I've always viewed a house as an investment as much as anything else. In that light, here are my must haves:
1.) off grid capability - solar, geothermal, wood heat, etc. As systems become refined & more efficient, building that capability into the house now means cost savings later in terms of adding solar, wind, geothermal, etc. Plan for it now, and make your architectural plans to match that changing home energy profile.
2.) Love 4 foot hallways. Our new house has them. Makes life a lot easier.
3.) Big kitchen: Counter space galore, and quality cabinets with soft closing hinges/sliders. 30" counters would have been ideal in our remodel, but we were keeping the original cabinets because of their quality. Make it big enough to be an eat in kitchen, add wood cooking capabilities if possible.
4.) Finished pole barn. Ours isn't, and it sucks. Previous owners used the barn as a horse barn, so just a dirt floor. No insulation, no heat, etc. I'/d be in there all the time if it was heated & insulated.
5.) Heated garage with enough room for a workshop. As others mentioned, go deep & have enough space for the most common household tools & projects. We're remodeling our kitchen & have been able to use the garage as a workshop for the tile guy, counter finishing & fabrication & painting cabinet doors. It also has my ceramics studio until we build a small space for me. Make it big enough for counters & a work table.
6.) Think ahead 20 years in terms of technology. USB is changing to USB C, etc so keep that kind of stuff in mind as you set up your electrical system. Making it adaptable to new technology is important (As I eye a 20 year old in-wall vacuum system that has no vacuum left). Changing face plates & outlets is easy & cheap. Rerunning wiring & such, not so much.
7.) En Suite for the Master: It's your spa. Treat it like such. Jetted tub, nice walk-in shower, splurge for the nice throne that can handle all the billiard balls. double vanity. Your wife, and your "aging infrastructure" will thank you.
8.) Tile: It's expensive, but it's worth it. Tile floors, good tile for the bath & shower, kitchen, etc. Make it classy & timeless. New trends shouldn't be reflected in tile. The investment of capital for that material (to me) indicates timeless classicism rather than latest fads.
9.) Hardwood, not Laminate. Resale value here as well. Actual hardwood over laminate is a bit more expensive but not that much moreso if you shop around, and it's a much nicer feel. We've done laminate in a rental, and while it wears great & lasts quite a while, it doesn't have that same warmth that wood does. YMMV here.
10.) Go overboard on your electrical panel. This is part of the planned growth as well. Be able to expand your system by leaving some extra room. We just added 2 240 V circuits, and our box looks like we're the Griswolds.
11.) Wood heat now. Installing a chimney made our decision on heat for us. Building that stack now, versus adding later means you get wood heat forever rather than the shock later.
12.) Make it tight, but let it breathe. Energy efficiency is critical, but don't make it hermetically sealed. Let that house breathe a bit. Our 80 year old house was well insulated & had enough vermiculite to have powered Libby's economy for a fiscal quarter. It kept us cool in the summer & warm in the winter.
1.) off grid capability - solar, geothermal, wood heat, etc. As systems become refined & more efficient, building that capability into the house now means cost savings later in terms of adding solar, wind, geothermal, etc. Plan for it now, and make your architectural plans to match that changing home energy profile.
2.) Love 4 foot hallways. Our new house has them. Makes life a lot easier.
3.) Big kitchen: Counter space galore, and quality cabinets with soft closing hinges/sliders. 30" counters would have been ideal in our remodel, but we were keeping the original cabinets because of their quality. Make it big enough to be an eat in kitchen, add wood cooking capabilities if possible.
4.) Finished pole barn. Ours isn't, and it sucks. Previous owners used the barn as a horse barn, so just a dirt floor. No insulation, no heat, etc. I'/d be in there all the time if it was heated & insulated.
5.) Heated garage with enough room for a workshop. As others mentioned, go deep & have enough space for the most common household tools & projects. We're remodeling our kitchen & have been able to use the garage as a workshop for the tile guy, counter finishing & fabrication & painting cabinet doors. It also has my ceramics studio until we build a small space for me. Make it big enough for counters & a work table.
6.) Think ahead 20 years in terms of technology. USB is changing to USB C, etc so keep that kind of stuff in mind as you set up your electrical system. Making it adaptable to new technology is important (As I eye a 20 year old in-wall vacuum system that has no vacuum left). Changing face plates & outlets is easy & cheap. Rerunning wiring & such, not so much.
7.) En Suite for the Master: It's your spa. Treat it like such. Jetted tub, nice walk-in shower, splurge for the nice throne that can handle all the billiard balls. double vanity. Your wife, and your "aging infrastructure" will thank you.
8.) Tile: It's expensive, but it's worth it. Tile floors, good tile for the bath & shower, kitchen, etc. Make it classy & timeless. New trends shouldn't be reflected in tile. The investment of capital for that material (to me) indicates timeless classicism rather than latest fads.
9.) Hardwood, not Laminate. Resale value here as well. Actual hardwood over laminate is a bit more expensive but not that much moreso if you shop around, and it's a much nicer feel. We've done laminate in a rental, and while it wears great & lasts quite a while, it doesn't have that same warmth that wood does. YMMV here.
10.) Go overboard on your electrical panel. This is part of the planned growth as well. Be able to expand your system by leaving some extra room. We just added 2 240 V circuits, and our box looks like we're the Griswolds.
11.) Wood heat now. Installing a chimney made our decision on heat for us. Building that stack now, versus adding later means you get wood heat forever rather than the shock later.
12.) Make it tight, but let it breathe. Energy efficiency is critical, but don't make it hermetically sealed. Let that house breathe a bit. Our 80 year old house was well insulated & had enough vermiculite to have powered Libby's economy for a fiscal quarter. It kept us cool in the summer & warm in the winter.
