Post a picture of your ideal home.

[Flaxbee]

(on edit: CRAP! I can't get the image embedded, can only get the link -- anyone out there able to help me?)


A home that you'd be really happy to live in, care for, pass on to your kids or grandkids or nieces or nephews or other loved ones.

Doesn't have to be the location the home is in (the home I post below is in California; I'd probably try to find some MUCH less expensive land in Virginia, or somewhere near some water). Just the house. Maybe say where you'd like it to be.

I really veer between two wishes, one to have a cool loft in a good city so I could walk everywhere I'd like to go and having a bit of land and space so I could have a garden, all the kitties / dogs who needed a home, a quiet retreat.

And most days, I can't decide which I'd prefer. But today I moved some stuff around that was on the fridge, and saw this picture that I'd torn out of a Dwell magazine from February 2007, and fell in love all over again. I think it's the courtyard that does it, and the covered walkway from one part of the house to another.

I might prefer a bit more 'design' to the fencing, maybe a bit less modern feel (I love red tiles / archways - Spanish design), but this general layout is my idea of perfect (though honestly, this design would be pretty damn inexpensive to build):

http://books.google.com/books?id=f8YDAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA192&ots=zJknCeXhaG&dq=hillclimb%20ranch%20marin%20county%20california%20pictures&pg=PA192#v=onepage&q=&f=false

[WinkyDink]

1. The French Riviera:

http://www.villaschiffanoia.com/index.html

[NewJeffCT]

26. That looks rather nice

you have good taste!

[kayakjohnny]

2. A little rough, needs some work. Good view though. And protected. But dicey during high winds.

Neighbors a little envious. The trek up a little harsh when I'm not feeling well. But off the grid and that suits me just fine.






(Oh, and peeing off the top an absolute blast!)

[Shell Beau]

3. I want something very rustic or something with a wrap around porch.

This would do! Look at the view! I would change some of the decorations.


Or something a little classic like this! I would sit on the porch all day!



Or something with a wonderful deck or patio!

[lizziegrace]

8. Love the porch on the second one.

:-)

:hug:

[Shell Beau]

9. Me too! And that would be more realistic for me.

I will not be affording any beach or mountain front property in this lifetime!! :P


:hi: :loveya:

[JTG of the PRB]

4. I think I could live quite nicely right here:

But that's just me.

[Haole Girl]

5. Something like this (near the ocean):

Only with a lot more vegetation (papaya trees, plumeria, hibiscus, etc)

[flvegan]

6. The Great House on Necker Island

[shanti]

81. me too

i love the design of this house. what could be better than living on your own private caribbean island? :shrug:

[underpants]

7. :-)~

[Shell Beau]

10. I'm not selling my house any time soon!!

Who could even begin to take up all of that space??

[underpants]

14. *wink*

[Shell Beau]

16. Well when you have 100 girlfriends and even more staff...

Plus the grotto!!

But what you really want is to be Hugh Hefner!! Come on, admit it. :P

[lizziegrace]

11. I'm living in it

now if I can find a way some day to buy it. (I'm renting it now.)

[Shell Beau]

12. I love that!! It would look awesome with a little ivy/moss growing on it!!

:7

[lizziegrace]

13. I'd like to put a roof over the front porch.

It would take a lot of research to make sure it's appropriate for the age. I have photos of the house going back 70-80 years. There's never been a roof over the porch. There always has been a back porch though.

[Shell Beau]

15. I think that would look great on that house.

I do love that house too. It is just classic.

[lizziegrace]

17. when you're inside the house

you don't feel like you're in a 165 year old house. It feels like a home. No one painted the woodwork or tore out the original hardwood floors. :)

[Shell Beau]

18. That is awesome. The way homes used to be made and how

they are made now is just crazy. They made them right back in the day.

[Capn Sunshine]

19. who's in the shallow grave?

Nice place though. Where is it?

[lizziegrace]

20. I'll never tell

;)

It's on 4 acres outside Columbus, OH. I decided to put in raised beds for a vegetable garden rather than digging down. After 165 years, I have no idea what's in the ground.

[Flaxbee]

21. it's lovely, lizziegrace.

I hope very much you can buy it one day soon. A good covered front porch would really add a lot to it :hi:

[lizziegrace]

36. Thank you

:)

I just love this old lady. We were meant to be together.

:hi:

[mdmc]

38. very nice

[mdmc]

39. very nice

[nytemare]

22. LOL, this is fun.

[TommyO]

69. I see your Addams Family mansion and raise you a Munster mansion

What it looked like in 2004:

[nytemare]

70. Beautiful house.

I live in Orlando, and live near Universal Studios here where they had the Psycho house facade. They took it down a few years back to put up a hotel. I miss seeing the Psycho house every night.

[Capn Sunshine]

23. Mine's got a good porch

and a long view

[Capn Sunshine]

24. WTF

wtf. v2.0

[XemaSab]

25. Here:

http://www.ferncottage.org

[charlie and algernon]

27. a cabin in the mountains

something like this would be awsome, preferably near a lake, as the view from the front window.

[Shell Beau]

30. I could certainly live there.

[charlie and algernon]

42. what you don't see is the dock for my boat and fishing

I could sit for hours in front of that outside fireplace, after hiking all through those hills of course. :-)

[midnight armadillo]

28. A little small but...

something that sits lightly on the environment around it:

[Sanity Claws]

48. This is the closest to what I had in mind

I clean my own house and wouldn't like to be responsible for the cleaning of all those big houses shown earlier up on the thread.
Also, this house is so much cheaper to heat. It might be nice to have a glasshouse added on the Southside to sit in and enjoy the view.

[smirkymonkey]

64. That's beautiful! I love smaller houses.

Large houses make me feel cold and overwhelmed and lonely.

[tigereye]

71. nice!

[Aristus]

29. Mine:

[Suich]

35. Cool!

Where is it? Are there any pics of the inside?

:hi:

[Aristus]

45. Sure:

It's in Hobbiton, The Shire, Middle Earth.

[RoadRage]

31. Ultra Modern Beach House!

LOVE IT!

[AsahinaKimi]

32. if this could be built in San Francisco ..

I would live in it...

exterior


interior



interior

[csziggy]

33. Here is ours while in progress - I can't believe I never posted pics online

Of the completed house. Now that it is finished, it looks like it has been here for decades.

[donheld]

34. Massa, toscana, Italia

[hobbit709]

37. I want one of these

?1239865676

[carlyhippy]

40. this is the first one that comes to mind

[Flaxbee]

46. really?

:hi:

[MorningGlow]

41. Here, please

But it needs to actually BE in the U.K.--none of this Murkin imitation crap. Savvy? :evilgrin:

[Flaxbee]

47. I completely understand.

Loses its charm, I think, when it's US-faux.

[smirkymonkey]

65. That would be my Ideal - I have always dreamed of a thatched

roof cottage in the English countryside! Beautiful!

[canoeist52]

43. portable dream home

[canoeist52]

44. but, if I was to downsize...

http://www.junglehammock.com/

[valerief]

49. Any one of these are nice.

http://www.thevenusproject.com/technology/housing

[tigereye]

50. hmm, Brit cottage

whoops, sorry so big. Don't know how to downsize it...




http://www.manorcottages.co.uk/cottages/thatched-cottage.html

[WorseBeforeBetter]

53. Love it.

Although I'd probably lose the green and pick up on the red in the roof.

[LeftyMom]

51. I'm not so picky about the rest, but I'd really like a gigantic, well-designed kitchen.

I love to cook, and given the option I spend the majority of my waking hours puttering about in my kitchen working on one project or another.

Anyhow, I rather like the look of this one, but I'd want more room to move around the island, I hate aisles, they create logjams whenever two people are in the kitchen at once:



http://www.hgtv.com/kitchens/tour-the-top-10-amazing-kitchens/pictures/page-10.html

[jus_the_facts]

52. I'll take Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water please and thanks...

[tonekat]

61. You have good taste N/T

[jus_the_facts]

79. I fall in love with it every time I google it again.

:)

[Forkboy]

54. ok

[wysimdnwyg]

55. Maybe update the house a bit, but this is as close as I could find

Small cabin on a private lake surrounded by woods. I can't imagine a better place to retire.

[MrScorpio]

56. Here we go!

[spinbaby]

57. A bungalow

[TommyO]

58. When playing around, searching for house plans, I found this little gem

Unfortunately, the full link doesn't work here at DU, but I found it at http://www.houseplans.com The plan # is 64-123, you can search for it on their home page.



It has everything I would want, or need, in a house

[Flaxbee]

67. I like neat, tidy cottages, too. But you NEED at least 1.5 bathrooms

For company, if the plumbing is an issue in one if them, whatever. Must have at least two toilets in the house. Even if there is only one of you living there.

[TommyO]

68. I've lived in houses with one toilet and with four

The only issue was at the housewarming in the condo with two bathrooms, and that wasn't because of plumbing, but because two people barricaded them in one of the bathrooms and were making out!

Of course, one of these could also work for me:





http://www.yurts.com

[Sanity Claws]

80. It looks lovely

But is it drafty?
Also, does it have plumbing?

[TommyO]

82. Drafty, I don't know

Right from www.yurts.com:

Can plumbing be added?
Plumbing can easily be brought up through the floor of the yurt. If you wish to add interior partition walls the plumbing can be installed into these walls after being brought through the floor. If your site has plumbing and septic hookups you can use standard fixtures, but in remote areas people often use composting toilets and alternative gray water systems. Consult with a local plumber for more information.

[unpossibles]

59. something along these lines

or maybe an underground earthship.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

60. two examples

[Xithras]

62. This, on a forested Oregon hillside, overlooking the ocean

With ferns and moss covered trees swaying only feet from the house.

[tigereye]

73. love it!

I love those types of roofs- you almost expect elves to step out, or something!

[Rambis]

63. cottage by the sea

Pub full of this not pictured

[Lethe]

66. Tom Bombadil's home. Or one of the hobbiton's houses.

Seriously.

No pictures, you just have to imagine what his house looks like.

It's very green and comfortable.

[ecstatic]

72. A modern flood proof/hurricane proof home with a lake or beach

in the back. And it can't be too close to the neighbors...

[lildreamer316]

74. I'm afraid to; I think it will jinx me getting it.

But suffice it to say that it is on my 'vision board' right abovet the computer.

It already exists, it's a few hours south of me and on the market. We'll see.

[tigereye]

75. hmm, somewhere near Big Sur would be lovely

[GoCubsGo]

76. This one

No worries about unpleasant neighbors or break-ins:




Actually, I can't find a photo of my ideal home. HGTV used to have a show called "Extreme Homes." One that they featured was a house in Albuquerque that was built into the side of a mountain. It was "green" and passive solar. Lots of windows (on one side, anyway), high ceilings, etc. There were others the show featured that I loved, as well, including a couple in the Vancouver, BC area that were high up, but on the water.

[Tripper11]

77. Love this place, Cannon Beach

Same place warmer climate would do just fine....but I really dig this place.

[Mutley]

78. Something like this...

Top floor.