Dream House ideas

[Rickfactor2]

I would like a steam sauna and cold plunge pool.
Large lit workshop with good ventilation.

[Magmoormaster]

I tend to get really into a specific style of house for a short period of time, and then move on another. Mid century modern, victorian, modern tudor, Cotswolds, and many more have come and gone. RIght now, I'm kinda into desert modern.

I'd want a South-facing lot positioned by Pima Canyon (just North of Tucson, AZ). Dramatic views of the city and surrounding mountains. 5000-6000 sq ft with large covered patio (deep cantilevers), fire elements, an infinity pool, and a built in hot tub. When you walk into the house, you'd see thru a formal dining room out into the valley. Spacious primary suite with a resort style bathroom, including a private outdoor shower. There'd be an office with exterior access, a detached guest suite, 5-6 car garage, kitchen with large work pantry, 2 bedrooms, and that giant built-in aquarium from my previous post.

[redsquirrel]

Now this sounds like a dream house. I like it.

[Blackmagic71]

My dream house:

-My current house, but without a mortgage
-Wouldn’t mind planting one more apple tree in back
-One additional garage parking space would be very handy.

My wants are fairly simple 🤣

[coyote]

I can echo these sentiments.

[glaman5266]

There’s a lot of little things I’d like, but my core things would be:

-Smaller house (main floor maybe 1000 square feet) so it’s easy to heat & cool, and thus cheap to run. Probably ranch-style. Basement.
-Built on sand so the basement won’t flood.
-10-15 minutes from town.
-Huge garage/workshop. Probably double the size of the main floor of the house.
-Outdoor paintball field.
-Shooting range. (firearms)
-OTG-capable. (wood stove, propane fridge, etc.)

Also anything that keeps the bills down so I can retire as early as possible. I’ll be damned if I work beyond 59 & 1/2. Gotta save that cash.

[Magmoormaster]

What you want for OTG capabilities is a geothermal heat pump. It'll heat and cool your house using heat/cold pulled from the ground. Operational cost is basically just the electricity it takes to spin the fan to push the air. Electricity you can generate with solar. Way easier to operate than wood stoves and whatnot.

[glaman5266]

Magmoormaster That would be nice, but I had a work buddy that had issues with his. I also want to be able to fix it myself & I have no idea how complicated those are. Perhaps I should do some reading.
I'm fine with using power off the grid, but for when the power goes out or LP skyrockets I'd use the wood for supplementary heat. We've been in a fix a couple times because of those things. I just want to always have a backup plan & we currently don't.

[DocsMachine]

I already have more house- and mainly shop- than I dared dream about as a teen.

What I dream about these days is time. If I could trade half my shop for twice the time, I'd do that in a heartbeat.

My day is so packed with everything from minor errands to major machine repairs, it seems I work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, and still don't really get all that much done.

Doc.

[un2xs]

If you could build a dream house, no budget, what are some key features it would have?

Good Question

Passive solar is a must for me. See: Passive Solar House: The Complete Guide to Heating and Cooling Your Home by James Kachadorian

High efficiency wood stove bordering both kitchen and family room. Based on childhood winter memories I prefer wood stove over fireplace. However, the stove is more for ambiance and not primary heat source.

Above ground, either straw bale or compressed earth block construction.

Buried heat exchange loop for added efficient climate control.

Triple pane windows.

Full walkout basement with main family stair and a more private cast iron spiral stair to the hobby room just off the bedroom on the first floor.

Elevator or some form of lift between floors. (I will eventually need to think about stairs being a challenge.)

Walkout tub. (Again... looking to age with home.) Large shower with multiple heads and bench. I am over 6' tall and will never be under 200 again while living. I hate bumping into the shower head and hitting the walls in a "normal" sized shower.

Kitchen larger than normal. Large fridge. Fill sized upright freezer. Large counter with at least two basin sink. (Gotta have some place to process the garden produce.)

Drivable patio outside lower level kitchen/family room for easily moving in purchases.

At least one more bedroom than you think you might need. Master bedroom, bath, and office/hobby room with visual and audio separation from any children's rooms.

Hidden "valuables" room with permanent fire safe.

Sunroom or partial enclosed patio for those want yo be outside but don't want the weather days.

Insulated garage shop with radiant heating and access from any above ground living levels. Vehicle lift with optional lube pit in another bay. Also have lift to second floor storage or man cave. Tall ceiling in at least one bay to allow space to work on farm truck/equipment.

Detached enclosed shed with pad or packed floor for tractors and anything else needing cover.

Pit greenhouse for family food production. If designed properly you can grow fruits and veggies year round that are normally only found in warmer growing zones. I have heard of citrus grown in Canuuckistan in winter.

Dwarf or midsized fruit trees. Large enough garden to be rough tilled with tractor and disk/plow.

My rural ground has a nice hill, so a viewing tower a level or two up for those nice evenings when you just want to be under open sky with a view of the river valley.

Hmmmm.... may visit this later for revision

[Magmoormaster]

Ah yeah, that sounds fun. Love to see the choice of rammed earth, it's not a common one.

When you say walkout tub, are you talking about the ones with the little door on them? Or are you thinking more like a ramp?

[un2xs]

I WAS thinking the one with the door. Howevet, your idea has merit... insulated in ground large tub with walk out ramp/shallow steps. Hmmmmmmm.


Alternately, I have this limestone bolder the bigger than a mini Cooper and maybe five feet high. Would take a while, but oh what bragging rights when it would be done. Ok, now I need a quickie saw and a a couple of jack hammers. Then comes the grinding and smoothing. I was actually thinking of this to make a sink.... I have large chunks of blasted out limestone laying around.

[Chuck E Ducky]

Big Land with good soil, with a big water feature, lake / large stream big deep pond etc. remotely located Barndominium with a big Shop and lots of storage for outdoor activities and toys.

I would focus on more off grid self sustainable features with efficiency and durability in mind.

Then the world can go shit in their hat while I make lemonade moonshine and build cool stuff I’m my garage.

[woouulf]

I want a brand new house on an episode of Cribs
And a bathroom I can play baseball in
And a king-size tub, big enough for ten plus me

[scottieb]

As long as it's in the Caribbean it's my dream house.

[Lotus]

I want to be in the middle of a forest with complete privacy and I own the land around me. Plus I want good internet. The actual house is not too important as long as maintenance is easy, the water is clean, and I have a garage to work on my car.

[dzslozt]

My wife and I are looking at building a house in the next few years. Here’s what we want:

At least 3000 sq ft
on suite master bathroom with enough room to move around each other when getting ready.
Storge for linens, towels and other bedding/ bath supplies.
Walk in shower
large enough tub for my six foot 2 inch self to comfortably submerge up to my neck
walk in closet(s)
master bedroom to be on the same level as all the other main amenities (kitchen, living room, etc.)
Large enough kitchen so more than one person can be in it and not get in each other’s way
Pantry
again here with the storage. Need places to put things.
eight foot ceilings
vaulted on the upper level
hard floors (wood, lvp, tile) throughout
Big ass garage (that was my idea)

[Magmoormaster]

That seems pretty doable. You can do a lot with 3000 sq ft.

[William the Third]

A harem... I mean... I'm just saying it is a "dream house" idea.

[JeeperCreeper]

House? Not interested in much more than a bed and a kitchen.

Give me land. I want a mountain side somewhere, for private mountain bike trails. And of course a paintball field.

And a big shop, where I can build things and fix my Jeep

[Jonnydread]

Same. I don't want stuff, I want space.

[Magmoormaster]

I'm both a little surprised and entirely not surprised so many people want something so isolated.

[Jonnydread]

Trees? Yay. People, ew.

[flyweightnate]

There is nothing quite so obnoxious as persistent, 24 hour traffic. It's bad when you're driving somewhere; it's worse when you just want a quiet evening outdoors.

[Chuck E Ducky]

Yup I’m pretty much done with people. Just give me lots of puppies lots of land and leave me be. My spirit animal is a hermit crab…