REAL ESTATE TIPS: Ideas of a ‘dream house’ different for everybody
I’ve had multiple people tell me over the years “it must be hard seeing all of these houses! You must want to move all of the time!” The answer to that is “not really” for a multitude of reasons. I see homes that I love but they aren’t in our school district. I like the house but don’t want to spend that much money. It is too far out in the country or not close enough to the school. Or I might find/show a house that I like but it just really isn’t my dream home so it isn’t worth moving. So, what would my dream house look like? You might be surprised. It is a compilation of lots of homes that I have seen/shown over the last 15 years.
Of course, a lot of this is my opinion and my husband’s idea of a dream home would look different than mine. A number of years ago, we considered building. I had this dream plan in mind and he had a plan to, but not my plan. When he emailed me his dream floor plan, it was much bigger than what I had been considering. Here is what my dream home would look like based on hundreds of homes I have seen over the years.
*Around 1,800 square feet. I want it big enough for my family of six and future grandkids and daughters-in-law but not so big that we can’t find each other or it takes hours to clean.
*A big mudroom/laundry room. I want room for a washer and dryer, an organizer shelf where each member of the family can have a laundry basket, lockers for when the kids come home for all of the shoes and coats (both in season and not in season), backpacks and sports bags. We are talking bedroom size here, not closet size. And I want it off of the garage. This will ensure that we can find things when needed and it is a neat way to organize everything. My dream laundry would look exactly like my friend, Virginia’s room.
*A small office. This is only because my husband and I both spend hours working from home. If we didn’t work from home, we would look at a home office space and wonder what to do with it. So, while this might be part of my dream home, others would consider it a waste of space. And I really do mean a small office. Big enough to fit a desk, computer/printer, and two filing cabinets. I want it to be on the main level of the home and have a nice window for natural light (I love sunshine!).
*Master bathroom with shower. I don’t need a big fancy bathtub because I know that I will never use it. I’d rather use the square footage somewhere else.
*Big living room/dining room and kitchen with island or peninsula. But not an open floor plan. I am probably one of the rare people who isn’t 100 percent on board with a fully open concept. There are a few reasons. While the space looks big, if you were to imagine a wall dividing it into three rooms (living room, dining room, and kitchen) you might see that the open concept can make a living room more of an optical illusion. In other words, the actual square footage of the living room space to put couches, a TV, etc, isn’t necessarily as big as it appears. You also lose wall space for things like hutches, pictures, etc. It might not be a big deal but it is something to consider. I prefer wall space and big square footage over open.
*One family room in the basement. The rest open concrete. The second living space for kids or teens is nice. But it would also be nice for a big open space to get some winter energy out. A place for skateboards, ripsticks, 4 square and even trikes would be great from November to March.
*Big concrete patio and screened porch. We use our patio a lot and it keeps gaining furniture. We watch movies, read, eat and hang out in the patio. So for us, it is a must have. The screened porch would allow us to enjoy the outside fresh air when the rain is pouring down.
Why do I share this? I honestly don’t know. I try to answer questions people give me and I do get that question often. Maybe I am even dreaming out loud. Perhaps it is because we are right at the start of building season and I am throwing out some ideas that might be helpful for someone. So many people say building a house is overwhelming, fun but overwhelming. For those of you building or remodeling this spring, here is my advice. Even if you feel overwhelmed, enjoy the process and take pictures of the progress often. It will be fun to look at the completion of the project in years to come. Regardless of your building plans, I hope that you have a blessed week!
Esta Ryder, Realtor
President’s Club
Ryder Realty, LLC
estaryder@gmail.com
330-317-6912
