The wish list
Have you ever seen the movie the Italian Job?
A million years ago- before dogs, kids, houses and permanent bags under our eyes...it was our go-to date night movie on the couch. This was when we were in college and my TV has a BUILT-IN VHS player. I can't believe I got rid of that thing.
Chris and I watched it over and over and over...mainly because I (still) own it.
It's essentially a heist movie- very predictable but still entertaining AND Marky Mark & Charlize Theron star in the movie, which is never a bad thing.
The basic plot is that everyone involved in the heist had one thing they had planned on buying with their new found fortune. One guy double crosses the heist crew and steals all the money for himself.
In the end (spoiler alert, but if you haven't seen it yet you are about a decade behind) they catch the guy who stole all the money because he went out and bought all the things from everyone else's wish lists- which made him easy to track down.
Stay with me, I have a point....I promise.
I want to do that- kind of.
Don't worry, I haven't decided on a life of crime.
What I want to do is steal other people's ideas- and maybe not so much steal, as ask politely that people share their ideas with me and then put those ideas to good use.
Basically, I need other peoples' best ideas to put in our new house.
Since we are building it brand new, the sky is the limit- which is both a blessing and a curse.
Obviously cost is the main limitation- so we won't be building some crazy huge place with elevators and a heli-pad.
Chris and I have both started compiling our wish lists. I keep mine on my phone and add to it all the time. If I drive past a house that has some feature I like, I make a note. If I'm at a friend's house and they have a cool feature in their house, I make a note. My list is going to be so long.
Everyone I talk to, I ask them about the favorite feature in their house, and also what they would change if they could have one big (or small) thing different in their home. Also, it's fun to find out what they hate/don't use at all.
We have a few friends who have brand new homes and even a few friends who have built (or are building) their own homes, so they are a huge wealth of knowledge.
I've heard that you really have to build 3 homes to get it perfect.
Since this is pretty much a one time thing for us (we plan on staying in our new house for a LONG time- our grandkids may very well visit us there), we need to get as much info and advice before we build so that we can go straight to building our "third" house.
We've each got lists a mile long of things we want, some of my tops are:
There are some things I'm not quite sold on yet, but are on the "to investigate list":
Since we are still a few excruciating months away from ever actually starting construction, I've got plenty of time to figure out exactly what I want in this house (and then sell Chris on my ideas).
So here is where YOU come in. I need your ideas.
Go!
A million years ago- before dogs, kids, houses and permanent bags under our eyes...it was our go-to date night movie on the couch. This was when we were in college and my TV has a BUILT-IN VHS player. I can't believe I got rid of that thing.
Chris and I watched it over and over and over...mainly because I (still) own it.
It's essentially a heist movie- very predictable but still entertaining AND Marky Mark & Charlize Theron star in the movie, which is never a bad thing.
The basic plot is that everyone involved in the heist had one thing they had planned on buying with their new found fortune. One guy double crosses the heist crew and steals all the money for himself.
In the end (spoiler alert, but if you haven't seen it yet you are about a decade behind) they catch the guy who stole all the money because he went out and bought all the things from everyone else's wish lists- which made him easy to track down.
Stay with me, I have a point....I promise.
I want to do that- kind of.
Don't worry, I haven't decided on a life of crime.
What I want to do is steal other people's ideas- and maybe not so much steal, as ask politely that people share their ideas with me and then put those ideas to good use.
Basically, I need other peoples' best ideas to put in our new house.
Since we are building it brand new, the sky is the limit- which is both a blessing and a curse.
Obviously cost is the main limitation- so we won't be building some crazy huge place with elevators and a heli-pad.
Chris and I have both started compiling our wish lists. I keep mine on my phone and add to it all the time. If I drive past a house that has some feature I like, I make a note. If I'm at a friend's house and they have a cool feature in their house, I make a note. My list is going to be so long.
Everyone I talk to, I ask them about the favorite feature in their house, and also what they would change if they could have one big (or small) thing different in their home. Also, it's fun to find out what they hate/don't use at all.
We have a few friends who have brand new homes and even a few friends who have built (or are building) their own homes, so they are a huge wealth of knowledge.
I've heard that you really have to build 3 homes to get it perfect.
Since this is pretty much a one time thing for us (we plan on staying in our new house for a LONG time- our grandkids may very well visit us there), we need to get as much info and advice before we build so that we can go straight to building our "third" house.
We've each got lists a mile long of things we want, some of my tops are:
- A wine tap- which is stupid expensive and we will probably need to take up a collection among friends to afford this, but HOW COOL IS THIS?!?!
- Baseboard LED lighting for stairs & bathrooms: I plan to never step on an incredibly painful child's toy in the dark again!
- Freezer drawers: it's like having an extra freezer in the basement, but even better since I don't have to go to the basement.
- Bench in the master shower: because sometimes I'm just too tired to stand up while I shower, and never have I had a shower large enough to actually consider taking up space with a bench, so this falls into the category of "just because I can" and "I'm lazy"
- Retractable screen doors: I want these on every door in the house, because mosquitos LOVE me. But I can also see Ketchy or one of the boys plowing right through them...
There are some things I'm not quite sold on yet, but are on the "to investigate list":
- Built in vacuum system
- Pot filler behind stove
There are also some things that I'd love, but Chris (and our budget) have already killed before I fall too deeply for them:
- Hydraulic swimming pool that turns into a patio (AH-MAZING)
- Rooftop deck on top of the existing garage
- A built-in screen for outdoor movies
Since we are still a few excruciating months away from ever actually starting construction, I've got plenty of time to figure out exactly what I want in this house (and then sell Chris on my ideas).
So here is where YOU come in. I need your ideas.
- What is one thing you would put in your home if you could?
- What is one thing you hate/never use in your home?
- What is your favorite thing/feature about your house?
Go!
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