a link to walk down my fave street; btw this is by no means a chichi neighborhood, in fact when we were kids it was probably deemed unsafe. Still lovely and in tact!

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/333-Wellesley-Rd-Philadelphia-PA-19119/10213845_zpid/?

Funny. I've been obsessed over houses also since a child, but not exteriors. A friend had a pile of bricks in the backyard, and I loved moving them around to create floor plans for our Barbie dolls. I had little interest in the dolls, but loved designing rooms for them. As a teen I started drawing floorplans, and to this day I still do.

.”We get unusually animated and worked up about these choices made by reality actors who are not actually house hunting.”

******

Not sure this is true. I watched one where the couple had relocated to Europe for her job. From what she said it sounded like she worked for an organization I used to work for so out of curiosity I googled her. Yes, a real person with a Linked In page and, yes, she was working for the same org I had many years ago.

What street in Philly is it? I've always enjoyed riding around looking at houses—- doing a lot of it these days! I’ve also always, since I was young, loved watching old movies for the furniture and decor.

(I can only take so many HH at a time. I get too annoyed by their comments—-that light fixture has to go, I hate the paint color in the guest room—and the absolute deal breakers they then justify when they pick that house, etc.)

Mountain, we would have been BFF's in school if we were the same age. I told this story before and you may have missed it.

In high school without my parents knowing (I ran with scissors), on Sundays I'd look for Open House notices in the Tulsa paper.

My boyfriend would drive me to various houses. The realtors met us at the door and I'd tell them my mom sent me to look at houses and report back. They'd always welcome me. I'd go home and tell mom nothing. :)

What a great idea, Oakley!!! I'm sorry I never thought of that! ~ I saved my babysitting money to by floor plan magazines while my friends bought Photoplay. Drew floor plans constantly. In fact, offered ideas for an about-to-be built high school, for one specific department, and was asked back about 2 years later to see "my" completed project! As life turned out, DH and I have built 5 homes (he went to work/I dealt with details). ~ I too, have a recurring dream of a 'never-ending' home and often get 'lost' and discover new rooms! Before I was married, a friend and I used to ride our bikes around the Lake Drive area at dusk....when interior lights were on....to peek from the sidewalks. Then, while dating, a date and I would drive around the 'ritzy' neighborhoods picking out our favorites.

I took drafting in high school so I could learn to draw house plans.

Count me in as obsessed with houses (and decorating) from a young age. In high school I'd go out to a party and consume some spirits with my friends (I mean, I'd go to the library) on Friday nights and then Saturdays I would wake up early to go to open houses or to estate sales with my mom and look for Baker and Henredon furniture that I was storing for the future. Several of the nicest antique couches in my high school I bought in high school....

One of my son's friends from high school was on House Hunters in 2009. He and his wife wanted to move back to our town and had already picked a house and placed a deposit on it when they were contacted by a producer. They agreed to be on the show and had to pretend that they were looking at all 3. I don't watch that particular show and only found out about it after it aired.

OMG, I too spent hours from about age 7 on drawing and designing floor plans! I loved pouring over my mother’s magazines and catalogs for inspiration. My mom actually told me many times that my decorating obsession started at age three, and by age five I was rearranging the furniture on weekend mornings before they got up. . . much to their frustration (LOL)!

Mtn: how fascinating! And wonderful, that you had such beautiful homes nearby to dream over.

Oakley: I did that, too, but only a couple of times. You were much braver (and gutsier!) than I was!

Oakley—that is so funny you got your bf to take you to open houses. I would have been too timid. I only ever rearranged and decorated my bedroom, but I do remember not liking a lot of my parents’ furniture and art. My kids probably didn't like ours either!

Mtn, remember the courtyard of the designer show house in NYC? That was truly a dream. I do love houses and have always wanted a charming old stone house. Nothing huge, just a nice yard with privacy from the neighbors. I am surrounded by dream houses but definitely do not live in one.

Philadelphia is just full of wonderful charming neighborhoods.

Here’s the one near me I have always loved. Ignore the utility wires, they are everywhere around here. It’s a bit hard to get a good angle from google street view.

I have frequent dreams about houses, and they are always about new (to me) houses that my brother and I are buying to move into. In my dreams, the houses always morph during the dream, and so it is difficult for me to tell how big the house is or how many rooms it is, or even how to get out of it at times. Sometimes we are having housewarming parties in the new house, and these parties can get really out of control in my dreams, making it difficult for me to tell how many guests we have, and sometimes the parties spill into the neighbors' houses. One of the things I enjoy about the dreams is that we hang a lot of large paintings in the houses, and sometimes I create new paintings for the new houses.

I started drawing house floor plans with I was about 11, and at that time I would design ante-bellum style mansions with Greek Revival columns, huge porches with balconies above, and the third floor was always a grand ballroom. I did also take drafting in high school to help me draw floor plans, and I used to get ideas from plans that I would see in the real estate section of our local newspaper. They always printed several floor plans in each issue, but none of them were grand enough for me, and so I would have to redesign them.

If I were to look for a dream house, it would probably be on the Italian Riviera, but I have spent a bit of time driving through Bel-Air and Beverly Hills looking at houses. Many of them have large walls at the street, so that you cannot see the house just by driving by. I really do not want that large of a house, but I would like something a bit larger than what I have now. When my brother retires, we plan to sell our house in Los Angeles and buy a bigger house in Palm Springs, where prices are much lower than in our current neighborhood. We can also sell our house in Cathedral City at that time or else rent it for additional income. I think we would prefer to sell it rather than bother with being landlords by that time.

We had home design magazine subscriptions, and legos, and lots of paper, so my brother and I designed floor plans before we were in school. I pored over floor plans. Early 60s so there were always new houses and neighborhoods going up in our suburban town, and we had lots of freedom in those days, so my brother and I explored the under-construction houses, traveling pretty far afield on our bikes. We never did any damage and took nothing but “slugs”, those round cutouts from electric boxes that had fallen.

I don’t think my friends shared the same passion then. Now of course, some of my favorite walking buddies are the ones like Mtn’s.

It‘s harder to prowl under-construction homes these days, because of security, they are fenced off and might have cameras, darn it! But thank goodness for the internet! I can prowl virtually, and real estate listings will sometimes include the floor plan now.

And thank goodness for GardenWeb!

One of the reasons I come here is because none of my real-life friends are obsessed with houses like I am! The only reason I played with barbies as a kid was so I could make houses for them out of tissue boxes, etc...

I have always loved old houses (old as in pre-1940) and have never lived in a new house except when I was younger than 12 and my parents had a new-construction split level. When I was in 7th grade, we moved to a Cape style house built in the 1930s. The first house DH and I bought was a 1895 Victorian that was a disaster. I should dig up the pics someday and post them here! The PO had actually spray painted the kitchen counters. Pink. That house was a huge project but we were young, childless, and stupid. LOL. We lived there for 5 years then moved to the other side of Boston to shorten DH’s commute. That house was also a project but a less interesting house. Pretty standard center entrance colonial built in the 1920s. NOT my dream house, but a good house. I always missed my little victorian but figured I‘d probably never live in one again. Well, then we downsized ha ha to a 1900 Victorian 2 years ago, and once again I’m in love with my house. Is it my dream house? Not really, but we considered ourselves lucky to be the ones to fix her back up and make her pretty again, and I’m so glad I get to live here for (I hope) the next 20 years or so.

My dream house has more of an arts and crafts bent, with lots of built-ins and cozy corners. Maybe my eventual downsized home will be a bungalow?

I just spent the last 15 min trying to find a pic of what I’d consider my dream home. I think this is pretty close.

I love this one, too.

And it would have to have a room like this inside.

I think so many of us are true kindred spirits. We live different lives and may not always agree, but we share such a passion for "nests" that few others do. How lovely!

One of my earliest memories is playing in the lower cabinets of my mother's kitchen, creating little houses from the shelves and pretending that the spice bottles and jars were the people living there. Once I learned to put pencil to paper, I too spent hours drawing floor plans and creating my perfect vision of what a home should be. I created my own from shoe boxes and furniture cut out of an old Sears catalog. What pleasurable days those were, spent dreaming and developing my creative process!

I too have the recurring dream where I discover a hidden wing in a home. Oddly enough, it's either filled with wonderful treasures and decorating opportunities, or else there is some sort of evil, ghostly presence lurking there. When the dreams take the latter turn, they are terrifying and seem so real. I have also had recurring dreams about disgusting carpets ... often covered in animal ick ... and I'm desperately trying to figure out how to rid my home of these horrors. I don't think I even want to know any meaning behind the darker dreams like that!

My ex-husband and I spent countless hours going to open houses. When his parents visited from out of state, all they wanted to do was go shopping at a large mall and go to open houses. It actually wore on me over time, particularly when the ex wanted to do nothing on weekend BUT go to open houses. He moved on after we split to own some huge, expensive monstrosities. To him, it was all about the "show" while he didn't have what I would call "style". Of course, he ceased to be my worry many years ago and the man who has happily been in my life for the past almost-20 years is content with what we have, but enjoys finding ways to make it more our own. He has an excellent eye, which often surprises me.

I can't imagine a life not being enamored of and fascinated by houses. It's just always been that way, for as long as I can remember. Houses become homes, and discovering their possibilities is a delightful adventure!

Joanie,

The people on HH have always already chosen a home. Sometimes they have been living in it for years. Some of them clearly are trying to showcase a business or talent, and in any case the participants always *seek out* participation. No one knocks on your door to ask you to do it. There is a small compensation, too.

Mtn is correct. My sons friend was on HH International. They had recently bought a home in Costa Rica where they were starting a yoga and fitness retreat. Not sure if they had moved in but they definitely owned the house already. I’m sure they did it to promote their business and also for the experience.

I don’t care if it’s legit or not, I just like to see the houses. I’ll admit I am yelling No, not that one! when I know full well they already own it.

I couldn’t find a link to the show but here is the website for their business.

http://www.costaricaretreats.com/about/

From what I have read about dream interpretation (I'm not an expert), houses in dreams represent yourself and your mental state. Which is great for all you folks who dream about finding new wings and undiscovered treasures. When I dream about houses, they are always dilapidated, perched precariously on cliffs, or have deteriorating foundations. Once I even dreamed there was a dead body in the basement.

I work in energy efficiency, so I'm fascinated by some of the building science aspects of houses, including things like passive solar and green building practives. I'm particularly fascinated by rammed earth houses. My fantasy is to win the lottery and build a rammed earth house with a large courtyard or atrium for the cats.

Joanie, the road is called Wellesley.

Dedtired, we are gonna need a better pic!

Can anyone see my post in this thread from 2 hours ago? It hasn't appeared for me, although I am certain I posted it.

Ocotillo - I see it....from 2 hours ago! Maybe there are 'cob-webs' in the attic preventing the ability to see it....(or something due to houzz....)

I remember wanting to be an architect or ID when I was young, and took drafting as well! I remember drawing up floor plans and sketching out elevations. And had an AD subscription. So many similar stories here...

We are always looking at new houses, both locally and well as in other locations in the US and overseas. I think my ideal US home is currently a Spanish Mission one story with a central courtyard and ideally, a casita. We rarely see them come on the market as they are coveted around here. I'm always finding my spouse having left web pages open to housing sites and videos. Overseas, I love looking at the Christie's, Sotheby's and Coldwell Banker International sites, as well as more practical ones. This French firm curates unusual properties and this Italian Christie's affiliate produces aspirational Youtuber video tours of listings.

HHI actually does solicit applicants on the expat FB groups I belong, as did my property consultant. You do it after you've purchased or rented. However, I do think many people with something to promote do participate (it takes like 4 or 5 days to film).

Here's a house in the town where I was born that was my dream house when I was a child:

Mtn—-thanks for the street name. Yes, I remember reading a long time ago that HH participants have already chosen the property. I think they are also egged on by producers to nit-pick and make negative comments about insignificant things like paint color. And from HH you’d think there are no couples in America who agree on house style—-it’s always he wants contemporary she wants Craftsman, etc. It gets old which is why I can’t watch too many in a row.

I appreciate and like different house styles and always thought it would be fun to buy land and build each style I like. It will never happen. Sigh. Then again, I know people who have built houses and always regret something they did or didn’t put in.

I think I will have to walk past and take my own picture of my dream house to get a really good shot of it. Here’s another view.

Another with HS drafting on her resume and an early obsession with house plans. I used to use the flat lego board and build houses without a roof (3D floor plan) for my little toy mice. I had built in bunk beds and window seats...loved doing that! I also dream about finding new rooms, wings, in my home. Our first house was a bungalow and I loved that house. Would love to build one with old style charm and with modern conveniences some day as a second home or downsize home. That style is so cozy and charming to me.

Ahh yes, Dedtired i love the Pennsylvania fieldstone, and the b/w shutters