Hmmmmm...(just kidding
)
My ideal home would have lots of windows - I love bright, sunlit rooms. It would be set in a small clearing in the center of a large, wooded lot (so, that would be brightly sunlit by day, and nothing but stars and moonlight at night, quiet and secluded enough that I don't see my neighbors unless I go looking for them (or vice versa). Inside, it would have a large kitchen with all the best appliances, but to the extent possible, they'd be concealed behind wood panels that blend with the cabinets (I like the conveniences, but it starts to make a kitchen feel cold if the appliances dominate it). Just a half wall separating the kitchen from the family/living room (ideally, this would be a breakfast bar so quick meals or chatting with friends over coffee could be done in my cozy kitchen space...that's why it needs a warm feel because friends gather in kitchens). The family room needs to have bay windows to capture as much sunlight as possible during the day plus room for plants, almost a mini-greenhouse, including one of those little water bubbler things that sounds so tranquil. The family room will have a fireplace too, and will be decorated in warm Earth tones with carpet on the floor. I don't need a separate living room and family room, just one large dual-purpose room; a place that's both inviting for company yet comfortable for just relaxing. The family room and kitchen should both open to a formal dining room (I do enjoy the formal dinner on occassion). The kitchen shouldn't be totally open to the dining room, just a convenient doorway for serving, but the family room should be more open to the dining room, perhaps separated only by french doors or something else so that one can either have a small, intimate dinner party within the formality of the enclosed dining room, or a large, family gathering where the dining table can be expanded outward into the family room to accommodate many more guests for a veritable feast. Off to the other side of the kitchen would be an office. This would be decorated in rich, deep paint colors and wood tones...cherry or mahogany. Again, it must have plenty of bright light, but perhaps high windows over built-in bookcases, and just one nook just the right size for a sofa surrounded by windows and recessed lighting above for basking in luxury while reading. This would be a large room too, as I live in my office as much as my kitchen/family room.
The second floor would be the bedrooms. Three or four bedrooms seems sufficient. The master suite (bedroom, bathroom, walk-in closets) would be at one end, then the staircase would come up the center, and the other end would have the cluster of smaller bedrooms. One would be a guest room, with its own private bathroom. The other one (or two) would be children's rooms with higher windows. These would be separated from the guest room by the guest room bath and a second, interior bathroom that opens into the hallway for kids to use (my ideal house will have a husband and children living in it too
). The laundry room will be on the second floor too. I'm not lugging laundry all the way to some basement laundry room when it's all coming from the second floor.
Outside, I want a big, covered porch in the front with rocking chairs, and a deck and patio area in the back surrounding a small pool (oh, and the deck MUST be made of that maintenance-free composite material), then beyond the patio, ferns and hostas and a little stone path transitioning out into the wooded part of the yard (no lawn to mow!).
But, not that I've thought about this at all or anything.
)