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When I was 9 years old Dad purchased a plantation style home with 50 acres. The house was built in the early 1900's and basically square shaped with a porch on the two most visible sides. It also had a kitchen porch that went about 1/2 of the back side. But the porch I enjoyed the most was the upstairs porch where you could see so far across the creek and up the hill on the other side.
Location: Was Midvalley Oregon; Now Eastside Seattle area
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sockets by toilets for washlet bidets.
windows that accommodate portable ac/heatpumps and separate breaker circuit.
I like being outside of a flood, lahar and Tsunami zone. Earthquakes I can handle.
I'd want an attached garage. Ours is repurposed barn converted into a 1&1/2 car garage, there's enough room for our car & wood pellet storage, with an attached shop. It's a short walk from the main house. Fortunately, our snowplow guy shovels the path for us.
I prefer detached garages. If your detached garage with all the gasoline, mower, solvents, etc., catches fire, you might lose 2 cars and the garage. If the same thing happens with an attached garage, you could lose your whole house. I'd rather replace a couple cars than my whole residence.
Taking this question literally as to what I would add to the design of a new build, there might be several items if the builder could accommodate them.
A three car garage is fabulous for 2 cars plus storage.
A roof with an overhang of about 18 inches
Interior storage closets for vacuums and mops, for lots of coats, etc.
Built in wooden shelving and clothes poles in all clothes closets.
Pull out trash containers in the kitchen.
Big walk in shower.
Stone or brick facing on the outside walls if possible.
No cheap@zz “luxury†anything.
My current house was purchased new, as well as the immediate previous house. Two "additions" I was able to have incorporated during the construction phase have been well worth having.
1.) ceiling fans in each bedroom - and living/front room if not already installed
2.) insulated garage, (and an additional ceiling fan in a third bay, if you garage is a 3-car garage, (workshop))
a. Oversized 3 car garage that really can hold full size vehicles.
b. Either a basement or a storage area for places without basements.
c. 3/4 T&G hardwood (no prefinished product) in main living area. Tile in the bath. Tile or LVT in kitchen. NO HARDWOOD IN THE KITCHEN OR BATH. Our current home has hardwood in the kitchen and it's a constant cleaning pain. Same with prefinished. The joints don't stay tight and become dirt catchers.
d. two more feet in every room. Seems like every home we lived in, two more feet would have made things more livable.
e. Sealed combustion exterior vent gas fireplace. Had on in our previous home and loved it. Current home they put in one of those "safe" no vent fireplaces that we only use in emergencies.
f. Office/library with built ins. In today's world an office is no longer a luxury but a necessity.
g. Either a basement or an extra room for rec room.
Residential 3 phase? Not to mention you have to have 3 phase service in your location.
In all my years I could count on one hand... and those were all mansions.
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