We built a patio off the sliding door to the back yard - with 2 steps down. Before hip surgery it was nearly impossible to make the 2 steps down. We removed the brick patio and put in a deck level with the door - marvelous! I should also have kept the fireplace in the family room - we put in a wood stove instead - heats the area - love it - but the ambiance is long gone! Could have used a few more windows -we are in the northeast and need all the light we can get! The cold can be controlled with the right curtains. Location makes a difference! Don't let your house be dark - no matter where you live! I hate dark houses!

I don't like the fact that my house is lacking
a - a back staircase

b - a butler's pantry

c - an entry hall

And I can never have any of the above -- but other than that I love my house!

Martha

We have a mid 60's ranch. It would be nice to have a foyer. The front door opens directly into the living room. It would also be nice to have a larger master bedroom and bath. Those are changes that footprint of the house does not allow.

I do not like the new lawn ornament we are putting in the front yard.

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it's a For Sale sign

:(

Overall, I like our home, 60's ranch not MCM, but some things could make it a lot better.

1. Get W&D out of the kitchen. I would love a laundry room.

2. Master bath is only a half bath. Adding a shower would be great.

3. Mud room/entry closet.

4. Convert deck to patio room

4. We desperately need Yard Crashers to visit

5. Some homes have a walkout basement. The extra space would be nice, BUT I do not miss the negatives of having a basement.

Oh, where to begin? I don't like the floorplan, I don't like anything about the kitchen, and I don't like how tiny the bathrooms are. I am not a big bathroom person--don't need anything remotely luxurious. But I would like more than six inches between the toilet and the tub, thanks!

kswl...before you do ANYTHING else to your home...just send me a check...one should do it and I will have what I want and you will be able to say you didn't spend one more dime on your place :)

whew...I got tired when we got to your bathroom #5. I don't think I have ever seen pics that show the full scope of the place you have worked so hard on. Isn't it a funny thing that someone else would have seen your home and loved it " from the get go" ??? Life is so strange. Send check and I will send pics of how I use your money ...c

Lol, trail runner...I have vowed never to embark on another project again after the front portico addition. The irony is that for what we have put into this place we could have built a fabulous place we BOTH would have loved. I the lesson learned here is that unless your location is killer, or one-of-a-kind, it's better to move than improve!

I really dislike the location of our front door. It's weirdly placed (doesn't face the street) and therefore, seldom used.

I'd love a mudroom. Right now we enter the house directly from the garage (where my laundry area and DH's work place is located. So, I'd also like a REAL laundry room.

I hate my kitchen layout. Want bigger bedrooms and a bigger master bath. I'd give up the formal living room for those things! But to do the enlargements I'd love to do would basically require gutting the house and there is no point in doing so.

I do not like that we don't have any outdoor electrical sockets and we only have ONE outdoor spigot. It's on the east side of the RV pad, smack in the middle of the garage. To water the front or back yards we have to drag hoses all across the driveway or the back yard.

I do not like the trees in our front yard or on the property line. I would replace them in a heartbeat.

Other than that, I like my house. I love it's character and the massive amount of storage (everywhere but the kitchen) that I have.

Trailrunner, I rarely buy a lottery ticket. The only time I think of it is when I'm at the grocery store. They have a machine there that sells them, but it's usually broken. When I worked in an office, I would put my dollar into the weekly lottery fund. I think we won $100 once.

i cannot stand the busy road. when i bought here 22 years ago there were three families who lived year round above me. now that the ski area sold off a hundred rental condos and sold dozens of lots we have constant 70mph traffic.
i could handle the ski traffic, cuz it was predictable and had a start and an end.
otoh, the back of the house faces a wide section of the brook, which has waterfalls, swimming holes and our covered bridge right out back. our backyard is fabulous, even without trails for horseback riding right outside. i board my mares so i can ride with my friends, though i'd much rather have them at home if i could ride out from the house.

Pool table in walk out basement rarely gets used, so should we should convert it to a guest room?? Will we miss the pool table? Not something that's easily moved. I miss a basement bed for kids and crying babies !! Boys play pool as often as we get out-of- town guests. I'd like to build captain beds around the pool table. Anyone done this??

Pesky1, your lack of outlets and another faucet are actually very minor problems. If you've never gotten a price on addressing those concerns you really should. There are so many out of work tradesman, you might be surprised at how reasonable their bids might be. Craigslist!

After reading all these, I'm also thinking that some of the problems (definitely not all) are things that I'm sure some of the bright minds on here could help solve quite inexpensively--some perhaps with no cost at all.

Deeinohio-- you wished for a broom closet in the kitchen. I've never even thought of having one there--but my kitchen is close enough to the garage that I have a broom hanging from a rack just outside the door into the garage with a trash bin below it to dump the dust pan. Maybe that would work for you. At least one good thing about that is that it keeps the dust in the garage instead of the kitchen.

I think maybe if we put our heads together we could find ways to do things to solve a few of our wants/needs.

kswl-- we thought we had the perfect location, so we overpaid a bit for a place that had no maintence done. It seemed like a decent general layout (after a few walls were taken out to open it up...floors refinished, kitchen re-done, laundry room added, master bath re-done, etc, etc). We've also poured way more money & sweat into here than we'll ever get out, and now find that we want to move to be near grandkids. I think next house I'll just live in it the way it is. :)

Aha...will check out the lottery ticket thing in ....GA ! We don't have it in AL....has been tried by some to get it here but many of us are opposed to it so it has failed...and just when I could use a winning ticket LOL.

kwsl: oh that really stinks !! Hindsight and all that. Have you posted many pics of your fabulous place ??? I don't know where I have been...would love to see the grounds. c

Sujafr---- you are SO right! I find myself drawn to very tiny, well designed homes and that's a sure sign I live in something way too big that I still dont like. :(

And you're also right about the cost of a hose bib and outdoor outlets. I'm not sure exactly how much the hose bibs would cost, but you could have two or three gfi outlets installed outside for about $500 in my area (mid Ga).

Baseboard heat. Wanted hot water heat for many reasons when we bought. The baseboards are ugly, hard to paint, difficult to replace. Plus no central a/c. It's on the list, we will put it in some day, but due to lack of existing duct work, it will only be so so.

Kswl, the good news is you bought your house in GA! My jaw has dropped at "what you get for the money" in GA!

I look at real estate all over the country on the internet (why do I torture myself?) & have concluded that GA would be a wonderful, economical, beautiful place to relocate if given the chance. I see so many pretty houses & neighborhoods there & the prices are amazing compared with prices where I am.

I know you've plunked a lot of money into your place (& it sounds fabulous!) but the bright side is, in many other locales, you would have paid much more up front for the house too!

I so agree with you that a small, "jewel box" of a house would be ideal. Attention given to the details, quality materials, top-notch construction, but small square footage, managable yard, not too much lawn...that's my idea of a dream house!

Sometimes you can't forsee what a piece of property requires in terms of upgrades or even maintenance, until you are living in it. Visiting it a house a few times before we make these big commitments does not provide enough info for such life-altering purchases if you ask me!

I'm still not clear, Kswl, why after all of your improvements, do you not "love" your house? Did/does your DH love it? Forgive me if I am being intrusive. I understand if you'd prefer not to delve further into the details.

I always feel ungrateful complaining about my house because everyone else seems to think that it's wonderful. We had it custom built for us . . . but I sure would change a few things if I could!
Like many of you here have already mentioned, my first kitchen left a lot to be desired. As MJsee said, her kitchen "was not designed by someone who cooked". GREAT observation and soooooo true in too many homes! Mine was like that, but after 11 years of living with it's many flaws we finally had it gutted and redone. This time with MY design and it's awesome. Four years later, I still love it!

Another thing that I'd like to do ~ and probably will whenever we finally have to get a new roof~ is to add a skylight in the guest room and the dining room, which don't get enough natural light IMO.

I also really wish that we had an attic and/or a basement for extra storage. However, attics are not the norm in hacienda-style homes like ours and basements out here are very rare indeed. Sadly, we have too many huge boulders in the ground to make them realistic or reasonably priced.

I wish that we'd had a great room and then a game room for the kids built instead of a family room right off the kitchen and a separate living room nearby. My kids and their friends would have enjoyed that space to hang out in and be noisy.

I love our brick floors and am glad that we have the in-floor heating, but I sometimes wish that bricks were softer and easier on feet and backs . . . and dishes!

If I had to do it all over again, the biggest thing I'd change is the basic design of our home. It's long boomerang-shape was designed to take in the (awesome) mountain and mesa views, front and back, which it does nicely. But, I'd much prefer a traditional, squared U-shaped hacienda design with a big courtyard in the middle and then an adobe wall enclosing it on the fourth side. We'd still have the views, but I like the "sanctuary" feel of that type of design.
Very interesting question!
Lynn

SG and Kswl--definitely on the lookout now for the "jewelbox" SG described! Small, well-built, everything perfectly placed, low maintenance yard.... Unfortunately the ones I'm finding have a treasure box price tag.

Dang, forgot I wish I had walk in closets.

Sujafr, it's been my experience that such a gem is almost impossible to find with any sort of price tag! Seems builders think quality only counts for those interested in grand accomodations.

Maybe changes in the economy will force builders to re-think that. There has got to be more demand for smaller houses that are easier to sustain & maintain that are well-constructed. True, people with numerous children, & lots of house guests, need ample square footage, but there are lots of people looking for what we want too, I think.

I am learning from this thread that there is no such thing as a perfect house...except for maybe in our dreams! We do learn a lot from our houses though, don't we?

I love these...they are pricey though...but are cropping up more and more...Google Pocket neighborhoods

Here is a link that might be useful: pocket neighborhoods

Every room except for the master bedroom could use another foot or 2. The kitchen has too many doors and openings. It has a door to the mudroom, doorway to the center hall, doorway to the dining room, door to outside, and is open to the family room. I'd like 9-10 foot ceilings. A bigger closet in master bedroom. I think that is it. I actually really like my house. It is so well built that I fear moving.

This an interesting question, thanks for posing it.

There are two main things "wrong" with my house, or at least things that bug the hell out of me. (Tons of other things that I think would drive most "normal" people up a wall, such as having no central heat and only partial electrification.)

One thing I can't change, only adapt to, and the other I can change but have been too wussy to get done (even after having been here nearly a quarter of a century).

What I can't change is how the house is set on the land and how it is approached. The house is an intact, period, (c 1845-55) vernacular, central-hall Greek Revival farmhouse. So far, so good! Unfortunately, the front facade with its beautiful double doors, sidelights, full facade front porch and the whole expected GR look (south-facing, too!) is not the side of the house that has any access to the driveway.

In other words, it looks south over trees and meadows, but the driveway goes north, behind the house to the barn yards. And this being a semi-working farm in a rural area, no one would ever dream of approaching the house from any other entrance other than from the driveway in back. I could have quicksand with poisonous vipers, man-eating tigers and steaming nuclear waste between the driveway and the back entrance and everyone would still struggle through it to get to the damned back door.

The interesting thing to see is that other householders before us have struggled with this same issue, without success. At one point the house was re-jiggered to be a side-entrance, central-hall (with a very peculiar interior arrangement). I have pictures of when this was in place (c 1875) with the family proudly arrayed on the "front lawn" -actually the east side - and you can see from wear patterns in the grass no one ever used that front entrance, either. While everyone still came and went through the back way.

My planned solution is to rearrange the interior room uses so that even when people go to the back door they will find themselves, whether they like it or not, at my "front entrance" leading to my "front hall" leading directly into my main reception rooms, etc. For various reasons, I don't want to rejigger the exterior, and I don't believe I can change local customs, but I think my solution will solve the problem. (Or at least solve my problem, as most people are probably not aware that I loathe the way it is today.)

Now, the second problem, I could solve in one long, violent, weekend, but so far haven't, much to my (self)disgust. The previous owners were paid money to plant a soil conservation windbreak of evergreen trees. But being canny farmers they didn't want to sacrifice any arable land so they put the seedlings in narrow rows all around the house.

Thirty-five years later those same trees loom over my house, especially on the crucial east, south and west sides. Yes, they provide some welcome windbreak, but now they are out of control. I've taken hundreds and hundreds of them out (it's four acres of spruce and pine plantation) over the years, but there are still far, far, too many. They make my house feel gloomy and melancholy; heck, they make me feel gloomy and melancholy in addition to feeling overwhelmed. I appreciate (and enjoy) the wildlife habitat they provide and I am always loathe to cut any tree. But if I had been smart, I'd have offed 'em the week we moved in when they were only 2-4 feet tall, not the 20-40 feet they are today. At the time, however, they were so cute, and the PO (who were very proud of their success in getting them started) were expected to move away to the South the following spring so they wouldn't know of my predations if I delayed a few months. Now 24 years later, the PO are still here living next door and so are the trees and the complex habitat it has become is home to the creatures who live there, and, and, etc. I just need to SUCK IT UP and get out the chainsaws. And let the sun shine in, on me!

L.

Things I don't like about my house

1. Most everything about the kitchen. The tile is super slick when wet. I have 3 parallel counter runs which means a barrier island. The third counter is a drop zone for everything and it drives me crazy...and I'm the one doing most of the dropping. Hate lower cabinets, stuff is a mess down there. The 7 ft ceiling. The flourescent lights. It's dark (the entire house is). No vent over the stovetop. No gas line. Good things are the size (23 x 13) and abundant storage, even though the storage does not function well.

2. All of the flooring. Hazardous tile in wet areas and stained carpeting in living area. I've gone to the concrete slab in several rooms just to get rid of the most offensive sections. Which brings me to...

3. Slab construction. I'd love to have wood flooring but it's not terribly practical over a slab and a LOT of prep if done. Wary of engineered, tile throughout doesn't thrill me, tested vinyl (ok, but not a huge fan), resurfacing and staining concrete would be messy.

4. Poorly constructed, mildewed master bath...which is smallish so not a lot of space planning options.

4. No curb appeal. Really boring front elevation.

5. Popcorn ceiling and a portion of the FR walls that takes forever to remove. I swear they mixed glue into it. Maybe it's to combat the humidity of the Gulf Coast, but getting this stuff off is a CHORE. I'm about to start on my 5x8 entry and really dreading it.

6. Hollow core doors. I don't mind the unadorned slab, but solid would be so much nicer.

7. The shifting foundation we have to sink 10 grand into to fix.

8. I think something is living under my deck. Since it's a ranch, the deck isn't high enough off the ground to get in there and evict the critter(s).

I do like the floor plan overall and the size. It's a good house to work with, just a lot of work! And, except for living near "serial killer alley", I really like my neighborhood and neighbors.

Trailrunner, I love the idea of pocket neighborhoods and planned walking communities, etc. Unfortunately, it only takes one bad neighbor to ruin the whole community. While that's also true in a regular neighborhood, at least you have a little more distance to buffer disturbances.

I live on a cul-de-sac which should encourage neighborliness, but there's no interaction other than a friendly wave amongst the residents. I've taken a housewarming gift and a note with my contact information when new families have moved into the cul-de-sac, but I've never heard another word from either of them. C'est la vie.

Off topic- following forhgtv's thought about her neighborhood, I have been in my house for almost 18 years. I have seen many evolutions. When we first moved here, a few neighbors organized block parties. When they stopped initialiting, the block parties stopped and we have not had one is years.
This past week, I received an invitation from a new neighbor who is inviting everyone on the street to stop by on Sunday (9/11).
I guess it just takes ones person to get something going on a block.
Interesting that neither neighbor felt they should at the very least thank you for your welcoming jesture other than just thanking you at the door.

I do not like my deck. I wish I had a screen room or covered porch instead of a deck. I think decks are high maintenance and not very livable. My deck is a second story deck that looks out over a lake. I usually spend most of my time under my deck . . . it is shadier there with no railing to spoil the view.

I guess my complaint would be that it has a dirt cellar and the house can smell pretty musty and just "old" on rainy, wet days especially a week of rainy, wet days when all the doors and windows are shut.

Slightly off-topic topic continued:
Ellendi, I often wonder if all of the media reporting of predators, identity theft, etc. makes people less likely to socialize with their neighbors. Also, when I was growing up, children tended to play with one another all over the neighborhood which led to their parents meeting. Now, a parent would probably be afraid to let their child play outside unsupervised. In fact, two sets of my neighbors have young children that I rarely see outside.

A very good question! I obsess over this almost every day. I should say that I really love my house. And when I go to friend's houses I love my house even more. My house is large and has a very good, usable layout. All the bedrooms (4 upstairs, 1 downstairs used as DH's office - he works from home) are large. But, there's still a lot I would change. Some things are impossible to change, and some just take $$$. Hopefully, I will get the ones that take $$$ someday. So, here goes --

1. Do not like that my garage comes into my basement. Love that the entry to garage is in the back of the house so you do not see garage doors from front or side. But, then it comes into unfinished basement. So, for about 15 seconds every day when I enter my house after work, I wish it were different. This cannot be changed without knocking entire house down and starting over and that's not happening.

2. Do not like that my basement is unfinished. Finishing this would probably make #1 a lot better, plus give the teen hang out space I'm going to need in a couple of years (DS is 10 yrs old).

3. Do not like my backyard. It's sloped. It does make my house interesting from the front (this is why garage comes into basement - garage is under family room). I would love a large, flat, professionally landscaped backyard with a beautiful, resort like pool. I could put in a pool that is partially in ground and partially above with rock wall surrounding it (neighbor did this) but it won't live up to the vision in my head and will cost a lot of money. Plus DH is not interested in a pool. I knew we should have bought a house that already had a pool!

4. Hate the carpet in my LR and DR. 1980s dusty rose. Unfortunately, in perfect condition. Darn those previous owners that put in really high quality carpet! Well, this is just some $$ to replace with hardwood, but of course, the hardwood I want is way expensive and I don't want to settle. So, 14 years later, the carpet is still there.

5. Slightly larger laundry room. I love having a separate laundry room. I love that it's on the main floor (don't like those that are upstairs. I'm on the main floor when I'm doing laundry and that's where I want it to be). And it's a decent size, but if it were just a few feet wider, it would be so much better. Not happening. No where to expand to.

6. Bigger walk in closet in master bedroom. I know, I know, I shouldn't complain. I have a walk in in my master bedroom, and it's not tiny, but it's not large either.

7. And, finally (I think, I'm sure I'll remember more later), I would just love to re-do the kitchen and all the bathrooms (2.5). They are all fine, but original, and would love to have updated everything. The master bathroom is the worst. Shower is unusable right now as it leaks. Needs to be ripped out and redone, which will hopefully be happening the next few months. But, it will just be the shower and probably floor tile (I think water got under there and will need to be redone), not the full gut and remodel I dream of.

So, there it is. But, I do know how lucky I am to have this house, and I am grateful, and I do love it, but...

When we moved to auburn we lived on a dead end street with every single house occupied by a family with little boys. It was wonderful. This was 1979. We had 2 little boys also. They were all outside every minute of every day . They all played together and fought and cried and shared. We carpooled all through nursery school and then grade school. When we had our little girl in 1982 every house had a little girl ! More great times. All the kids were in and out all day after they got home from school. We never ever wondered where they were or worried.

Fast forward and now kids are rarely out and parents for sure never ever let their kids out of their sight for a second. Also I doubt that they have play dates all over kingdom come as my kids did. The world has become a fearsome place. I don't know that I would feel any differently. There are so many predators out there. I will worry all the time about the new grand....

The neighborhood we are in now has folks walking every day. I sit on my porch and everyone stops to chat for a minute or at least call out. We don't socialize with any of them except during the Victorian Porch Tour in early Dec. Then everyone has parties in the neighborhood and open houses. It is fun to " peek" in and see what folks have done to their old homes...most are from 1890-1930. It is a place out of time as I think many historical neighborhoods are. We sure do love it and don't plan to ever leave...unless it is feet first :)

This is a great thread...c

This is easy. I've been in this 60's rancher for a year and a half and I know intimately the pros and cons.

Things I fixed already:
- The back door had a step made of cinder blocks covered by an ancient rug and no patio out back. I built a large deck and critter-proofed the edges.
- Upgraded the electrical panel to 200 amps and added grounded circuits where needed.

Things I can fix:
- No landscaping. I mean NONE. A few half-dead azaleas. That's this fall's project.
- The utility room is 7' x 8' and also functions as the pass-through from the kitchen to the back door. It has no cabinets of any kind, just some cheap, ugly wire shelving next to the gorgeous cabinets in the kitchen. I can't move the door and I can't expand, but at least I can fix the room up in there with paint, flooring and countertop & custom 24: deep cabinetry over the W/D. That's the next project to save up money for.
- A $60 range vent 18" too high and not vented to the outside. (Installed in a very pricey kitchen remodel, too.)
- The PO's finished the basement. Alas, whomever wired it was on crack; I can't begin to explain without a 3 page essay. If I am ever to convert it to a M-I-L apartment, it will have to be torn apart and rewired.

Things I can't fix (At least until I get the surprising news that Warren Buffet named me in his will.):
- The 4' x 20' front porch.
- No cross-breezes in the house.
- The "living room" and the "dining room" are separated by the staircase to the basement. No DR table would fit in the 8' width, so I turned the LR into a formal DR, and the long skinny DR which is open to the kitchen into a sitting area. Which I like. Except that the sofa has to go long ways and the TV can't go over the staircase.
- The master closet is 3' wide and 5' deep. !?
- The PO's added a shower to the master bath. Yay. Unfortunately, they took the space from the adjoining hall bath and simultaneously removed much needed storage space as well as creating a 24" squeeze to the toilet.
- The lot is steeply side-sloping, dangerously so in some places. Much of the landscaping will involve making the dangerous parts not need to be mowed and will discourage walking there.

BUT... love the location, have good neighbors, love that the main part of the house is small but for extra space I have a walk-out basement -- which is very unusual for this area. And love, love, love the way this house is built of solid oak and ash. The builder did not cut any corners.

So, I can live with the stuff I can't fix, I'd buy it again and as far as I'm concerned I'll live here until they cart me away.

We have been in our current home since August of 2000. It was a new build and in an established neighborhood (half older houses and our area with the newer builds). Since we had 3 young children, we looked in the areas with the best public schools. It's a two story traditional house on almost a full acre set back on a cul de sac, with our back yard abutting farm land. I loved the setting from the get go and I have had the opportunity to really experiment with different plants in this zone 6 Tennessee climate. We moved from Houston, so these seasonal weather changes are awesome.

As far as the house, for many years, I had several complaints about it. First of all, in our haste to have all the financing & construction rolled into one loan, we had the builder finish off half of the full basement without putting a lot of thought into the planning of it. Due to expense at the time, we chose an upflush toilet, which I still find dreadful. I really wish I had put in a regular toilet. It's gross to have a tank that upflushes from time to time, meaning stuff sits in there under the floor. Yuck. Also, the layout is not ideal in the basement and I am not sure how I can make it more attractive since there is no natural light.

I lived with the same boring yada yada kitchen, for a non cook, and icky fiberglass showers, and nothing but a laundry closet for a 3,500 sq. ft. house for 7 years, not really thinking much of it. Except it kept bothering me like a tag rubbing the back of my neck. Then I met a friend, who inspired me and I realized that I could snip off that itchy tag and be much more comfortable. She had purchased a large home and renovated it to her satisfaction. I don't know why this option had not occurred to me sooner on my own!

So, we set about changing the things we didn't like and ended up with a totally new efficient kitchen, which although different, is still traditional enough to mesh with the rest of our house. Also, we were able to create a laundry room finally. The sad thing is when we get to the point in life where we can afford these things, the little people are growing up and there is less laundry now. I could have used that room a while back. However, it is a joy to do laundry now. Also, we created a covered porch, which is so relaxing given our private backyard.

All of our bathrooms were redone, with custom showers, and there is not a showering day that goes by that I am not so grateful that we were able to do that.

We had really cheap stair railings to the upstairs, that rattled and wiggled when I would grip them to go up and down the stairs. I had to replace those with something that felt more secure, so we redid the stair railings and in the process discovered how flimsy the anchors to the walls were in the original construction. I'm glad no one pushed too hard on those railings, because it looked like they would have collapsed fairly easily.

Things that still bug me? Three of the four upstairs bedrooms have half walls that slope in, which makes furniture placement and picture hanging the pits. I like full sized square walls, but I had not a clue that this would be a problem. We've managed to work around it, but, if I had to build, I'd never choose these half wall things. For the size of the house, 2 of the upstairs rooms have tiny closets. I wish we had a little more room there.

My other major complaint are the ridiculous six panel hollow doors. I detest the lightness of them. Our GC for the addition, matched the door styles, but used solid ones, so now I have this, in my face comparison everyday, which makes me want to change them out sooner rather than later. However, we have a lot of doors, so that adds up fairly quickly. Then I am left with the question, vacation or solid doors? Thus far, vacation has won out.

We still have carpet in the bedrooms upstairs. It would be great to change out to hardwoods, because it is easier to clean and I like the look, but then there's the whole vacation thing again.

Stinky gardener, no question about houses is intrusive :) This is one of those "let it all hang out" threads and I used it as an opportunity to vent, I'm afraid!

DH did love, and does love, this house. He grew up on hundreds of acres (cattle farm) and our 12 acres---which is very HIGH maintenance, with several creeks and drainage issues----seems like a suburban yard to him. I have changed everything I possibly could about this house, but I still do not like the layout. And I am used to having one giant room somewhere in a house (doesn't matter to me if it is a basement room or renovated attic or what) for parties. Our current living room is roughly 25 x 25 but includes walk through areas to other parts of the house so it doesn't function as large as it sounds. Also, in our previous homes I had a second kitchen which was fabulous. Now that all our kids are gone, I don't need those things, but we have a pretty large house that doesn't have them and I would rather just have a SMALLER house that is laid out like I want (great room not open to kitchen and no second kitchen). Our last big reno of the front (adding a portico) is coming up in October... we need to address some settling of the steps and gutter/drainage issues which this construction will fix and make it look great, but still I begrudge the money spent on the house. If someone drove up and offered us what we have in it (or if pigs fly, in other words) I would sign the contract and forge DH's name on it so fast the ink wouldn't be dry before it was in the agent's hands!

I'll have to say this is interesting/sad/funny/ironic/motivating to hear everyone share their dilemmas--and I've had to skip a lot. The funny thing is we've bought our first home & added onto it, then built our dream home & sold it because it was too big, bought smaller & just built, then remodeled an older home enough to cause us to swear off that forever. I can say I've enjoyed every home we've owned, but none were perfect. Even dream homes have some element of imperfection, either unforeseen or mistakes that "happen", or even changes in lifestyle. We have to remember to find contentment in the journey, rather than expecting that someday all will be perfect. (And it's nice to also know that others look around and think..."I wonder if it would be better if that wall were 3' further out". :-)

Dislikes:
1. The crazy 80's architecture
2. The kitchen with the lowered ceiling that holds a fluorescent light box
3. The laminate floor I can't replace due to money
4. The small backyard

Likes:
1. The floor plan is fabulous. I have a combination of open rooms and closed rooms.
2. Different ceiling heights. I love that my formal has vaulted ceilings and the den has a lower ceiling for comfort.
3. The location. I'm 5 miles from the beach.

We really love our space here and it's location. Our TH was a new build when we moved in almost 5 years ago. We moved in with all the builders standard except for the bathroom vanities which we upgraded to higher vanities. The day after settlment, the kitchen cabinets came out and were placed in the basement and the HW floors went in. New kitchen cabinets went in on day 4. We've been upgrading ever since. Just finished with tile in the bathrooms. It's definitely our home and we a not selling since values have gone down 30% since we bought. A 5 year plan has changed most likely to a 10 yr plan, I'm fast approaching 60 and DH is 67. Warmer winter weather is going to have to wait.

We have a small galley kitchen that opens to the FR. It's very efficient but I wish I would have added another bank of lower drawer cabinets to extend into the breakfast area.

We wanted a larger shower in our master bath in lieu of a soaking tub (that's never used). The builder would not accomodate us and we have a window above the tub. So, I wish we had a larger shower.

Wish I had a larger patio in our back yard. We are going to try to do this next year. Stock market is not cooperating with our plan. I am aiming for a cement and irregularly sized slate approx. 16x16. Maintenance free is the goal here.

I love my house (we did an extensive remodel and addition about 8 years ago). But I loathe the carpeting on the stairs and in the upper hallway. I want to rip it all out and refinish the flooring underneath, and put in a beautiful runner. In the realm of things, that's a minor point, I know. But it bothers me every day!

I love the location of my townhouse which is near so many highways but the roads around it all country-like and beautiful to me. I love how my post-office, bank and grocery store are so close to me and the exit to one major highway but the road itself is not a busy highway that my complex lives off of. I love how small my block is.

For the inside of my home, I love the home office area that is large and clients walk directly into the two rooms without entering the rest of my house.

I now love the open kitchen but did not when I bought my home. I love the new hardward floors downstairs.

I DISLIKE the 20 year old carpet upstairs so much and need time and money to replace it. I DISLIKE the 20 year old discolored and damaged Linoleum in my kitchen that I want to replace with big tiles but I need time and money for that but still may do it soon.

I dislike the skinny driveway and skinny one car garage and wish they were both wider.

I wish my laundry room was bigger but at least I have a laundry room.

I dislike the too small utility room and wish that had more room inside also.

I wish my shower stool inside my Master Bathroom was bigger!

I wish I did not have a balcony door in my Master Bedroom that is drafty and allows water to come under it in storms. I loved it when I bought the home until I was living here.

But this is the nicest place I lied out since I moved out of my home at age 18 so I guess I should not complain since I love the layout of the home, my Master Bedroom's cathedral ceiling and the way it looks like a suite. I love having 2.5 bathrooms. I love all my new appliances. I love having a full size washer and dryer.

I love our home (1 1/2 story Cape Cod), so I have a very small list of things I wish we had in our home that we can't add/renovate:

Full Basement - would love to have more storage space. Presently have a clean concrete crawlspace, but I don't store anything there. The height prevents me from easy access to store anything. Everything we do store, is stored in our attics.

kitchensvoice's wish to live on water - just be sure that the any home you purchase in the future which is located on or near water, is water of a tidal nature, and that you purchase a flood insurance policy. You may or may not be required to do so in the event you carry a mortgate on your property. In the event you own a property outright that is situated or or near water, I can't emphasize the need to purchase a policy of flood insurance from FEMA in short order.

We built our dream home about 4-1/2 years ago and for the most part, I love it. The location is fantastic with 3 acres of land and farm fields across the street and on one side, and a wide area of brush that separates us from another house on the other side, as well as a creek at the back. We have trees surrounding us on all sides but one, so we love that.

When we built, we left off the screened porch that we really wanted since we couldn't know how the budget would fare by the end of the build. All we had was a tiny little landing outside the breakfast room sliders. We have since added the screened porch and deck and that has been the best money we have spent. We have eaten almost every summer meal on the porch, it's great for entertaining and so peaceful to relax there with a good book or magazine. We even have a daybed there so it's perfect for napping as well.

But with all that, it is still not perfect. I don't know that there is a perfect house, really. But there are a few things things that I would like to change. One is easily remedied: I would have liked the master closets to be a tad larger, and since they're not, I would like to have "barn doors" put on instead of regular swinging doors to give us back the room that the door swing takes up. (A very minor job, but it just hasn't been done yet.)

Another is not so easy to fix. We have a large L-shaped kitchen island (which I do love), but I would love it more if it could be moved over just 12". In the one corner is the location of the refrigerator and pantry, the drawer with the utensils and below that, the drawer with the dishes, and across thet aisle is the coffee pot with mugs above. So it is a very busy area and it would be nice if there were just a few more inches to move around in since everyone seems to be in that area all the time! I've tried to think of how we could rearrange things since it would be very expensive to move the island (due to the hardwood not being under the island), and it really is set up as it needs to be. We can live with it, but it would have been nicer with those extra inches!

I would also like to finish the basement. I'm very thankful that we have a basement, especially during tornado weather, but when we're down there during a warning, there is no bathroom, so if we need to use it, we have to go upstairs. It would also be nice to have another bedroom for visitors.

Another thing I'd like to change is that the staircase to the upstairs is carpeted. I would really like it if someday we put hardwood on the stairs and then added a runner. I love that look. I don't hate our carpet, and I really don't mind it in the bedrooms since it is warm on your feet and keeps things quieter, but I'd prefer the hardwood/runner for the stairs.

The one major negative about the house is that all the bedrooms are upstairs. I'm happy with that in most ways, but when we are older, or if we wanted to be able to have our elderly parents live with us, there are a lot of stairs to climb. I wish I had taken the time before building to revise the design to either already have one first floor bedroom with an en suite bathroom, or have the option to easily renovate to accomplish this down the road. As it is, it can be done, but not easily or inexpensively.

And since I'm dreaming of perfection, it would have been nice to have the money to have installed good composite decking so our porches wouldn't show as much wear as they do, or ideally, have the money to hire someone to re-do the wood porch decks since I do prefer real wood. I guess we should start playing the lottery, too!

Oh, I also want to add a shed someday. I don't think I'm ever satisfied! I should just appreciate all I have while I have it, and not look for perfection!

I thought of another thing I would love. I would love to have solar panels and a grey water collection system tied into the irrigation system.

I am still in love with what we did for the reno on the condo and would only change one thing. Since that thing is a window treatment, it is something that will be easy to change at some future point. For now I can live with it because I'm still slowly replacing furniture (that came with the condo) so my money is better spent there.

I've learned so much after the condo reno & redoing the bathrooms and the kitchen at my regular house. It would be nice to get a do-over in my regular kitchen. I'm still very pleased with the bathrooms.

At a minimum, I'd like to change the kitchen countertops - wood on the island, Vetrostone on the wall cabinets. I'm waiting for the range to die so I can buy a new one and justify moving it to the outside wall with better ventilation. You ever notice when you're hoping & waiting for an appliance to die it just lives on and on?

It would be nice to have a guest coat closet. Or maybe I just have too many coats and if I got rid of some I'd have room for guest coats without hauling everything upstairs. Nah, I'd rather have a dedicated guest coat closet if possible.

I like forhgtv's idea of solar panels & grey water collection.

Love my house and location. Built in 1870 and we totally redid it. Now about the landscaping or lack of I should say, I have no talent or vision. Did a patio and stone wall and the rests sits. Dead and diseased trees need to come down but due to location we need a bucket truck so far only 3 or 4 have come down. (really expensive to have the bucket) I can't see even a feeble attempt at gardens if the branches and trees must come down and would damage/kill the plants.

Chose the house for the proximity to dh work and nice school for dd, but the house is a late 70s contemporary, diagonal cedar siding, cathedral ceilings, architecture is underwhelming.

I find it very hard to dress the space in my head, in fact, i've almost stopped trying to do something ill love, and am just shooting for something that doesnt make me unhappy.

One of the biggest difficulties is that all the pella windows are tinted brown, which makes all my colors and possessions feel muted, dim, murky. I kinda want to clean my glasses, or fix the paint, or change the lightbulbs, but it all comes down to the windows.

kiki, that's like ours -- 70s contemporary pseudo-modern, cedar siding going a few different ways, a-frame...great proximity to DD's new high school, though.

What I don't like: popcorn ceilings (non asbestos), the yucky carpet (we're getting it changed out - I've accumulated salvage white oak flooring to match what's here already). Actually, most of the other things we don't like we've changed already, like the completely lame kitchen -- the drawers were falling off the weird little top-rail roller things they had, and the cheap particleboard boxes were *crumbling*.

The yard? What I would almost give -- I don't know what, but a lot - hey, maybe I'd even start shaving *everywhere* LOL (see the thread in conversations) - to change would be to make the yard not have verticillium wilt and anthracnose. It makes me CRY. One thing I really cherished about moving here was the great, rich soil of the Willamette Valley, as I'm a serious gardener -- but no, not for us. The yard *looked* great when we moved in, almost my dream yard (for this size house/neighborhood) but we soon discovered that the PO had done something that stirred up the soil, and it has killed so many beautiful trees and plants. I HATE this. I keep thinking there must be a way to disinfect the soil and get a good fresh start. But as far as I know, there isn't. And I know it's definite because I've had soil and tree branches tested. It literally makes me clench my stomach every time I think about it. I've even done raised beds this year (DH made them) and it seems they've gotten infected from leaves from trees that fell into them. ARRRGGHHH!

The mortgage.

We added on a very large room last year which I love, and did major remodeling in the other public areas of the house.

So we basically have two wings to the house now, not just a new room jutting out.

My kitchen is now in the middle of both wings so it's far from the front door. I don't like that unless dh is home with me. lol.

And it's such a long walk from the sofa to the back door to let the dogs in and out. Walking at a fast pace it's 35 steps.

I don't think I posted in this thread, but I don't like my small bedrooms. While they're cozy, I wish the master had a sitting area and a desk so I can piddle in there at night before I go to bed.