New Home Upgrades you wish you had... (landscaping, buying)

[kensaggie]

We finally pulled the trigger on a home and will soon be sitting down to decide on the design elements, upgrades, and other things of that nature. Besides some of the more obvious upgrades to a home, i.e. flooring, additional rooms and big upgrades like that....what are some of the upgrades and or trends you wish you had thought of and included or actually did think of in time that help make your home a little more friendly, efficient, or just cool to have?

thanks,
k

[mark311]

1. Natural Gas line to the back patio for a BBQ grill. (You don't need to mess with refilling propane tanks.)
2. Cat-5 network drops in every room including the garage. Even if you don't use the wiring for computers, a TIVO, PS3 or XBOX360, etc., it could be used in the future for something like an A-BUS home audio system (Cat-5 carries both the audio signal and system power throughout the home). For computers (and other devices), Cat-5 is still more reliable than wireless.
3. Water softener (or at least ready for a water softener).

[texasgirl1]

- a door on the side of the garage that connects to the backyard
- covered back patio (just as costly to add it on from builder as it is for someone to come later and add on

[AGA]

I wish my laundry were on the same floor as all the bedrooms!
Some homes have it in their plan, but others do not.

Also, this may seem trivial when buying a new home, (we bought ours at 2 yo, with no real owner upgrades) but I wish I had the names of colors for the ceiling paint color (no its not ceiling white) as well as the trim work (it looks white until you compare it directly. When wanting to do touch ups, we can't find the match!!! Maybe a builder provides it, but I would double check!

[achtungpv]

a spigot on every corner of the house.

[2austin]

Standing showers in most bathrooms

Balcony (if you are facing somewhat private and pleasant view)

Sprinklers in front and back, fence and landscaping

10ft ceilings on first floor

A lot of ceiling lights in the house

[rrjr]

- any room that you'll want to put a ceiling fan in "made ready" with ceiling fan box and 2 switch control

- multi zone AC/Heat if the square footage of the house warrants it

- this one is sort of stupid...but if you're into hanging holiday lights...outlets under the eaves of the house

[G Grasshopper]

A water spigot and elecrical outlet on the front of the house, so that I don't have to have an extra long hose or extension cord to bring water and power around from the side.

A broom closet and coat closet on the main floor.

[10scoachrick]

Is it too late for TechShield or some such thermal 'helper' on the roof deck? I would also shoot for icynene insulation under the roof deck and inside any exterior walls. Can't see it but it will save money every year. I'd take that over a body shower any day!

[pvaustin]

Wish we had...
1) covered patio (it would've been nice)
2) Media room ( my wife complains about the home theater system i have in the family room )
3) Extra space in garage (so that i don't have to park my car outside)

Good that we had...
1) Pre-wiring in all rooms
2) thermal insulations
3) tiles in high traffic area
4) Deck, with gas outlet for b'bq
5) sprinklers