My Dream House

The good news is that our tenants moved out of our house! We went over there yesterday to get the keys and have a look. The kids and I walked through the house straight to the backyard (I tried to ignore the dead grass and weeds) and down to the creek. We spent a little time there throwing rocks in and moving rocks around. Loved it. So peaceful and beautiful back there. But then we went back in the house and remembered that it's still pretty small and still pretty badly laid out. Sigh.

So now we are officially house hunting. So far that means looking at a lot of houses and waiting for something to jump out at us.
Russell pulled this book off the shelf at Deseret Industries in Utah a few weeks ago. I considered it a sign, and bought it.

The book suggests that before we do anything, we come up with a freeform narrative of what each of us define as our dream house. Well, we've already started house-hunting, and we're stumped, so I figured maybe I should try the narrative thing. Here goes . . .

The Front Yard
My dream house is nestled among trees and invites people to come on in. The garage is not the focal point of the thing; ideally it would be on the side or in the back. It has a front porch large enough to sit and chat with someone or read a book while the kids play in the yard.
The house doesn't look huge from the street, even if it is. The house looks like it's part of nature, with landscaping that is less of a well-manicured lawn and more of native, sprawling, informal plantings. The house also doesn't look exactly like everyone else's on the street. It is close enough to the other homes to feel neighborly, but not so close that we could spit and hit each other.


The Public Areas
When you enter the home, you know just what to do and you feel right at home. If you are a member of the family, you have a place to put your things; if you are a guest, you know right where to go and sit down and make yourself at home. Every room in the house has lots of natural light and feels spacious and clean. This means it has vaulted ceilings, lighter colors, or wood/tile flooring.
The kitchen is at the heart of the home, with an eating area and family room nearby. The kitchen is large enough for everyone to help make a meal together and has enough storage space for all of that food storage we like having.

Elsewhere in the home there is another room where one can retreat to read a book, play a musical instrument, do some office work, or talk on the phone.

Perhaps there is another closed-off room, maybe with a separate entrance, where I could teach music classes; this room would have to be large enough for lots of singing and dancing, a place to store extra keyboards, and with a bathroom nearby.




The Backyard
Somewhere in the kitchen/family room area there is a door leading to the backyard where the living space extends naturally; this door invites everyone to go outside and enjoy the amazing backyard. There is a covered patio there, preferably with ceiling fans, where we could have breakfast or dinner or cook our dinner on the grill.
There are large shade trees in the backyard with a few fruit trees and some sunny areas where vegetables, herbs, and flowers can grow. From one tree hangs a swing. Under another big tree there is a rock garden or a sandbox for children to play. Perhaps there is a grassy spot in the yard where kids can play soccer or volleyball, or a cement pad for basketball. In an area hidden from view there is a place for hanging laundry and a place for composting. Somewhere there is a place for gardening tools. Maybe in the back there is a place for a fire pit and some seating for a late-night marshmallow roast.

The Bedrooms
There are three large bedrooms or four small to medium-sized bedrooms. If the house is a two-story, there is a living area upstairs for toys, some seating, or a desk for homework. The master bathroom is not overly grandiose, but it has plenty of closet space for me and Rich and the room is big enough for a small seating area or a desk. The rooms are more than just boxes, but have some built-in bookshelves or desks, good closets, or nice windows or architectural features. One bedroom or enclosed living area is perfect for guests with a comfortable bed or sofabed/futon and bathroom nearby.

The Location
This is key. My dream house is close enough to the city center that you can go to the symphony or a museum without driving forever. If we decided to go to the university for post-graduate studies, we'd be close enough to get there on public transport. It is also located within safe walking or cycling distance of Rich's work, parks, schools, and a pool. Ideally, there would be a place I could reach by foot or bicycle where I could get groceries. On top of that, it's gotta be close to the church for scouts, mutual night, and Sunday meetings. The idea here is to have only one car and not spend our lives in it so we can spend more time outside getting exercise and fresh air.

Oh, and I don't want it to be too big! I don't want to lose my kids and I don't want to clean too much. I don't want to spend our lives maintaining a big yard or spend all our extra money on utilities to keep up a too-big house.

So there you have it. My dream house. A few conflicting dreams there, eh? Hey, at least it's not the urban farm Rich is dreaming of!

Now we've gotta get to work actually finding it. Let me know if any of ya'll find it for me!