Shrink Question: What would the home of your dreams look like?

[nolabear]

I'm always fascinated by what people think expresses their best selves. So how about your ideal home? You know, the place that reflects you, that you have a little dream about retiring to or raising your kids in or that really reflects who you are?

Me? I want a place on the water, with a pier and a little boat, a great big porch, and an interstate highway nearby that leads to the city I want to spend a bunch of time in.

I want great big windows and shade trees and a window to look out of wen I write that lets me look off into the distance. I want a kitchen with a gas stove and two ovens and a houseboy in cut off jeans and a tan...wait, what were we talking about?

Seriously, what's your dream home?

[Baitball Blogger]

1. Essentially what I have now, but a second floor get a way room.

It would have a large window with private balcony which reaches out just below the tree branches. The room wouldn't be large, in fact, that's the beauty of it. It will have all those features that you see in minimalist architecture. I can work by the window by day and if I'm still working into the night I can pull out a murphy style bed.

[nolabear]

2. I like minimalist. But I also like art, so I have a bunch in the townhouse.

We're "interestingly cluttered". I'd like more space but can't get it for reasonable money here. And I LOVE my area of Seattle.

[arcane1]

3. It would be the apartment building I live in now, but located where my last apartment was.

And the walls would be about 20% more sound-proof

[Baitball Blogger]

5. Sound-proof should never be overestimated.

[arcane1]

7. I'm pretty soundproof already, sharing two common walld with two different opera singers...

and a pianist/violinist down the hall.

I can hear them in the hallway, but not inside. But they are loud in the daytime and early evening, whereas I like to sing loudly and play metal guitar at midnight. That 20% would go a long way

[nolabear]

16. My soundproofing is amazing too. The guy next door is moving and this is the first time I've heard.

Replacing the carpet. We in the little group of townhouses all know one another to varying degrees and I like him, but I've never been aware of his existence on a noise basis until th carpet guy started banging around. Acoustics are pretty great these days.

[rurallib]

4. About 5 acres so I could garden and have a small pool with lots of trees

I have always wanted a dome home with about 2 stories in the ground so we could laugh at big storms - wide open living/dining/ kitchen area.
As much natural light as possible and solar/wind for electricity. As much green power as possible

[arcane1]

8. Good point. I would prefer a balcony 2 times bigger, with more sunlight.

I've been trying to grow some scraps of beans and mustard greens, but it's a tight fit!

[dixiegrrrrl]

6. exactly what and where I am now

but a swimming pool would be nice.
and someone to tend it.

[tavernier]

9. Modern but not cold or intimidating

I'm a sucker for art so I would need miles of wall space. The Hermitage seems about right. Oh, and I would like a glass ceiling in the bedroom to watch the stars at night. And water all around, of course.

[femmocrat]

10. Something like this:

[nolabear]

17. Oh hell yes.

My idea of heaven. I do wonder what it would be like to live in a place like that full tie instead of on vacation.

[A HERETIC I AM]

39. What's that out on the horizon? Oh shit! A 100' wall of water!

I think you might want to put the umbrella down.

[applegrove]

11. I want a cottage in the woods with a rock garden and deck/screened in porch that wraps around

the house. It would be winterized. There would be a huge fireplace. The couch and bed would be covered in plaid. I could sleep in the porch in the summer and watch the stars as I fall asleep. It will never happen. I can't drive anymore so I will never own my own house. But I have great memories of the woods from a cottage we had. I can live on those. Plus I'm addicted to interior décor photos and house plans.

[Mr.Bill]

12. Three words -

Frank LLoyd Wright

[nolabear]

18. I think his work is incredible. But is it livable?

I had a fetish for Fallingwater from an early age. Oddly, when I had the option I never went to see it. But I'd love to see it and Taliesin West.

[kwassa]

45. We shopped a Frank Lloyd Wright

My parents and us when we were kids. The house was small and dark, though, and unsuited for us.



We ended up in a Gerrit Rietveld. In this style, not this house.

[jmowreader]

57. Would someone PLEASE explain the cult of Frank Lloyd Wright?

Apparently no one told him flat roofs leak like sieves.

[kwassa]

59. Same thing happened with the Reitveld house.

Flat roofs are not suitable for houses in Ohio. Many roof leak problems.

[jmowreader]

66. Google the Fallingwater restoration for extra entertainment

It cost about $12 million to restore an under-$200,000 house because it was falling IN the water...

[csziggy]

13. We finished building it in 2008

Just before I volunteered to work for the Obama campaign.

It's on the 60 acres farm we bought in 1979. The exterior is sort of a Craftsman/farm house style - here are the elevations:


Interior simple, with few but largish rooms.

Somehow, though I took hundreds of pictures during the construction, I've never taken pictures of the finished house. I need to do that!

[nolabear]

19. Looks wonderful. I'm such a sucker for a porch.

I love Creole Cottages and they are elevated and have those big porches.

[csziggy]

21. On the far side is a screened porch

Which I should have made wrap all the way around to connect to the front one. Someday I might add that - and maybe screen the entire porch.

[Rowdyboy]

14. If I had a spare half million, I'd buy the house down the street.....

I went to an estate sale there Saturday and its just as pretty inside....

[Chan790]

15. Large estate house with many rooms and a walled-in garden.

What does it mean? Fuck if I know.

[easychoice]

20. this will do it...

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/309-Taconic-Rd-Greenwich-CT-06831/57319080_zpid/

[nolabear]

22. Dayum. I hope you have a staff.

Because I look at that and I think "I am NOT vacuuming that sucker." Clearly I was not to the manor born.

[easychoice]

27. there would be janitors for sure...

Hey,Dream BIG,LOL...
Beautiful Property though.
I doubt if I would have much in common with the neighbors.I am sure they would be suitably mortified by my presence.

[nolabear]

29. Long as it has a cement pond!

[easychoice]

35. Annd some architectural plantings

?1365247506

[Arugula Latte]

23. The older I get, the more I'm into simple and uncluttered.

I'd like a house that's not too big, but has enough room to have guests visit comfortably and to work at home in. One that has new, clean surfaces (I've lived in houses that need fixing up and I'm a little tired of outdated stuff that needs to be replaced "one day" when we get time/money). A great kitchen with updated cabinets and appliances. Good storage space. A simple yard with a small patch of grass and a sunny place for a garden. And nice porch. In the city limits, but not on a busy street.

[One_Life_To_Give]

24. Garage with attached house

3 Bays wide with 14x14 doors. 40ft deep with a pot bellied stove in the back. 6000lb single post lift and a couple of gantry cranes.
Maybe an office on the second floor.

[fizzgig]

25. a hobbit hole in a wooded area

with good earth to garden in, geothermal heat and solar power. a large recording studio for the husband, a large kitchen with a gas stove and pantry for me. a bathroom with a double headed shower and a giant clawfoot tub under a sky light. a giant parlor/library with big, cushy chairs and a fireplace.

it would have a stream nearby, too.

[hunter]

26. I like where I live except for a few things.

Things I like:

My wife and I are not commuters. It's a dog friendly place. We have a big organic garden and many bird visitors. We could house many friends and family if things go rotten. No air conditioning or heating needed for survival. The community is cosmopolitan, accepting or tolerant people from all over the world. Vast quantities of food exported.

Things I don't like:

Most people still need cars, public transportation is awkward at best. Primary energy source is natural gas.

===

On my own I've never asked for much. I'd be happy if they let me sleep in the library and shower in the gym. If I'd stumbled upon multi-million dollars as a single guy that's probably where I'd be. A small step up from living in my broken down car in a church parking lot.

[NV Whino]

28. Falling Water

http://www.wright-house.com/frank-lloyd-wright/fallingwater-pictures/F1SW-fallingwater-in-fall.html

[nolabear]

30. *sigh* SO gorgeous. But not the cuddliest place on earth.

[NV Whino]

34. Actually, I find it quite cuddly

Being of short stature, I love the low ceilings. Gives a sense of intimacy. I love the stairs to the creek as well. The corner windows—wow. Fireplace… well, you get the idea.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

31. I am OK with the house I am in ...

Last edited Fri Jun 14, 2013, 06:47 PM - Edit history (1)

could wish that it was twice as much heated floor space, same number of rooms but, each room twice again as large, with a full basement and a full attic. Love wide open spaces. Large rooms. Nine foot ceilings instead of the eight foot I have now. Big front porch with a large screened in porch on the side. Would like a fireplace in the living/dining area and in the Master Suite. Also, need a carport or, a detached garage would be nice but, I can live with a carport. Also, am OK with this piece of property but, would like to purchase the surrounding 40 acres for a total of 50, nice round number, I think.

[Auggie]

32. It would surrounded by 100 acres

Big, small ... I don't care. I want the land. And in a Mediterranean climate.

[rug]

33. This would be like living inside a breast.

Please don't psychoanalyze me!

[nolabear]

36. I'm off the clock.

[lastlib]

37. A Gi-NORMous office space....

...with a big honkin' desk the size of Rhode Island; bookshelves the length of the Wabash River; and a workshop the size of Kansas. Don't care a whole lot about the rest of the house, as long as it's livable......

I am so F**King tired of trying to cram my f**king life into about 6'x7'x6'......!

(sorry to be grumpy, but it really torques my spindle)

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

38. There's a lot of space here:

Just don't plan on getting pizza delivered.



The silohome is a surface mountain home with an underground 20,000 sf vault one can habitat in with luxury. Francisco and Gibbons have restored the 2300 sf two level launch control center. Their complex is climate controlled using the earth temperature to moderate the surface and below ground environments. The same principals can be built into the large and expansive additional 20,000 sf silo area. So one can see the possibilities are unlimited.

http://www.silohome.com/index.htm

[nolabear]

43. If you haven't read "Wool" you should.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

44. Wool???

What is it? The sci-fi series?

[nolabear]

47. Yes. It's pretty good. About everyone surviving living in a massive silo.

They've been there for generations, each block of floors having a specialty that keeps it all going. The upper floors have screens where the destroyed outside world can be seen, and people who commit crimes can be sentenced to have to go outside, where the toxins kill them. But first they clean the screens that let people watch, because they go kind of mad if they can't have some view out.

Then, of course, it turns out things are not as they seem.

The thing that attracted me is that it was self published as a series and it's now sold more than 700,000 copies.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

53. I'll check it out. n/t

[Kali]

50. there is a silo for sale about 5 miles from my house

it has been accessed and the well is functional, the electric is hooked back up, but no other work has been done that I know of.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

52. How much? n/t

[Kali]

54. I am not sure

it was listed at 200K for a long time before the guy that has it now got it. includes about 15 acres if I recall and very close to the interstate.

I always thought it would be a great place to have a retro trailer park/hotel. Atomic Acres.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

55. It would be...

...different.

[pink-o]

40. If money were no object, I'd want either a cool urban loft with an amazing city view

Or a Craftsman Bungalow with original features and charm in a tree-lined neighborhood...one that's close to a hipster street like 24th here in Noe Valley, or NW 23rd in PDX. A big mansion doesn't appeal to me. Too much work to fill the space and keep it clean.

But if you're talking about a literal dream house, here's my story: I often dream of entering a huge old home, filled with wonderful history, art, artifacts and secret passages to hidden rooms. In these dreams, I'm excited and anticipatory, running from room to room, knowing I will find amazing treasures. I think it's symbolic of how I see life: meant to be explored, a world of knowledge in a safe, welcoming environment. I live to travel and indulge this passion as much as possible.

So the real house I live in is a studio rental in the fog belt, with beat up Ikea and Target furniture I built myself, cuz I'd rather be out in the world. There's no place like home, if home is the entire globe!

[REP]

41. Took two years to get done, but I'm living in it

It has a greenhouse.

[Squinch]

42. If my current home had an ocean view, you'd have to pry me out the door.

Also, a bigger garden. For fresh veggies. Because Monsanto.

[kwassa]

46. hmmm ...

[nolabear]

48. Where IS that??? It's magnificent!

[kwassa]

56. Mexico

[Kali]

49. about like the one I am in

but cleaner and with everything fixed and working. plus a pool. (staff would be nice too, including the houseboy in cutoffs)

[nolabear]

51. .

[DeSwiss]

58. A home made mostly from the stuff we throw away......

An Earthship.....









http://earthship.com/packaged-earthship

[nolabear]

60. Gosh.

It looks like it's out in Bumfuck Egypt but it's amazing.

[DeSwiss]

62. It is.....

...and the most beautiful part: Totally off-grid.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

64. Totally off-grid. --

music to my ears.

my ultimate goal is to one day be Totally off-grid.

[DeSwiss]

67. Here's how they do it:

http://earthship.com/systems

[Tuesday Afternoon]

68. thanks for the picture. I bkmrkd the link, too.

one of these days. one of these days!

[Tuesday Afternoon]

61. very nicely done! thanks for the pix and the link

[DeSwiss]

63. De nada. ;-}

[elleng]

65. I'm with you, nolabear,

and you described the place I may be looking for within the next year. Lots of family things going on recently, leads me to thinking the right time to do it is approaching.

Fortunately I already live within 1-1/2 hours of water, so I'm able to drive around and look when I feel like it.

A room with a view has been my mandatory minimum for years.

[Trailrider1951]

69. I found my dream house in 2006

I, too, am partial to the craftsman bungalow architecture. That's my sister on the front porch:




It's on 1/3 acre, corner lot. There is room for a pool out back:





And a couple of raised beds for vegetables:



And inside, I have a room for a small art studio:




All in Small Town Central Texas. I will retire here next year.

[Iggo]

70. Something where I could sit on my porch and not see a hundred other houses.

Other than that? Big enough for my stuff, no leaks, and I gotta be able to make some noise.