NEW HOME
WISH LIST FOR SQUID AND SEYMOUR ROSENBERG (V. 2)
Our Ideal House
·
Is no bigger than it needs to be yet
feels spacious
·
Uses green/sustainable building
techniques
·
Maximizes the good views and—for privacy
& aesthetics—minimizes the others
·
Has a larger bedroom for our autistic son
Leelo so his 20+ hour/week therapy sessions can take place there rather than in
our living room
·
Contains social space for our many get-togethers—indoors
and outdoors
o
Minimizes encroachment on useable flat
yard space
o
Separates social and private space
o
Has built-in furniture
o
Uses open plans as much as possible to
keep an eye on Leelo
o
Is designed to minimize risks from
earthquake (galley/ship techniques to retain items on shelves, etc.)
o
Has bookshelves for our many books and
window seats on which to read them
§
Has wall space for our paintings
§
Has a place to put the cats’ litter boxes
that does not compromise fire safety
§
Contains fully useable closets/cabinets
that are no deeper than they are wide
§
Has no carpeting (area rugs only)
Main Features Wish List (further wish
list details below)
- Master
bedroom with bath
- Three
children’s bedrooms with single shared bath
- Guest
room/office with bath
- Kitchen
- Dining room
- Family/Living/Great
room
- Common area
between family’s bedrooms
- Social/play
deck
- Laundry
area/room
- Mud
room/garage entryway
- Coat closet
- Linen closet
- Two-car
garage with storage, and bike workshop area
- Separate
art studio/office
Features Wish List
Master
bedroom
·
Best view in the house
- Space for
king-sized bed
- Private
space/office area for Seymour
- Bookshelves
- Balcony for
stargazing/lounging
- Walk-in
closet
- Seating
area (w/fire place?)
Master
Bath
- Good bathtub
for reading/soaking
- Towel/linen
storage
- Shower that
does not require considerable daily maintenance
- Large
medicine cabinet
Girls’
bedrooms
- Window seats
- Bookshelves
- Space for
desk/art areas
- Loft or
screens between girls’ bedrooms
- Apiary in
wall
Leelo’s
Bedroom
- Larger floor
space for doing therapy activities
- Absolutely
secure windows
- Closest to
kids’ bathroom
- Built-in
shelves for storing out of reach items
Kids’
Bathroom
- Bath/shower
combo
- Towel closet,
or under-sink towel/linen storage
- Three
drawers for toiletries (one per child)
- Soapdish
integrated into shower wall, lower down
Common Area between family’s bedrooms
- TV watching
and computer usage takes place here, not in their rooms
- Takes place
of hallway between bedrooms
- Uses current
media cabinet (TV/other consoles plus storage)
- Computer
desk/terminal
- Laundry
chute to laundry area
- Linen closet
Guest
Room/Office
- Bookshelves
- File cabinet
space
- Space for
trash and paper recycling bins
- Project
counters
- Desk
- Own entrance
to guest bath
- Off social area,
not private/family area
- Space for
King Bed
- Dresser for
guest clothing
- Hidden
drawer for passports, etc.
Guest
Room/Public Bath
- Cabinet space
for towels (beach towels too) and guest room linens
- Door between
sink area and bath/shower/toilet area
- Costanua-style
(think zinc!)
Laundry
Room
- Utility sink
- Locking upper
cabinet for cleaning supplies
- Broom closet
with room for vacuum storage
- Adjacent to
downstairs family room (fold laundry while watching kids)
- Counter for
folding
- Chute from
family area if 2 story
Kitchen
- Island/Peninsula
with bar/stools
- Six-burner
cooktop so we don’t run out of burners
- Large
single-basin sink
- Dishwasher
- Walk-in
pantry with shallow shelves (anything behind first row of cans/boxes gets
lost)
- Galley-style
design for earthquake safety (keeping dishes, etc. safe during EQ)
- Opens to
deck/looks out on play area
- Shares
counter with/passes to dining room
- Adjacent to
Living Room
- Garbage
disposal
- Reverse
osmosis water purifier at sink
- Under-sink
space for compost bucket
- Two ovens
- Tipping
drawer in front of sink for hiding sponges/brushes (wide)
- Lower
cabinet shelves pull out drawer-style for access
- Hidden
trash can
- Built-in
cookbook shelves at end of peninsula/island
- Built in
wine rack
Dining
room
- Space for
long picnic-style table to seat 12
- Floating
walls divide from living room/kitchen—or are glassed-in cabinets for
china/crystal
- Opens to
deck w/French doors
Family/Living/Great
room
- Couch seating
for family of five+
- Coat closet
with space for storage of umbrellas, mud boots, etc.
- Built-in
bookshelves
- Opens to
play deck/hot tub area
- Fireplace
- Fireplace-adjacent
window seat/bench opens for firewood storage
- Under
bookshelves: built in drawers for CD/DVD/Video/Games storage
- In center
of bookshelves: built in media cabinet (closeable) for TV, etc.
- Space for
piano
Social/play
deck
- Dining area
adjacent to interior dining area
- Outside
kitchen area
- Tap for
watering plants/filling hot tub
- Open area for
play (15’x15’)
Deck,
continued
- Rails for
safety; open otherwise
- Partial
shading/overhang in non-oaken areas
- Hot tub
(wooden/sunken; locking)
- Hot
tub-adjacent built-in benches open/lock for hot tub storage
- Built in
planters (same material as deck if possible), in sunny areas
Mud
room/garage entryway
- Opens to
garage
- Bench (opens
for storage) to sit down and put on shoes
- Counter to
put down groceries, items for next errand
- Hooks for
keys
- Pegs for
coats (lower, too, for kids)
- Put cat
boxes here
Garage
- Two car
parking
- Workspace at
back for bikes and bike storage (we have six-plus)
- Shelves along
side for storage
- Space next
to door to house for trash cans and recycling bins (and space enough to
get bins out even if both cars are in garage)
- Garden work
area to replace shed
- Bin for
rakes/shovels
- Potting
counter w/drawers for spades, pruning knifes, seeds, etc.
- Shelves
above counter for pots/small items
- Big shelves
under counter for large bags of potting soil, bird seed, etc.
Separate
art studio/office (for art projects, exercise, etc.)
- build later
if need be
- Small loft
bed
- Small bath
- Office area
- Rammed
earth/straw bale/sod roofed even if nothing else is
Miscellaneous
- Structural
repair of lower driveway before project begins
- Need gate in
back fence to preserve same neighbors’ right of way
- Replace
dangerous antiquated concrete steps to upper street
- If two story
house, stairs should have landing with window mid-way up
- Barrier to
bar drainage from herbicide-loving upslope neighbors
- Repair/replace/redesign
concrete driveway/parking area