View Full Version : The next house list - what's important?
We have been in our current house for twelve years. We didn't buy it because we liked it but because it was during a housing boom at the time and we had to settle for what we could find in our desired location. Over the years, I have been compiling a list in my head of the things that work and the things that don't. I am not talking about the kind of kitchen counter or how many bathrooms but more basic features, ie bones. So for the next house wherever it ends up being, if at all possible, these things are on my list:
East west site - morning light in kitchen, eating area
Bedrooms at the back of the house
Cross ventilation
Screened in porch
Dark at night - no street lights in our front yard
Low traffic noise
Low maintenance building materials - stone, brick vs siding
Low maintenance, landscaping using permaculture methods
No wooden privacy fence
What would be on your list of house "bones"?
iris lily
8-21-12, 10:38am
I don't really have a practical idea of another house, but I do like Eastern exposure for everything with the back of the house (no living area, no patio, no garden) at the west. That's not practical to have EVERYTHING on the east, but I can dream, can't I? Missouri summers and Western exposure can be brutal.
I really do not want a screened in porch, on purpose. They get so dirty. I just don't want more crap to clean. My rule is this: if it is within the walls of my house, I am responsible for cleaning it. If it is on the (unscreened) porches or patio, Mother Nature is responsible for cleaning. DH or I may hose off something once in a while on patio, but not often.
What do you have against a wood fence? I like the privacy it provides. When we had a wire fence next to our neighbors who also had a wire fence, looking through to the street, I was exposed although didn't realize it until two wooden fences went up. I immediately felt safer. But we live in a high crime area, so perhaps it is different for me.
try2bfrugal
8-21-12, 10:39am
That is an interesting list. We have been looking to downsize and have thought of some things on your list but have been sticking to more macro items - like school districts, commute times, expected appreciation rates, etc. We live in California where housing is really expensive. I think finding an affordable house in a nice neighborhood will be 90% of the decision. We won't be able to be too choosy on items like ventilation or morning sun. We would look for a good price and then add in windows, skylights or permaculture as needed. We have been looking for low traffic streets. Bedrooms in back and no streetlights are good points because we couldn't easily change those. I will have to give specifics like that more thought.
Two windows in each room except the bathroom and maybe the kitchen but the kitchen would have to be open to other light sources. Front porch and a deck or two decks on opposite sides of house.I like to be able to find shade when I want it.
Small yard. The sunny yard with roses and a few veggies;no grass; the shady side will have a shade garden of hostas and ferns and no grass.
One level
Galley kitchen
Prefer no hallways or very small ones.
Must have trees in yard.
LIke large eves (1950's houses have them) that keep the house shaded and cool.
I never thought about the cleaning aspect of a screened in porch - just a wish for a place where we could sit outside on summer nights without being attacked by mosquitos. And a place where the cats and their litter box could hang out. My objection to wooden fences is that they block breezes and insulate us from our neighbors (which is sometimes a good thing). They can also look pretty shabby as they get older. That being said, we installed a horizontal wooden fence (with 1" gaps between the boards on the bedroom side of the house to block the view of our neighbors cars. Two more things for the list:
Proximity to park or walking trails
Proximity to grocery
No bedrooms next to neighbor's driveway
High ceilings, natural light, great mountain views.....I could live in a 500 square foot place as long as I had these three items on my list!
ToomuchStuff
8-21-12, 1:00pm
I've said it before, but my dream home is a monolithic dome. If I moved or built, that would be what I would be looking at. More energy efficient, less maintenance (no roof to replace, painting, etc), one level or if want a second level, use a ramp inside it (more handicapped accessible) etc. Traditional homes with large eves and such are good, but require more maintenance.
great mountain views
That is on my list too. More than anything else...
Minz, you must have views where you live now.
The things I don't like about our house are inconveniences that we've been able to work around. Minimal storage space has made me very creative at organizing and making space. The many west-facing windows are fabulous in winter and a big drawback in summer - we have insulating blinds and drapes and now our house stays very cool in summer.
My biggest requirement for every house I've owned, and every place I will live in future remains:
QUIET.
Home needs to be a refuge and it can't be one for me if there is a huge barking dog next door, constant road or highway noise, or too many houses too close together. When we looked at houses, the first thing I did with each was to go in to the back yard and listen. If it failed the noise test, we didn't look inside.
We're in the process of turning a little house we bought into our own place so have been giving this a lot of thought. Here are some things we decided we are going to do...
Small enough to easily clean, heat, cool, etc. The house is 874 sq.ft. plus a full, walkout basement.
Master bedroom with east windows and door to outside.
Kitchen with east windows and it has to be a "gourmet" kitchen, mostly restaurant style stove, pantry, storage. Also stove on island so cook can talk to guests.
Open floor plan with most of the space being kitchen. We entertain a lot and everyone is going there anyway...
Multi-zoned outdoor space. Deck, patio, covered, uncovered, water, fire, grill, garden, private, open, etc. for all our moods and all Mother Nature's as well.
Storage shed in garden with greenhouse windows & planting bench on the south side.
Vegetable garden integrated into permaculture style landscaping, no lawn, with deciduous trees for summer shade/winter sun and evergreens for privacy and habitat.
Fireplace in the living room.
Built in speakers everywhere (inside & out) to listen to music & soundproof garage to play music.
Attached 2 car garage with plenty of room for bikes, golf clubs, tools, etc.
Plenty of book shelves.
Whole house fan, natural ventilation, ceiling fans.
Steam shower in master and hot tub outside.
Grey water system.
Super insulated, very efficient windows, appliances, lighting, etc.
Home office with windows on two sides.
Clever storage options throughout the hosue (drawers in stair risers, things like that).
Relatively large utility room with laundry, storage, freezer, wine fridge.
Small family room for DD to hang with her friends, some privacy is essential for teens.
Curb appeal, we just want it to look nice.
That is on my list too. More than anything else...
Minz, you must have views where you live now.
I do have great views...it's a must for me. :) I feel blessed everyday when I look out and see those beautiful mountains.
These are things my current house has that I specifically wanted:
Backyard faces north (cooler and shade to sit outside)
All on one floor-including laundry
No carpeting
At least one walk in shower. Second bath has just shower and it is walk in.
I wanted a larger living area than my previous house. This one has a dining area/living area. It works well when I have larger groups over.
Other things I like: it is a quiet neighborhood, the living room faces to the rear of house-nice view of backyard. Covered deck in the back-no wet seats after it rains.
This house has a 3rd bedroom, bath and family room from what was once a garage. It has been nice for privacy when I have had guests for an extended time-Ithink that is a good thing, altho maybe it is too comfortable. hah
I wish the windows were better. I would like to have an attached garage,the one I have is a ways from the house and takes a lot of shoveling when we have a lot of snow. WishI had the whole house fan I had in a previous house. Too much lawn for me to really keep up.
I think I want to be down the street from Gregg, and become his new friend...
My current home was purchased only based on what we could afford... we had a price point, and new we wanted to be homeowners. Well, we are still there 27 years later, so it must be ok.
Things we love:
On a cul-de-sac, so no dangerous speeding cars - kids can play in the street
Our lot backs up to an industrial area, so no direct back to back neighbor. There is never work noise at night or weekends, can be troublesome if you're home sick, though.
Again, on the curve of the cul-de-sac, so also not directly looking into another house across the street
Changes through the years, must have next home:
No carpet
Screened porches front and back with hot tub in back porch
Privacy fence - or landscaping to provide the same feel - we have small dogs, so a fence is better at containing the critters, but I think our vacation home will receive some junipers between us and the neighbors next spring.
Good windows that open to allow ventilation - to include the front door and back sliders. Our whole home opens with screen to keep out the bugs.
Don't have, and have informed dh that it would be a deal breaker on the next home without:
Need at least two bathrooms. Currently both our full time home and the vacation home have only one. (How did that happen?)
At least three bedrooms
A garage or carport FOR THE CAR - both homes have garages, but they are not used for the car. Current home uses it for a family room, pantry, laundry, storage - if we move, it's a garage to the next users, with shelving. Vacation home is full with spare car and motorcycles kept on property, no room for another vehicle.
I think I want to be down the street from Gregg, and become his new friend...
Come on over! It sounds like a lot, but I've been planning it for a long time and the budget is actually very modest. A few big splurges on things that are important to us (stove, hot tub, landscaping), but other than that its really just a matter of taking the time to really think through the plan. That, and we've redone a LOT of different houses over the years so a good portion of our trial and error is behind us. I hope.
PRIVACY!!!!
Quiet, peaceful, pretty, convenient, crime-free neighborhood
Views
Some architectural character—contemporary, MCM, or cottage preferred
Soundproof windows
Electric heat
At least two bedrooms (prefer master upstairs)
Studio space
storage
A medium-large kitchen that doesn’t open to the living room. IOW—no “great room” A pantry would be nice
At least a bath and a half, one with large walk-in shower
No wall-to-wall carpeting
Walk-in closet(s) and/or dressing room
Double garage
Completely fenced (or fenceable) yard
fireplace
Interestingly--but probably not surprisingly--Chez Albatross has a lot of what I want. It sits in its own little forest with a view of a lake (and at least one mountain, if you look hard enough), and aside from adequate closet space, an acceptable kitchen, and a manageable lot, it covers the bases. If I had a lot of spare money lying around, I'd build an addition onto the back to expand the kitchen, slap a view deck on top of it, do lots of repairs and updates and call it good. I'd be surprised if I could find as much of what I'm looking for elsewhere.
Tiny, Tiny, Tiny!!! Small house (600 - 800 sf) - but really I would be OK with much smaller around 500 sf - on a very small lot in a small to mid-sized city that is surrounded by large areas of open space (forests, mountains, farmlands, rivers, lakes, and ocean nearby). Where I can walk or bike everywhere, and use public transit to get further away. I don't care so much about the innards of the house but, because whatever I buy next to be my last place, I'd take into considerations the things I'd want when I was older - like no stairs, low maintenance, etc... Will probably end up getting a single story condo rather then a house anyways.
Low maintance, lots of natural light and windows, archetectural character, a decent kitchen and hardwood floors. We are hoping to someday sell our house and move back to the city into a condo in one of the old milll buildings. that said, I would also want a corner unit and to be at least on the 3rd floor to reduce street noise.
Single level/no stairs. Especially if you might have any intention of staying there into old age. At the very least, laundry on the main level.
Open floor plan.
Energy efficient or can be retrofitted as so, including high efficiency windows, insulation, and potential for solar cells.
Trees. I happen to like trees, but they can add to yard maintenance.
Directional orientation. At least in my area I would not want the main entrance and house front on the cold north side.
Garage. Ample storage in garage, shed or otherwise.
Proximity to shopping, public transportation, cultural areas, parks, bike trails, open spaces/natural areas.
Privacy.
Sometimes I think that if I had storage space for some of my recreational toys I would go really small. Less than 1000 sq ft.
Low maintance, lots of natural light and windows, archetectural character, a decent kitchen and hardwood floors. We are hoping to someday sell our house and move back to the city into a condo in one of the old milll buildings. that said, I would also want a corner unit and to be at least on the 3rd floor to reduce street noise.
Oh I LOVE those old mill condos they have in New England. While it's a sad reminder of Americas vanished industrial and manufacturing heyday, they are soooo cool to live in. A nice open brick loft condo in Portsmouth, NH or such a place - my dream!! Of course I couldn't afford it but I can dream! My other dream would be a tiny old cape in New England. Strawberry Banke, NH? Yeah, i could do that :-)!
This is a fun thread.
walk-in pantry (top of my list)
proper storage room in the basement (a large one)
larger windows
a home set above/overlooking a ravine
full-sized attic so I can have a quite/sitting/sewing room
a garage (two-car)
A formal outdoor patio
Hardwood throughout
Wildflower
9-2-12, 11:19pm
My idea of a perfect retirement home - a little cottage on the lake, with a small fenced area for our little dogs, and another small area for a veggie garden and clothesline. Two bedrooms, one bathroom would be fine for just me and DH. Would use 2nd bedroom for office/library/guest room. I would want everything on the same level including the laundry area. And a screened in porch to sit and enjoy the scenery without the mosquitos biting would be wonderful...
I am in escrow now for the "next house" - current home 864 SF cottage right in the middle of town, green built, own fenced yard for the dogs, 5 minutes from work. So why am I moving? Turns out that I am more noise sensitive than I thought and hearing the sirens around the place reminds me much too much of work (I work at the local hospital)! So even though this house is paid off, I am going 10 minutes out of town for a water view and the quiet. Back yard deck looks over the water and I can see the mountains depending on cloud cover. What I had to give up to get this - a newer home. I'll be remodeling in the future, as the kitchen does not make me happy (tho' it is entirely functional), the water heater is between the kitchen and living room (when current owner added on garage he didn't move the water heater), and other stuff like that. I had to really decide about what was most important to me and what I was willing to pay for it. My 3 biggest factors were the size of the home (larger than current), a water view, and a garage (and price, of course). Once I get moved in and settled, I'll see how the expenses run. This house will be rented out to a friend at a good price for her, so I won't be making profit on it, just break even. In a couple of years when the housing market here recovers a bit more, I'll sell this one and pay down the other (and no, I don't want to be a real estate manager). I will also be slowly paying down the mortgage while also trying to save to remodel - I refuse to head into retirement with a mortgage over my head!
I've having one of my regular HGTV marathons because my friend is out of town and I watched her dogs and her tv. Well, if I don't have granite countertops in my next house I guess I will just die.
The one thing I insist on having in any future house where I have pets is NO FREAKIN' carpet. The rest of it, I don't care.
a garage
We only have a carport (50s ranch) and it has been a blessing because one can't just stuff things in there like a garage. Just a car. Most of our neighbors with garages don't use them for cars. They are just crammed with stuff. That always amazes me.
Another 100 plus degree day here today and I am reminded that climate is probably #1 on our next house list. I tried to do some gardening (my favorite thing) this morning but was miserable by 10:30a and had to come inside.
Adding, I can't believe I forgot to mention it, but, a laundry chute!
Then again, if it were a Ranch-styled home, then I could forget about all the up/down travel.
My house is a typical "Brady Bunch" 70s split colonial. I've lived here for 27 years, so I'm a bit attached to it, warts and all. I've certainly thought about how I'd make it "perfect." Some ideas:
Bump out the small kitchen and make a conservatory/eating area, with full view of the lovely view of the morning sun rising over the trees in the park.
Eliminate the wall between the kitchen and family room
Replace the windows to be high efficiency
Increase the efficiency of the kitchen (right now it's a mishmash of furniture)
Repave the front driveway and walkways to be pavers and flagstone rather than concrete and tarmac
Add a small greenhouse / Add an arbor over the patio
Finally, do something about a layout mistake we made years ago... We had two needs--First, fix the choppiness of our family room by removing one of the doors, which led into DH's home office; and second, create a separate entrance for the home office so that clients could go directly into the office without having to go through the house.
So, we sealed off the door in the family room and created an entrance door off the front porch. Perfect! But then, we thought it would be a great idea to create a dual entrance to the powder room, so that we could access it from the front hall, and a client/DH could access it from the office. The unintended consequence of that decision is that now we use the powder room as a "hallway" to get to the office! It's got to be the worse feng shui transgression ever!! Somehow I thought we'd go outside and then inside if I we wanted to get to the home office, but we take that very strange shortcut through the bathroom. Oh well. Live and learn.
ETA: Wish I could do something to get rid of the "split" part of the house--it really dates the house, but there's nothing I can do about it.
Most of the things I'd have on my list don't really exist here, or are extremely uncommon and expensive! For example, a porch, an open-plan kitchen/living room space or built-in closets in bedrooms.
At the moment, we live in a 100-year old apartment that is in serious need of renovation. My practical wish-list for our next home (hopefully a real house!) would be:
- a garden that's large enough to sit out in and plant things in, but small enough to be low maintenance
- east-west exposure (right now we have south-north and it's always freezing in the north-facing rooms)
- a stand-alone shower
- double-glazing/modern windows (ours are just wood-framed with no draught protection. They're crap.)
- walls, floors and ceilings which are LEVEL
- hardwood and tiled flooring, with carpet remnants as rugs in the living room so it's cozy
Basically, this is a wish-list based on what I dislike about our current apartment.
Tiny, Tiny, Tiny!!! Small house (600 - 800 sf) - but really I would be OK with much smaller around 500 sf - on a very small lot in a small to mid-sized city that is surrounded by large areas of open space (forests, mountains, farmlands, rivers, lakes, and ocean nearby). Where I can walk or bike everywhere, and use public transit to get further away. I don't care so much about the innards of the house but, because whatever I buy next to be my last place, I'd take into considerations the things I'd want when I was older - like no stairs, low maintenance, etc... Will probably end up getting a single story condo rather then a house anyways.
Location, location, location. This describes exactly the location I would want for my next home. To be near nature, yet not be so car dependent.
High ceilings, natural light, great mountain views.....I could live in a 500 square foot place as long as I had these three items on my list!
After reading some other posts I need to add a few items. Backs to open space or National Forest, 1-2 acres of land, hardwood floors and walking distance to a stream. I really don't care about have the fancy stuff as long as I had these items above. I need to make a vision board of my future little house!
I've having one of my regular HGTV marathons because my friend is out of town and I watched her dogs and her tv. Well, if I don't have granite countertops in my next house I guess I will just die.
The one thing I insist on having in any future house where I have pets is NO FREAKIN' carpet. The rest of it, I don't care.
Our current place has carpet upstairs and truthfully it's GREAT with our boys (2 cats). Their puke is almost exactly the same color as the carpet! A quick wipe and you can't tell anything ever happened.
Finally, do something about a layout mistake we made years ago... We had two needs--First, fix the choppiness of our family room by removing one of the doors, which led into DH's home office; and second, create a separate entrance for the home office so that clients could go directly into the office without having to go through the house.
So, we sealed off the door in the family room and created an entrance door off the front porch. Perfect! But then, we thought it would be a great idea to create a dual entrance to the powder room, so that we could access it from the front hall, and a client/DH could access it from the office. The unintended consequence of that decision is that now we use the powder room as a "hallway" to get to the office! It's got to be the worse feng shui transgression ever!! Somehow I thought we'd go outside and then inside if I we wanted to get to the home office, but we take that very strange shortcut through the bathroom. Oh well. Live and learn.
As soon as I got to the part where you said "a great idea to create a dual entrance to the powder room, so that we could access it from the front hall, and a client/DH could access it from the office." I burst out laughing because I instantly saw where this was going... Thanks for giving me a good laugh! :)
I love a lot of things about my current house and we've been here 21 years now.
It's a cabin in the woods.
5 minutes to two different lakes.
Beautiful cliff drive in.
Closed loop road off of a loop road off the cliff road (not a lot of traffic and people don't know this neighborhood is back here)
40 acres of woods behind me
empty acre lots on either side of my lot
full length covered front porch
2 dormers with built in seat benches and bookshelves
big laundry room (we added)
What I wish I had...
similar style house and property on lake front
big sunroom addition with fireplace
bigger kitchen (my galley kitchen is pretty small)
bigger dining area
walk in showers only/ hot tub on the deck overlooking the lake
I've got my eye on a couple properties that I kayak by....if they ever go on the market...
Float on, it can be worth it to talk to the people whose houses you would like and let them know that if they are ever interested in selling, you are potentially interested. I know people who have sold/bought houses that way. A lot of times the current owner would like it to go to someone who would take good care of it so they sell privately rather than on the open market.
rodeosweetheart
9-12-12, 6:31pm
Float on, it can be worth it to talk to the people whose houses you would like and let them know that if they are ever interested in selling, you are potentially interested. I know people who have sold/bought houses that way. A lot of times the current owner would like it to go to someone who would take good care of it so they sell privately rather than on the open market.
That is a really good idea, Amaranth. We sold our last house that way. It went to the right people--their family owned the adjoining land.
You are right. A few of those places I make sure to float by pretty slowly. I've been waiting and waiting to see someone outside so I can strike up a conversation. They must rarely visit their lake houses.....all the more reason for me to let them know how interested I am.
I've bought two houses in my life because I wrote to the owners. Simply figured out which ones I really liked, looked up the owner's contact info in the County records and fired off one of those "If you ever consider selling..." letters. For $.45 its an easy way to get your foot in the door.
I agree - contacting people of homes you like is a great strategy. I think many folks believe what they hear about real estate on the national media and think there isn't a snowball's chance in hell they can sell their home so they don't even try. There ARE buyers out!
I came across this awesome piece of land! I want it! It backs up to a national forest, awesome views, gorgeous trees and about an acre. Price is very reasonable. I'd be SSSOOO happy with basically a one room cabin (and maybe a loft). I wonder how much something like that would cost...just basic, simple, square. I do need semi-high ceilings and natural light but that's it! I don't care about fancy fixtures and so forth. My current home is too big for me - I use about 1/3 of the home 99% of the time. I'm daydreaming here...
rodeosweetheart
9-14-12, 6:53pm
You know what's funny, Minz? My dad, who has terminal cancer, was just saying the other day that this was his dream, almost exactly--he used many of the same words--that he had wanted to run away to exactly what you describe in Alaska, and walk out his back door and go into the forest and hunt and fish. It was something he had never told me. It made me cry.
So maybe you ought to buy the land, Minz. Buy that mortgage free book (don't remember the name) and live your life now.
iris lily
9-14-12, 10:19pm
I've bought two houses in my life because I wrote to the owners. Simply figured out which ones I really liked, looked up the owner's contact info in the County records and fired off one of those "If you ever consider selling..." letters. For $.45 its an easy way to get your foot in the door.
Once I wrote to the owner of a derelict property, an owner that everyone said"oh he won't sell, he's non-responsive to all offers" but he called me back within 48 hours of receiving my letter.
As it turns out, he didn't want to sell a lot that was adjacent to the derelict house and I wanted both plots. So, no deal was made.
Later the tiny derelict house was bulldozed. Oh that was a sad sad day, I mourn the loss of all tiny Victorian cottages, I am tearing up just thinking about it.
You know what's funny, Minz? My dad, who has terminal cancer, was just saying the other day that this was his dream, almost exactly--he used many of the same words--that he had wanted to run away to exactly what you describe in Alaska, and walk out his back door and go into the forest and hunt and fish. It was something he had never told me. It made me cry.
So maybe you ought to buy the land, Minz. Buy that mortgage free book (don't remember the name) and live your life now.
Oh thanks for you comment. It made my eyes well up! I suppose there is no reason to wait for the "someday"....right? Sorry to hear about your dad's illness.
rodeosweetheart
9-15-12, 8:26am
Oh thanks for you comment. It made my eyes well up! I suppose there is no reason to wait for the "someday"....right? Sorry to hear about your dad's illness.
Thanks, Minz. There is no reason to wait for the "someday."
I've been pondering selling my house for a while. I recently came to a conclusion (with the encouragement of rodeosweetheart).
Here's my plan: Sell my house. Buy some land (an acre or so) that backs to or is at least is very near to national forest. Plop some type of small, simple, affordable dwelling on it. For a few days I was pondering a yurt but more recently I found some companies who make small, affordable, modern dwellings. For me, it's really about being surrounded by nature and great views so I really just need a home that is peaceful, nice and simple. I'd be happy with a one room cottage/cabin and perhaps a sleeping loft.
Just out of curiousity...has anyone ever stayed in a yurt or know of anyone who lives in one? I'm a bit intrigued by them but I'm afraid my family would think I have really gone off my rocker!
I've been pondering selling my house for a while. I recently came to a conclusion (with the encouragement of rodeosweetheart).
Here's my plan: Sell my house. Buy some land (an acre or so) that backs to or is at least is very near to national forest. Plop some type of small, simple, affordable dwelling on it. For a few days I was pondering a yurt but more recently I found some companies who make small, affordable, modern dwellings. For me, it's really about being surrounded by nature and great views so I really just need a home that is peaceful, nice and simple. I'd be happy with a one room cottage/cabin and perhaps a sleeping loft.
Just out of curiousity...has anyone ever stayed in a yurt or know of anyone who lives in one? I'm a bit intrigued by them but I'm afraid my family would think I have really gone off my rocker!
I'm adding some things to my list. One of my friends brought of the issue of having four cats and 1 dog in a small space. So my solution is to have a green house connected to the house where my cats can go through a window from the house to the greenhouse to use their litter boxes. Also, I can keep my (future) chickens in there - apparently there is a benefit to having chickens in a green house. Not to mention I will grow my veggies/plants/flowers in the green house.
I've been pondering selling my house for a while. I recently came to a conclusion (with the encouragement of rodeosweetheart).
Here's my plan: Sell my house. Buy some land (an acre or so) that backs to or is at least is very near to national forest. Plop some type of small, simple, affordable dwelling on it. For a few days I was pondering a yurt but more recently I found some companies who make small, affordable, modern dwellings. For me, it's really about being surrounded by nature and great views so I really just need a home that is peaceful, nice and simple. I'd be happy with a one room cottage/cabin and perhaps a sleeping loft.
Just out of curiousity...has anyone ever stayed in a yurt or know of anyone who lives in one? I'm a bit intrigued by them but I'm afraid my family would think I have really gone off my rocker!
What your family thinks if the least of it.
Make sure you investigate all of the legal ramifications before you sign on the dotted line for a plot of land. Zoning laws limit what you can put on the place. Don't judge a current zoning law ftom what you see driving around the area, those structures may be grandfathered in.
AND, and, and, and... a walk-in glass-block shower! No doors, no curtains, no cramped space.
We're in the house we plan to stay in until senior assisted living. Darker floors instead of light bamboo...what were we thinking??!! We are not suzy homemaker types so spills, pet fur etc. shows up very easily! Better thought out lighting for our living room. More Storage areas. We love our house but as thoughtful as we were, oversights and mistakes were made. BTW hate our corian kitchen counter!
I'm adding some things to my list. One of my friends brought of the issue of having four cats and 1 dog in a small space. So my solution is to have a green house connected to the house where my cats can go through a window from the house to the greenhouse to use their litter boxes. Also, I can keep my (future) chickens in there - apparently there is a benefit to having chickens in a green house. Not to mention I will grow my veggies/plants/flowers in the green house.
I don't know about your cats but I suspect that my two would quickly make an impromptu chicken dinner if they had access to a greenhouse with chickens in it...
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