9. A designated area for the dog's bed. If you have a dog....chances are you always will. Once they pass away you usually add another one to the family to ease the pain. I will say after Hagan's days are over I will want a small break from pets...maybe a year. Maybe I just say that because now that John Henry is doing this alligator/belly crawl, dog hair repulses me. Anyway...a spot for the dog bed/food/dishes would be nice. Right now ours is in the laundry room, but it's in the way. You step on it when you go to the refrigerator and the dog dishes are kind of in the way too...it would be nice to have a little alcove to have these things off to the side instead of taking up floor space that is meant for foot traffic, etc.
pic - good housekeeping
10. A butler's pantry - The only butler's pantry I have really been familiar with is my aunt's. They live in a house that my great grandparents built. It was a Sears & Roebuck house. I know it has been changed over the years...but it has a butler's pantry with a really neat built-in cabinets. This is where my aunt sets out the food and you serve yourself at Christmas. She has recently added an informal table & chairs in the room to have overflow seating. It has tons of character and I think it is pretty functional too. Her whole house is very neat with lots of character and things you don't see in homes these days.
I think a butler's pantry is very useful and can be pretty too.
11. Storage for Entertaining - This could also be under the butler's pantry category...but I think this one deserves it's own explanation. I have some friends (a former boss and his wife)...she is a designer and is constantly changing their home to fit their needs. Their most recent update was to take in the storage closet from the garage, tear down an interior wall and make the laundry room bigger. Then the laundry room became much more useful and houses more than just dirty clothes. She had shelves built to fit the sizes of the things she owned. She measured her largest serving pieces, carafes, punch bowls, etc. and the shelves were built . How much easier would entertaining be if everything was organized and in full view?
I love Bunny Williams and her china closet.
Makes you want to set a table doesn't it?
12. An outdoor area that is covered - I would love to have something that provides shade and a place to be outside even in the rain. We have a great backyard now, but I think adding a space like this would be so nice to have and would make our house feel bigger (especially when entertaining).
space designed by Bunny Williams
photo via pottery barn
photo courtesy of real simple
13. Awesome closet - What girl doesn't want a great closet with a place for everything that actually make putting clothes away fun?
This is a picture of Mariah Carey's closet...not exactly what I need, but still nice to look at.
This is picture fits my budget better...
via Real Simple
This one is nice too, love the fun light and the color.
photo from Real Simple
14. Heated floor in the master bathroom - Yes, we do live in the South, it is not very cold here...but I have experienced this at my parents house and it is money well-spent. My parents re-did their master bath and put in the heated floor. Everyone looked at my mom strangely when she said she wanted that feature. That floor makes the whole bathroom warm in the winter...so nice to step onto a warm floor and get ready in a toasty bathroom.
15. Lots of natural light - there are just no substitutes for natural light...especially those new awful energy efficient bulbs...if I want to be a terrible shade of blue I can go to a dressing room at a store, not my own home.
images from house beautiful
16. Character - If I were to build a house I want something that would stand the test of time...I would want it to be classic, original and have some character...new is good, you can get all the latest and greatest products out there with out being trendy and predictable. Old is good too, they don't build them like they used to, but it may come with windows painted shut or foundation problems, etc. I would like it to have the amenities of a new house but feel lived in, comfortable & timeless.
images from Traditional Home
No comments:
Post a Comment