Low maintenance house - what is it to you?

[Gardenarian]

As dh and I are house shopping, I have said that one of the most important things to me is that the house be low maintenance. We had more or less chosen a house, then dh got cold feet. Anyhow, DH says a house is as low-maintenance as you make it. There is some truth there, but I've been trying to make up a list of things that help make a house easy to care for in itself. This is partly as a checklist when we're looking at houses, and partly because, heck, I just think he's wrong.

Here's what I've got so far:

Plenty of storage space:
Big closets in the bedroom. (Enough so everyone can keep their crap in their own room.)
Coat closets.
Shoe storage near the doors.
A place to keep the vacuum when you need it. (Central vacuum would be nice!)
Cupboards in the bathrooms for towels.


Appropriate storage:
Big storage for things like kayaks and bikes and weed whackers.
Closed storage for things we don't want to look at.
Ideally, glass fronted book cases for books, flush with the ceiling (no dust.)

No HUGE storage spaces (like attics) where you can just stick things and forget about them. (We have that problem now! Another suitcase? Throw it in the attic!) Closet=good. Junk drawer=good. Junk room or shed or attic or basement? NOOOOOO!

Hard surface floors (easy to mop) with machine washable, non-slip runners in high traffic areas. Easy to sweep and/or vacuum.

Well-placed ceiling and wall lights with easy to clean fixtures (recessed lights or glass/metal shades.)
Ceiling fan only if the ceiling is vaulted.

Metal roof would be nice.

Dog friendly: a dog door that leads to a fenced area with no muddy spots or places where skunks and raccoons can hide out.

Air-lock type spaces around entrances - porches, mudrooms, where people can take off their shoes and coats and leave the dirt outside. And paths leading to the door that are paved, brick, or otherwise clean.

Smooth design in kitchen:
No hardware (knobs, visible hinges.)
Easily cleaned counters and cooktop. Kitchen counters with integral backsplash.
Cupboards for big things, small things, heavy things. Special cupboard for trash & recycling.
Kitchen shelves that are designed to hold what you need (LOTS of kitchen cupboards.)
Cupboards that go to ceiling, with no dust trap on top of them.
An eat-in kitchen (not a separate dining room) to keep all the food in one place.
Even better if there is room for a screen (dd likes to surf music while she eats.)
No food all over the house - just in the kitchen or outside.

I plan on getting an entertainment armoire, with doors (they are so cheap on Craigslist) and using it to contain our laptops, phones, printer, cables, chargers, as well as our small flat screen television.

Simple windows without a lot of nooks and corners to collect dust. Identical blinds (roller blinds with chains are my favorites) on all the windows so we don't have to fuss with curtains. (Curtains are dust collectors and curtain rods, hooks, rings, etc. are a pain to deal with. And expensive.)

Rooms that are big enough for their purpose: A living room should be able to hold a sofa and two big chairs (or the equivalent) a coffee table, side tables, lamps, piano, books - without feeling cramped.
Bedrooms should be big enough for whatever sized bed you are going to use; you should be able to walk all the way around the bed to make it; also space for dresser, nightstand, a chair or coat stand for dressing, a full length mirror.

All rooms painted the same color (cuts visual clutter.)
High quality scrubbable paint.
Identical fixtures - same doorknobs, light fixtures, light switch plates, faucets, etc. throughout. Makes it easier to repair/replace things when they are all the same

Extra nice if everyone can have their own bathroom, though that is rather luxurious. (Living with a teen and a professional performer, I get little bathroom time. And they are both bathroom readers too.)
Trackless shower door (if any.)
Lots of hooks in bathrooms. And bedrooms. Hooks are great.

Laundry/cleaning room, with cupboards for cleaning supplies, ideally with space to dry things or access to space (such as garage/covered area/deck with clothesline in it.)

I like gardening, but don't want a fussy garden:
Perennial fruit trees.
Perennial flower, herb, and vegetable beds.
Greywater irrigation system (from laundry and showers/tubs.)

We are not bringing a lot of furniture with us, and very few decorative items. All our furniture is already very durable or it would be destroyed :)

A place for everything.

Sounds like a huge place, but I really just want an eat-in kitchen and living room, bedrooms and baths. We really only need one shower/tub. A lot of houses have all sorts of strange alcoves and nooks, bizarre open floor plans that seems to waste a ton of space. And full baths for every bedroom - seems extreme, and more to clean.

[iris lilies]

I see that by "maintenance" you do mean keeping it neat and tidy. What a great topic!

I agree with you about simple window coverings. While I'd love to have luxurious silk drapes, they are dust and pet hair collectors. Ummmm, no, in my household with 5 pets ugh, just NO! So we have wide-slat blinds, but your idea about roller shades is probably more practical for keeping dust down.

Mud room in the back, off of the yard, is good. An outdoor shower is an idea for people who work outside a lot.They are suddenly popular here.

While your view of unorganized attic space is right on, these basement and attic spaces with shelving are more manageable and yes, one does tend to fill up that space.

[JaneV2.0]

I think about this a lot. One of the things I want is a defensible perimeter :~)--that is a fenced yard that defines my property. I don't have that now--the land slopes sharply and is generally irregular. I want a completely maintenance-free yard--ground cover, patio, hardscaping--with privacy. I wouldn't mind a smallish house, maybe 1200 sq. feet, but I do want a fully-insulated garage with sufficient storage. And save me from "open-plan" houses, where you might as well have a fire pit in your living room. I want my kitchen out of sight. Hard floors of some kind--maybe even sealed concrete or linoleum--a bath and a half. And a view of something soothing, not the neighbor's wall--or worse, their windows.

[pinkytoe]

For me, low maintenance means mostly exterior finishes. If I have to paint and scrape a lot of wood, forget it. So brick, stone, stucco with metal roof.
Interior, no carpet or heavy drapes that I can't throw in the washer.
Since I love to garden, I don't mind a lot of beds but please no vast lawns of grass to mow and trim.
I think the size of the house and yard also helps - smaller is better.

[herbgeek]

I think a smaller home with less storage would in the long run be lower maintenance, if it forces you to only keep what you need. All those big closets are nice to hide stuff, but at some point there is a lot of work pruning things out.

The only other things I would mention that you didn't is 1) undermounted sinks. I find it so much easier to wipe surfaces clean and into the sink, versus a sink that sticks out above the countertop and has grout to catch stuff. 2) furniture either needs to be built in to the floor or have enough clearance underneath to swing a dustmop. The worst are things with fabric to the floor (like sofas) where you know there is dust under there but you can't really see it.

[Gardenarian]

I've never had an undermounted sink - that is something I'll look for. We currently have a regular set-in stainless sink and I have run a toothpick around the edges to get the gunk out. Ew.

Not many brick or stucco houses in Ashland (I think I've seen them ALL.) Some do have that cement siding, which is supposed to be long lasting and very insulating.

I'm having a real problem with these open plan houses. Like, I could live here but I need to put a wall between the living room and the kitchen...and why no entry ways? What's the problem with interior walls? They give you a place to put your book shelves.

[larknm]

For me the smaller the house, the less to maintain of house or possessions in it. I also go for wood floors, simple windows like you said, and eggshell walls--they are a snap to clean, important since I have a bird who flings food around (they just do that) and a dog who sleeps next to walls. Oh yes, the ground-cover suggestion is really good.

[awakenedsoul]

A low maintenance house to me is something small and efficient. I prefer older homes for their charm. I like having lots of windows. It lets the light in, which helps save on electricity. I love my nice big kitchen. I spend a lot of time cooking and baking, so I appreciate the space. I guess I'm more romantic when it comes to choosing houses. It's sort of love at first sight for me. I can tell right away. I like to keep the original windows, etc... and restore. I lived in Europe for years, and I just love antiques and older buildings...My O'Keefe and Merritt stove, Big Chill fridge, and vintage washer and dryer would look strange in a modern house. Same with my silver and hand knit items. I don't mind having a small closet because it keeps me from accumulating clutter. I don't have a garage or storage room. I like wall to wall carpeting, but I enjoy vacuuming. Hope you find a house that you both love!

[JaneV2.0]

I forgot about entryways--gotta have one. I'll put that on the list.

[SteveinMN]

Open plans, no entryways, etc., all are geared to maximizing profit on a house. As a builder, if you don't need materials for construction (say, for interior walls or fancy millwork), you've made money. House sizes are a bit like restaurant portion sizes -- just as putting a few more fries on the plate doesn't cost much compared to the labor involved, it doesn't cost a builder much more to envelop more space and that lets the builder charge so much more for the house

To us, entryways may be smart little areas to buffer the weather and maybe hold boots and coats. But, to a builder, an entryway is a four-cornered deviation from square -- and that costs money; much more money than bumping the walls out a couple of inches to gain that much precious square footage. Boxy homes also cost less to pour foundations for and to roof (usually priced by the number of peaks). Carpet or "builder-grade" vinyl on OSB is much cheaper than hardwood or tile. Even putting in more efficient furnaces and water heaters isn't done primarily because the efficient models cost more but the builder does not reap the benefits of the lower cost of operation.

Houses styled like they were in Victorian times or even pre-WWII are very expensive to emulate these days. Even Sarah Susank, in her "Not So Big House" series, warns early and often that NSB houses are not really less expensive to build than McMansions, but they are more livable and better appointed. In a commodity market, however, that's not enough of a sell.

[iris lilies]

In my modest Victorian house, originally built as upstairs/downstairs flats with exterior staircase, we have no entryway. We do have a covered porch with a roof that acts as the "pause" before one barges into our living room.

But I keep telling myself, we live in an ungraceful house, it's really quite pedestrian.

The other, even plainer and smaller, victorian on our street have no entryway. But the big houses at the end of the blocks have entries with double sets of doors to keep wind and chill and dirt and noise out. But then, those do face the street. Our entryway is on the side of the house so it's a tad more private that street view.

[razz]

I have a new little house that is limiting me to the essentials which is a huge shift in thinking and use of space. I am discarding stuff. I want the minimalist result.

May I suggest that your family look at what they really need and then go from there. Forget what you have now.

[ToomuchStuff]

Low maintenence means different things in different area's. From a house perspective, I see a house as a box one sleeps in. So right sizing needs to be thought out (in part why I keep looking at different plans, a single person, verses the possibility of being married at some point, means needs will change as well as having someone with wants I didn't think of, so no reason to move now).
I've mentioned them before and will do so again, but I would like a Monolithic dome (not the same as a Geodesic). The reasons are:
Concrete structure, (no termites that I am aware of yet, eat concrete)
cave like in maintaining fixed tempeture before heating/a/c (super insulated, and great with radiant heating pipes in floor. Requires much less a/c)
Dome shape, means open layout that can be separated when built, left open, or even done modular if one wanted to change. Also means solid concrete, so no roofing to deal with.

I've been to one and looked at several online and have some of my own idea's. While a mudroom/laundry has replaced a porch in a lot of houses, the one I visited, had an outcroping/adjoining tunnel/vestivule of sorts, as the entry way/pass between the home and garage.
http://www.monolithic.org/stories/downsizing-has-advantages
They also had a shed for things like tractors/shop/etc (lived on acreage in the country). I'd like a shed to keep the shop and dust away from the house, although I am not sure about acreage. It may be a must as building one of these in town might be a chore, due to non traditional look.

For low maintence yard. well hardscaping really isn't an option. I think rain and all would cause a lot of grass/weeds/etc to sprout between. So yes a little yard one could picnic on, some grass between a driveway that is split concrete (looks like concrete tire tracks), with only a pad for service purposes (maybe instead of concrete, natural/local stone), with a lot of the yard being native plants. Maybe one rain barrel but I would prefer mostly to have water run off into a cistern for yard and gardening (gardens mixed in with yard). I do enjoy yardwork a bit, but eventually it does get old, every year, and am not a big tree fan due to neighbors leaves (they raked them where they blew to my yard/other sides tree's lean over my yard).

Interior, you mentioned nooks and crannies, well growing up here, a lot of these homes put them into walls (cabinets/bookcases/storage). I've always thought that idea smart and for the interior of the house, that enclosing book cases into a couple walls should be good. (with some kind of doors/not sure about glass/cleaning) TV and all could be there as well. Maybe a small one by a window as a seat.
The kitchen, should have to the ceiling cabinets, if not left open to the dome. Eaves are wasted space and those high up cabinets would be good for rarely used items, rather then empty/box/eave space. (presents, etc)
Led lighting or flourescent with something like daylight balanced tubes.
Computers have become so much of our lives, I keep thinking I should have a kitchen ceiling (to direct and reflect light down) and have a loft computer office.
Keep thinking I should have it handicapped accessible from the start and wondering if I should have a ramp going up the inside to the office.

[Spartana]

In my experience, there is no such thing as a low-maintenance house. I have tried to have one -- by buying a brand-new 500SF cottage that I thought would not need much -- and found it just as much work as a larger place.

Storage. The less, the better. The more storage, the more stuff to fill it.

Now I'm in a studio apt with two small closets and a stall in a shared storage room with two bikes. Everything I own fits in these spaces. The building managers handle all repairs, maintenance, yard work, even window washing. All I do is clean house a couple of times a week.

If I ever own again, I think it will be a really small condo.This would be my version of a low maintenance place as well - and the way I would like to live at some point once I don't have dogs. Probably only living in a hotel (my dream!) would be lower maintenance.

Otherwise, if it were a house on a lot I would probably pick something that had vinyl siding or whatever needed the least amount of painting/care. An asphalt or tile roof that lasted decades with little need to repair or replace. Vinyl windows rather then wood. No stairs so I could grow old there. The tiniest yard I could get with low upkeep plants or hardscape instead of lawn. Probably an open floor plan since I think they are easier to clean (and I hate cleaning!). No fireplace or anything else that required extra maintenance. Whatever heating and/or cooling system was most energy efficient yet didn't need much work down to make it run. Hardwood, laminate or tile flooring rather then carpet. Ummm... that's about it. I'd downsize my stuff to fit into a place that fit me (and SO/family) and not get a bigger place because at some point you might have overnight guests on occasion. I know lots of people who get houses that are too large just to cover all the "what if's?" when they really don't need all the extra space and maintenance expenses and time to live comfortably.

[catherine]

Low maintenance=
No carpet
No white grout
No knick-knacks/clutter
Natural finishes: no high varnishes
Windows you can squeegee (I love small panes, but they're time-consuming to clean)
Fans in the kitchen and bathroom that vent to the outside
Second-hand furniture (shabby chic)
Natural pine paneling, unpainted, in the interior
Lots of built-ins
Main level or upper level washer/dryer
No lawn
Lots of perennials
Fiber cement siding or stucco
Tin roof
A shed in the backyard
Gravel driveway rather than asphalt

Residents who don't smoke, who take off their shoes at the door, and who eat only in the kitchen and clean up after themselves

Comes with a housekeeper and a lawn guy (I know I said no lawn, but someone has to keep after the perennials and do light weeding)

[TxZen]

For us, as a family of 3 with 2 dogs and 1 cat...fosters added here and there :)

1. Wooden floors
2. Open concept but small. Only need 2 bedrooms/1.5 baths, l level.
3. Kitchen w/desk area and large pantry
4. Washer/Dryer area with wall for hooks for hats, leashes, backpacks, purse, etc. w/ door so I can hide it all.
5. Smallish lawn, fenced in to most of the house. Covered patio area outback
6. Small porch out front w/drought resistant landscaping. NO grass out front.
7. No knickknacks or lots of wall hangings.
8. Large enough closet but even better, less stuff
9. 2 Car garage
10. Simple white paint throughout and easy furniture to take care of.
11. I like fans in every room. it's my thing. :)

[Teacher Terry]

When we bought our retirement home 2 years ago we were looking at low maintenance. WE bought a vinyl sided old home that unfortunately someone had painted the ugliest color so we did repaint the outside. Too bad they ever painted it. We used astroturf in both front & back. Installed metal fence with privacy slats instead of wood. Inside wood floors & pergo-no carpet at all. The master bedroom that someone added on in the 70's had a small bedroom attached to it so we made it a walk in closet. The house is 1400 sq ft which is perfect for us & my office doubles as a guest room. I actually think blinds are a lot more work to clean then curtains so have curtains everywhere that I can easily take down & wash.

[SteveinMN]

Spartana mentioned adaptation for growing old in place.

As the general population grows older, that kind of universal design is becoming more prevalent. Interestingly, though, many of those requirements run counter to a preference for small homes. Passageways and doors need to be wider and sometimes room must be allowed for ramps and elevators. Storage presents particular challenges. Floor-to-ceiling cabinets in the kitchen are straight off because the person in the wheelchair will not be able to reach them. Ditto for the storage space most people have under their sink; that area usually is left empty so the person in the 'chair can roll up to the sink. Even a small bedroom can make using an EZ-Stand or Heuer lift a logistical challenge.

It presents some interesting design choices.

[Davidwd]

I have upvc windows, wooden floors, solar panels, wood burner, air source heat pump, loads of loft insulation, block paved driveway, self watering greenhouse, rainwater harvesting system. So my house is not just low maintenance it is also very cheap to run.

[Spartana]

Spartana mentioned adaptation for growing old in place.

As the general population grows older, that kind of universal design is becoming more prevalent. Interestingly, though, many of those requirements run counter to a preference for small homes. Passageways and doors need to be wider and sometimes room must be allowed for ramps and elevators. Storage presents particular challenges. Floor-to-ceiling cabinets in the kitchen are straight off because the person in the wheelchair will not be able to reach them. Ditto for the storage space most people have under their sink; that area usually is left empty so the person in the 'chair can roll up to the sink. Even a small bedroom can make using an EZ-Stand or Heuer lift a logistical challenge.

It presents some interesting design choices.That's where some of those "Active Adult Communities" for 55 or older people are pretty good. My mom bought into one at this place: http://lwsb.com/lwsbmaster/ - basicly a small one or 2 bedroom single story apt in a big complex (not a nursing home and no care options - just apt or condo living like a younger person would have). The little apt was set up to age-in-place with wider, taller doors, a step in shower stall with a seating area inside and handrails, a lowered kitchen counter and oven, low or no thresholds between patio and entrance, etc... Lots of little things that came already installed. Not to mention community things like buses around the community and off site as well, gym, swimming pool, post office, theater, medical center, 6 clubhouses, golf course, community gardens, workshops for...everything, and a million activities and clubs to join if wanted. They even had their own maintenance crews that would come fix things for you so you wouldn't have to worry about that. That's probably what I'd get myself once I was ready - OK now! It's pretty low maintenance and a place you can age in until you can't care for yourself anymore and have to go elsewhere. Not for everyone but I think it would allow for much greater independence and more self-reliance as a person got older.

[SteveinMN]

Yup, Spartana. That's the kind of design that must be considered to allow people to stay where they are (assuming they want to). The nice thing about all that adaptation is that it does not make the living quarters harder to use for more able-bodied people. Sounds like a great place. I'm not quite up to the point of thinking "adult housing" (even though I qualified as of last year), but that's the kind of place I'd like to have.

[Lainey]

I have talked to older people (age 70+) and many times it's home maintenance chores that push them into these types of senior apartments vs. any physical ailments.
After 50 some years of home maintenance it's a welcome break to know someone else is taking care of things.

[Spartana]

I have talked to older people (age 70+) and many times it's home maintenance chores that push them into these types of senior apartments vs. any physical ailments.
After 50 some years of home maintenance it's a welcome break to know someone else is taking care of things.That was my Mom's experience - that combined with wanting to downsize for financial reasons as well. Her house was paid off but she still had to work at 70 because she didn't really have much in savings and SS wasn't enough (she had been a homemaker and then a very low income divorced single Mom for years so wasn't able to save much). So, besides all the hassle, work and major expense of dealing with a larger, older house, she chose to sell it and downsize. That freed up not only her time and workload to do things on the house, but a large amount of equity so she could retire, do some world travel, and have fun.

[RCWRTR]

And save me from "open-plan" houses, where you might as well have a fire pit in your living room. I want my kitchen out of sight. Hard floors of some kind--maybe even sealed concrete or linoleum--a bath and a half. And a view of something soothing, not the neighbor's wall--or worse, their windows.

I have had both traditional Colonial-style homes with boxy rooms and "open-plan" homes. I much prefer the latter, as I find them much easier to live in, much easier to clean and more suited to the way my partner, my daughter (who visits occasionally), my dog and I live on a daily basis. I understand that a more traditional kitchen is something some homebuyers desire, but I'm definitely not one of them. I don't like to feel sequestered from guests when entertaining due to having to preparing food in another area.

I currently have oak hardwood floors throughout my entire home and tile in laundry room and both bathrooms. I find both to be cold in winter and difficult to stand on for long periods of time. These things are likely accentuated by my preference to wear socks, but not shoes, indoors. In the home my partner and I are currently building, we will have warmer, low maintenance, resilient flooring throughout.

Having a home in a planned community, where I own my own smallish yard, with access to open space and all common areas, but have all general lawn maintenance (mowing, trimming, etc.) and snow removal on streets, sidewalks, driveways, porches, patios & decks to front, side and rear doors is a HUGE part of a low maintenance home for me.

A low maintenance house, for me, must have all solid surface countertops & backslashes, made of either quartz or granite. In the home we are currently building, I opted for the same granite (Santa Cecilia Gold) on all kitchen cabinet counters, including the kitchen island, and in all bathrooms. All sinks will be undermount sinks, as surface-mounted sinks are more difficult to clean, not to mention visually unappealing.

We opted for fiberglas AKER by MAAX jetted garden tub and shower stall in the master bathroom, a fiberglas AKER by MAAX shower stall in the guest bathroom and a fiberglas AKER by MAAX tub/shower combination in the hall bathroom, for my partner, as scrubbing tile grout is not my idea of fun or a low maintenance lifestyle.

Composite decking, such as AZEK or TimberTech are definitely the way to go, if you wish to have a deck. Pressure-treated lumber (or "PTL") decks are NOT low maintenance.

Exterior construction materials such as stone, brick, stucco, vinyl siding, vinyl or aluminum windows, vinyl or aluminum trim (soffit, badger boards, fascia, drip edge, etc.) make for lower maintenance homes. Avoid anything that needs to be painted (wooden siding, wooden trim, etc.), as much as possible.

Having big, walk-in closets, plenty of storage and a large pantry make life much easier, in my experience. Should you have quirky nooks, alcoves, etc. in a home, find ways to add additional storage space there and elsewhere throughout your home. Window seats with storage below, customized shelving in closets, pantry, mudroom/airlock spaces, basements, garages and attics go a long way to help one keep a tidy home.

Good luck in your home search, Gardnerian! If yours goes anything like ours did, you may just end up building a home instead of trying to find and renovate an existing one.