one more question about new homes (buyers, living in, price)

[SamNC]

I am also curious about the ameneties of a newer house. I noticed regardless of the price, they all have a HUGE master suite with a HUGE walk-in closet and typically they have a seperate tub and shower, and the living room has a vaulted ceiling with an open foyer.

Do you particularly enjoy having these features in a house? They seem a little foreign to me, since I have a 85 year old house. This is a dumb question, but why would a buyer want to have a seperate tub and shower and then another room within the bathroom for the toilet, and a 300 square foot walk in closet? What am I missing here?

[SunnyKayak]

seperate tub and shower is handy for a loving couple but if one only likes to take baths or like me just need a good ol calgon take away moment and the shower is handy for the get ready and go days.
The seperate room for the toilet is great for that partner who may ate some spicy foods the night before and you need to get ready while they are having their moment.

The walk in closet is also great for a couple who both have large attire and both get ready at same time in the mornings or do not want to cram the master bedroom with alot of dressers and chests.

I love vaulted ceiling houses it makes me feel less cramped in a room.

I have however have no use for two rooms in my house the dining room, and sitting room. I first turn our sitting room into a office but now everything is wireless my office is on a sofa instead.

I never understood how they function in older homes like you may have small kitchens, and bathrooms but the families was more than 2.5 kids.

One feature of new homes that I am not a fan of but do see their purpose is open space between kitchen and main room. It may be great for entertaining but not when you are trying to watch a movie and someone is rattling pots and pans.

[amploud]

Originally Posted by SamNC

300 square foot walk in closet? What am I missing here?

I think the large master suite closets are partially due to the fact that most households today have 2 breadwinners. Now 2 people need "work clothes" and "home clothes." There are simply more clothes to store.

The other reason is that we Gen X'ers and Y'ers have a condition known as "Stuffitis." (Consumerism gone wild!) Our perception of "need" is much more lavish than previous generations.

[TKITNC]

Our home has vaulted ceilings, walk-in closet, a shower/garden tub combo, and our kitchen/main room is somewhat open. We enjoy all these features of the home. The vaulted ceilings make it very 'roomy' feeling, and the 'open' kitchen area makes the home feel much more accessible. Our home isnt 3,000 sq ft, but it a good size for us. Quality is better than quantity...

[BxRosie]

Originally Posted by SunnyKayak

The seperate room for the toilet is great for that partner who may ate some spicy foods the night before and you need to get ready while they are having their moment.

ROTFLOL!! That's a feature I wish my masterbath had!!

I came from an old house with 7' ceilings, so I LOVE my trey ceiling in my bedroom, vaulted ceiling in my living room & the 9' ceilings throuhout the house. I don't feel like I'm living in a cave anymore.

BxRosie

[Keith "Baby-Face" Lutz]

Originally Posted by SamNC

Do you particularly enjoy having these features in a house? They seem a little foreign to me, since I have a 85 year old house. This is a dumb question, but why would a buyer want to have a seperate tub and shower and then another room within the bathroom for the toilet, and a 300 square foot walk in closet? What am I missing here?

Yes, I do enjoy them. I am that guy eating the spicy foods, funny though, I keep the door open anyway!!

The builders are responding to what the majority of the consumers want. Like now in alot of homes the MBR is on the main floor. (away from kids, or for older folks.) Some builders are now having what could be considered two MBR's, for outlaws that stay awhile.

[autimom4ever]

We just moved into a new home... Love the walk in closet and the bathroom...

[newtothis]

IMO there is nothing worse then a house where rooms are built like "cubby holes". You can save that cubical feeling for work.
That boxed off feeling is not comfortable. The flow of a home is soo important to me. Open space is great (It's all in the decorating that gives a big home with open space that cozy home feel.

The Closet = WHERE SIZE MATTERS!

[south.charlotte&union]

Originally Posted by SamNC

I am also curious about the ameneties of a newer house. I noticed regardless of the price, they all have a HUGE master suite with a HUGE walk-in closet and typically they have a seperate tub and shower, and the living room has a vaulted ceiling with an open foyer.

Do you particularly enjoy having these features in a house? They seem a little foreign to me, since I have a 85 year old house. This is a dumb question, but why would a buyer want to have a seperate tub and shower and then another room within the bathroom for the toilet, and a 300 square foot walk in closet? What am I missing here?

Yes it's nice having these features in a home -- just as important is that many buyers are looking for this in a home. When you go to sell your home, you want to attract as much of the market as you can, so IMO it's a good thing

[LakesideAnnie]

My previous house, a two-story 1500 SF house had a few of these features. The Living Room vaulted all the way up to the second floor. It really inspired a "WOW" when people walked in. And we really got used to having a separate toilet room in the master bath. It gave one privacy to do their business when the other also needed to get ready at the same time. We had the separate shower and garden tub (a little larger than a standard tub, but not a whirlpool) and while the tub was rarely used, it was there for whenever the aches and pains called.

One thing we didn't care for... while the living room vault was inspiring (we also had plant shelves built in at the second floor level) in the winter time, ALL the heat for the first floor rose up to the second. You could feel the temperature difference as you came down the stairs. Right at about the same elevation as the thermostat (which was located on the first level.) The upstairs was a sauna and the downstairs was an ice box.