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lavender_lass

Wow! Those are some big homes...

lavender_lass
13 years ago

I went to visit the Building a New Home forum. Wow! They have some big homes...beautiful, but big.

While I have nothing against big homes, we don't have a large family (well, not living with us) so a smaller homes suits us much better.

I do like a little extra space, but I think I often end up with alcoves, rather than rooms. The benefit...there is a feeling of a separate space, but everyone is still part of the larger group.

The 'big home' people all seem very nice and very excited about their new homes. I say good for them...but I will not envy them their heating bills :)

Comments (10)

  • young-gardener
    13 years ago

    haha! Lavender- When I read your subject, I knew it was going to be about that board. Their lovely homes always blow me away. THey are gorgeous, aren't they. I've always been a hopeless romantic in that I love a small home filled with charming little nooks and cranies.

    The home behind ours is an enormous, old, southern mansion, and even heating just the floor they use and supplementing with the fireplaces, their heating bill is 1,200 per month. I can't even imagine....that's more than my mortgage is and more than I ever hope it to be.

  • desertsteph
    13 years ago

    I haven't looked at those homes, but going by some of the huge kitchens in that forum (and large homes I've been in IRL) many are absolutely beautiful!

    They are just more space than I need or want. More than I need or want to heat or cool... or clean or even walk from 1 room to another. I'd have to have an indoor scooter - and a map!

    Before I got sick I was planning to get a 1800-2000 sq ft mfg home... room for me and the 2 furbabies to roam. Now the 15-1600 sq ft mfg home seems plenty big. tho, an enclosed porch or AZ room would be nice...lol! but I'm already wondering how I'll keep it all clean. I sure hope having windows/doors that close tightly will make a big difference in the amount of dirt/dust I get inside. 12 yrs in this leaky (old, windows don't shut) has me thinking all of this dirt and dust is part of normal living ...

    Those with the big homes must have cleaning people, lots of money - and probably lots of kids!

  • TxMarti
    13 years ago

    I know what you mean. We back up to a neighborhood with big houses and I used to think the only way that many people could afford those houses was to be in debt up to their eyeballs. But I know several people over there now and most are two income families. And few have more than 2-3 kids.

    We've got more room than we need though I wish more of it were closets. Even though it felt we were bursting at the seams when the kids were here, I'm glad we started small and stayed.

  • flgargoyle
    13 years ago

    I'm on the Building a Home forum all the time. I even host the monthly 'How is your build progressing?' threads. It's going to be funny when I post my little shack on there amongst all of those grand homes. Fire away- I ain't skeered LOL!

  • Shades_of_idaho
    13 years ago

    OH Jay I think your home in the woods will be lovely.

    I am not sure what board you are talking about.

    I do know when we had two different 1800 SQ FT houses it was a whole lot of house cleaning to do all the time and I felt like I never got finished. I think we are at 1375 here and it is just right for us. WE have a great run way for the dogs.

    I also like to create smaller nooks. The sewing room is smaller and is by itself.It doubles as the guest room when needed.

    The dinning room open to living room and kitchen can still feel pretty private. When we have our friend Ray here he sits in my recliner. I usually gravitate to the living room couch or the love seat in the dinning room. It is really great to have that space.

    Then I have a small sitting space, trunk with rug on top of it, in our master bedroom where I go if I want to talk on the phone and not bother Joe.

    Chris

  • lavender_lass
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Jay- Your house is going to be wonderful...and I think most of them would gladly trade with you, to have your beautiful view :)

  • fifty_two_farmhouse
    13 years ago

    Many times it could really be the neighborhood that dictates home size, whether it's part of the CC&R's or simply to not "underbuild" the community.

    We initially planned to build a new home (until we stumbled upon an old house that we decided to remodel instead) and most of the lots we were interested in all had minimum home size requirements, starting at 2500 sq. ft.

    If we could have built smaller, there were many lots that we would have swooped on...but I'm glad we started looking at old homes to remodel because we should be able to move in a lot sooner than starting a build from scratch! :)

  • wi-sailorgirl
    13 years ago

    I think that right now, some of the only people building homes are those who can afford a large home, so that board seems skewed toward big houses right now. They are, for the most part, gorgeous and I'm happy to see that most of them have a good deal of character. Although I prefer smaller to moderate-sized homes for myself, I love looking at big houses with cool details. What I hate are, for lack of a better word, the McMansions, which I know is a subject that's been covered over and over again.

    I love the "how's your build progressing" thread ... it's so much fun to get a peek inside these homes. And I actually allow myself to go there and look because I know it'll never happen for me (unlike the kitchen board where I get WAY too many expensive ideas rolling around in my head so I've banned myself from there).

    After going through this renovation I can't imagine building a house of any size, much less one of that magnitude.

  • lavender_lass
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Wi- I was worried that might happen to me, but all I've really gotten from the kitchen forum is the idea of having a second sink.

    They all have such beautiful kitchens, but I like practical and functional (although pretty is nice) but with my location, it has to stand up to mud, animals, visiting kids, etc. I'll probably have painted cabinets (easy to touch up) tile backsplash, vinyl floors that look like wood and laminate countertops. Boring, but practical (still pretty) and far less expensive :)

  • User
    13 years ago

    It isn't that I'm a control freak, but I like to keep my house feeling cohesive, or all of a piece. So I want to make sure my kitchen feels like an extension of the other parts of this little cottage. That means it will be quirky, and have lots of storage and be pretty simplistic.

    I'm willing to put up with home-made cabs that are on one side of the kitchen right now. However, as we drove the 1500 miles home to Alabama this Monday and Tuesday, DH told me that he wanted real wood cabs and not the homemade jobbies. There goes the budget. I don't think he knows what he is letting his pocketbook in for!! But it is a small kitchen, and there won't be any UPPER cabs, just a couple of plate racks on either side of the sink window. I figure the major expense will be moving the electrical breaker boxes and installing a new powerline from the street. If I can do it underground, that would be marvelous, and no weatherhead required. Hurricanes play heck with trees falling on power lines. But the basic home systems like power and gas and water are the basics that I try to focus on. The plumber changed the hot water flow so that now it takes 5 minutes of running water to get the dish washer hot enough to start, and that is a big waste. Why he did it I will never know. But now he does not want to go back under the house to correct his mistake. My option: new plumber.

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