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I really like the size and floorplan of our house. It works really, really well for us. I wish we had a pocket door on our laundry room. It's currently a bi-fold door, which kind of blocks the hall to the garage when it's open. There is wiring in the wall that would make installing a pocket door difficult and cost-prohibitive. I also am not a fan of barn doors, so don't want to do that. Generally speaking, I think pocket doors are not used enough.
Oh, I love it more than any place I've ever lived. We bought the house from the original owners, who clearly were super clever, good home builders who knew efficiency, didn't miss any opportunities to build in storage space, and had great layout. They modified as they saw fit during the build, so we even have a back stairway that blends so well into the room off the kitchen that people are always surprised when they encounter the second set of stairs. Ingenious!
Except...
I remember when we toured the house when it was for sale, our RE agent commented on how they mustn't cook much since the pantry was filled with nothing but things like Hamburger Helper. She then opened the freezer and saw essentially nothing but frozen boxed microwave stuff.
We bought it and I've never forgotten her comment because OMG!
Wood backsplash in the kitchen! Are you KIDDING?
Wood floors in the kitchen? What a PITA!
Wood border along the countertop? Are you kidding, and what a PITA!
Wood has NO place in the kitchen, other than cabinets, IMO.
I cook A LOT, every day and in big batches, putting up food for weeks in fall, and it's hard to keep water from all this wood. Sure, sure, like the RE agent said when I commented on the stupidity of having wood border along the front edge of the counter, "It's the fashion, and you just need to refinish it regularly," but I have better things to do with my time than put in materials that will be damaged in a space that gets a lot of use and then sand and refinish to keep it looking nice.
Use water-resistant materials in a kitchen, is my "wisdom."
Now I understand how these super clever home builder owners weren't as clever with all the wood in the kitchen. This was their only blind spot because they didn't cook. They microwaved....and funny, the only appliance in the house that had damage was the microwave, now that I think of it. I'm laughing out loud now because now I understand why the front of the microwave's grid on the front door looks as if it had been melted in some way. A LOT of use, obviously. But their wood was pristine!
Annoyed by the cheap $13 bathroom fans (Broan 688) installed by the builder.
They are noisy (4 sones) and only 50 cfm.
Not easy to replace because they use small diameter 3-inch ducting.
So, we live them.
We moved into this small rancher 20 yrs ago and in many ways it's grown on me. We've made many improvements, including wood floors on the main level (and yes, in the kitchen, too), re-doing the bathrooms (what a difference!!), replacing cheap doors with solid wood, etc. And we finished out the basement, mostly, which was like a garage when we moved in.
But I really don't like the (cheap) stairs into the basement, which we use - mostly in the winter because the wood stove is down there - or really hot days here in the NE because it is so much cooler down there - and which is mostly finished.
They are not regulation size - not deep enough - which I've mentioned and asked about on another thread on CD and we have not yet figured out a solution. It would be too costly to move them and I'm not sure replacing them is an option either because of the space at the bottom of the stairs. The last step is only about 2-3 feet from the wall. I have slipped (they are carpeted) and gone down on my butt a few times. When I get really old, I'll probably fall and kill myself. Removing the carpeting will be the next thing I try, I think.
Our basement is dry, but I really do not like it anymore. The stairs down to it are a bit treacherous and not quite regulation size. If I take a header, I'm going right through the drywall. That said, we do use it. TV room and the rest of the area is a big open space with wood stove, work counter (which we never use) and a gym set up in one corner, which we also rarely use.
i would like a single story home for my 'old age.' lol
Oh, look, and I just added a new comment about these stairs again. LOL.
I also can't stand the sunken family room & laundry room...two steps up and down constantly!!...from the hall off of the foyer it's two steps down into the laundry (no basement under it which is probably good), two steps down from the same hall area into the family room & two steps down from the kitchen into the family room. It gets old!
I'm annoyed by the way that the previous owners "upgraded" one half of the upstairs to a MBR and bath. The upstairs was originally two rooms, each with a small window at the end and a steeply sloping roof. the primary function being storage or at most a spare bedroom for kids. One half is still storage. The other half is now the MBR and bath, but the point at which the "bump-out" begins has a hump in the floor. I just found this out when I tried to get an estimate for LVP flooring. Now I have to get carpet again, which I hate, because the floor isn't level at all. I absolutely loathe carpet, but I have no other choice as a replacement option. The current carpet is hideous, so even though I don't really use the upstairs, it needs to go.
I don't like open living plans. Next house won't have it. I also don't like the extremely high ceilings that require ladders, a back pack vacuum, and extension poles to clean. They are cedar and look good, but what a chore!
Counters too low, ceilings too low, hallways and doorways too narrow. Otherwise, it really suits me pretty well.
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