbs. I don’t want to bother with a waste of resources like plain old grass. Since I’m allergic to the outside world, there’s a real disconnect here between my abilities and desires—somebody else would have to actually tend to the gardens, which isn’t fair.
We need outdoor entertaining space, as well—preferably placed so as to flow naturally out of the kitchen/great room. Nice seating, good shade, lighting, a big grill for the sambear, maybe one of those chiminea things for heat on chilly nights.
Hell, while I’m dreaming I want a heated pool and a great big hot tub. I’ve dreamed about hot-tub gaming for years!
I want a big front porch that invites people to sit down and chat or read or just look at the stars. I’d like to live in a place with a lot less light pollution than in the main metro Atlanta areas. I want exuberant flowers trailing out of their baskets to perfume the air.
The yard should be fenced in such a way as to allow a dog to go in and out of the house using a doggie door to do his business.
I want a great playspace in the yard—swings and climbing things and slides, with landing-friendly footing. And a lovely treehouse for the cat-girl.
We’d have enough garage for the family’s vehicles, and a driveway that gave parking space for a reasonable number of visitors.
I want damned good baby gates in the appropriate places—top and bottom of each stairway, etc. Even when we don’t have littluns in our home, I want to encourage those who do have them to come to visit.
There would be true zoned heating and cooling, a whole-house air cleaner, and a humidifier/dehumidifier system.
Come to think of it, I don’t want any carpets. I love hardwood floors and the accent of just the right rug in the right place.
I want colorful walls with beautiful things hanging on them.
I saw blinds that are WITHIN the panes of windows so that you never have to clean them which are incredibly tempting to me. The controls are outside, so you can open/close/raise/lower them.
Things would be set up so that sound doesn’t carry well in the house, to cut down on noise pollution.
We’d have solar and other alternative energy sources set up, with filtered water everywhere. (I am very sensitive to chlorine.) And a rainwater catch system, for use in the gardens when there are outdoor watering bans. Maybe even a generator. Certainly UPSs on the vital things, like servers.
Edit: I want instant REALLY hot water ALL THE TIME that never runs out. Lots and lots. I don’t want to worry about whether anybody needs to take a shower when I start the laundry or the dishwasher. And I want REALLY good water pressure.
If we have more than one floor (and I think that would make the best use of the real estate), we’d have either an elevator or at least a stairchair, so that every floor is accessible to everyone. In fact, the house would need to be wheelchair accessible, period. I want door levers instead of round handles, grip bars and so on in the bathrooms, etc. BEFORE we or anyone else need them.
I like the idea of having a separate apartment—either for retired parents or long-term guests, maybe to be used by friends who need a little help to get on their feet.
Edit: I also want a catbox place on each floor. I want a place that isn’t used for anything else, so the door is never closed or something when a cat needs to get to it. I want a hard floor (linoleum or something similar) and a REALLY good exhaust fan in there, and that it be in a place where no matter how much litter they kick out of the box, we don’t have to walk in it.
I realize that this dream goes well beyond the McMansion stage. It’s a dream, though, okay? And dreaming does feel better than whining.
