One nice thing about moving around in the military is you get to live in lots of houses and figure out what you like and don't like. Great for buying a house someday. Over the years I've been making a mental note of things. But I'm afraid I won't be able to recall it all someday. So why not write it down.
First our annex is a complete waist of space. It's set off from the rest of the house and is currently the "man cave". Which I loved when we moved in because it hid Sergio's guitars, xbox, our futon, and ottoman coffee table (the 2 worst furniture purchases ever). As much as Sergio enjoys his guitars and xbox neither of us like how isolated it is.
Next I want a real dining room. I've dreamt of a dining room forever. We have one, but we're using it as a playroom. I'd love to host dinner here, but we only have a small table in the kitchen. I gave up the dining room, because while we were setting up the house, I felt like on a practical note, it would just become a formal room that was never used. Especially since it's set off by itself. And now I'm realizing it could be the heart of entertaining.
Solutions. We've considered moving our guest room (currently in the 3rd bedroom) to the annex, moving our office to the 3rd bedroom. And moving Hannah's stuff to her room, since she enjoys playing in her room. Where ever Hannah's toys our, our office needs to be, because it allows us to work while she plays. That would then give us a dining space and an empty room, not sure for what. But I love the flow of our downstairs. I love that I can see the family room and Hannah's playroom from my desk. Or if I'm in the kitchen I can hear Hannah in her playroom and peep in on her.
I've come to realize when we buy a house some day, I don't want a 2 story. It really divides the house, not to mention lugging laundry up and down. And don't forget utility costs with having two separate heating and cooling controls. Also heat rises, which means in the summer the upstairs is an oven, and not even the AC helps. The exception would be if I could have enough space on the bottom floor for a study, dining room, kitchen, family room, and kids space. Also a kids space would not be necessary on a single story, because Hannah and I could easily go in her room and bring some toys out in the main living space for her. However that could change with age. Right now, I'm not comfortable with her going up and down the stairs.
I'm also learning that more square footage means nothing without a very good layout and storage space. Our home is 1900 sqft but feels more cramped than smaller homes we've lived in. I have a feeling the rooms won't be changing, but the annex may just become a storage room. It would be nice to move our storage bins and luggage from the garage to the annex away from the creepy spiders. We loved the closet spaces we had in our Meridian home. We had a utility closet in the middle of the house, along with a large entryway closet, 2 closets in our guest room/ office, and 3 in our master. The entryway closet was awesome for coats and shoes. Two closets in the office was wonderful because I could put away all my office supplies in one, and Sergio's guitars and amp in the other. Ideally I'd like a walk in closet in the master, but it needs to be bigger than our current. I don't hang a lot of clothes, but Sergio's uniforms need a closet all to themselves. And he hangs a lot of his clothes. Right now his uniforms our in our guest room, which is not ideal when we have guests and another baby someday. By the way, this is a common mistake I've noticed people make on those house hunting shows. When the master closets are small, they say it's okay because there's a spare closet in the 2nd bedroom. But they fail to look towards the future when kids comes along. I know a lot of people plan on getting a bigger home when they begin their family. However, looking at our current housing market, people should probably consider how a home will fit them in the long haul, and not as a starter home. Back to our closet needs. Our outerwear, shoes, and office supplies all share a tiny closet down stairs. Would love to have my office stuff in the office. That however may be something that could be mended with a change in office furniture and storage.
One key component of layout I'd like is a home that feels open, but the spaces still defined. Older homes like ours have the rooms each separated so it doesn't feel as bright and open. But I do like that the family room is the family room, and the office is the office. So just need to find a balance there.
And you can never forget the exterior. Which I only really have to requests. First, LOW maintenance. So there definitely won't be any pine trees. Second enough space in the front for some seating. Doesn't have to be a large porch, but enough for a couple chairs to relax in while watching Hannah play.
Quite the laundry list.
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