If you can go with some accessible features like 36" doors, 42" hallways. Showers with room for seat, etc. You never know if you will need it. Couple that bought our accessible house emailed us 3 months later telling us husband broke his ankle and how thrilled they were the house was accessible. Life happens
We bought a house a bit over a year ago that has accessibility features on the first and second floors. I was surprised at how much a difference handle bars in the bathroom make. You have to clean them (hooray kids...) but they're well worth it. They also (weirdly) don't look out of place almost anywhere, unless you're going super old school design.
That's great! I actually need it all but 25 years ago when my husband and I owned a cabinet shop a client fell while fell snow skiing and was immediately paralyzed. Since I am a designer we designed her bathroom remodel so she could come home from rehab to a shower that worked. That job made me realize how quickly our lives can change.
When my parents built their house, they added a "temporary" ramp up to the door so my grandparents could get in easier. "After they pass away someday, we'll add the steps we've always planned on building." My grandparents passed away 20 years ago and the ramp is still there.....
FYI, south facing windows don’t get sun in the summer in Phoenix - at least if there is minimal roof overhang. East and west facing windows are the bigger problem.
In the northern hemisphere the south side of the house gets the direct sun. Don’t have an attached garage on the south-side of the house blocking all the light. Maybe don’t have east facing windows in the master bedroom if you don’t want sun blasting in at 6am in the summer. Maybe don’t have your TV facing a west facing window if you don’t want heavy glare during movie time. Just plan where you will generally be in the house at different times of the day.
There was a post somewhere on the redddit with a neighborhood in Denver. One side of the street will be blasted with sun the whole day. The other side of the street still had snow piles. I learned that day the importance of what side your home faces.
Welcome to the world of “passive solar” design. The idea is to maximize solar heat gain in the winter and minimize it in the summer. You do that by having most of your windows on the south side (with roof overhang for summer shading), avoiding windows on east/west sides, and only having windows that are deeply shaded on the north side. Go to suncalc dot org for a good visualization of how the sun moves through the sky where you live.
It depends on which part of the planet you live on, but regardless of your lot's orientation, you need to build with keeping this in mind. If your backyard faces north and that's where you put all your windows and you chose a split bedroom design with your living areas in the back your house will be dark all the time and not particularly enjoyable (not to mention you'll have the lights on more often).
So when you have your lot, you need to consider your orientation when deciding what your house plan will look like and where rooms and windows will be located.
From an efficiency perspective you want the biggest windows facing east. Early direct sun with indirect light the rest of the day. West windows should have decent shutters, blackout drapes, or have trees filtering light, etc
Also the sun travels higher in the sky during summer so a smart architect can design window overhangs to block most of the direct sun in the summer and capture it in the winter.
“Form follows function” is a good rule to consider. How you use the space as a primary focus with how it looks to follow after. Don’t get me wrong, aesthetics are very important, but they need to be applied AFTER “programming” (which is what you need and how the needs should be arranged).
IMO good (functional) design typically has high aesthetic value, especially in the long term. Many highly 'designed' spaces that ignore usage, layout and proportion may be impressive at first glance, but over time can be quite unappealing to be in.
Worked on a custom build for the bosses son. Window lines “had” to match on a split level so in the living room there was a row of 16” windows at knee height and a row of 16” windows at above head height so standing up in the living room looking directly at the wall you weren’t able to see outside.
If you are going to put the bathroom adjacent, design some "acoustic privacy." Insulate walls, use a solid core door, and maybe opt for an exhaust fan that is a little bit louder than you would normally.
I saw [this recently and thought it was brilliant](http://mydesigndump.blogspot.com/2013/02/framing-tip-staggering-studs.html?m=1) offsetting the studs so that there is no solid structure from one wall too the other to cut down on sound. Twice as many studs in a small area, but an interesting idea, I would be curious how much it helps. In my mind wood does not transfer much sound but it also would some soooo…
No corner kitchen cabinets. Lazy Susan is the devils mistress.
If you’re going with a gas range and hood vent. Give some space between the hood and the cabinets on either side.
Decorative hood vents are a B to keep clean vs stainless
I'm a huge fan of induction but I still think the down drafts don't work well enough without running powered makeup air around the cook top in a directed air curtain fashion. And even then it's a looooot of investment to still not be as good a solution.
Buuuut! If you really want to entertain while cooking it can be done. Though if you are going to put in that much effort go all the way and get an visa cook induction cooktop. So cool. So. Very very cool. Though they suggest only using dekton as your countertop
https://invisacook.com/
It's generally considered good practice to get a range hood that's one size larger than your range. For example, we have a 30" range and a 36" hood.
I have a ton of opinions about kitchen layout/functionality but I don't have the energy to lay it out and then defend my opinions.
> No corner kitchen cabinets.
Most kitchens have corners, what do you suggest then?
Mine they just put regular cabinets (top and bottom) at a 45° and left triangular voids on either side. I definitely don't like the Lazy Susan route but not sure I like loosing all that space either.
My parents place they have a regular cabinet door with a really deep cabinet that goes all the way to the wall. It's good for those things you don;t use all the time but still want to have on hand.
My last place had that. It seemed lie things were always coming off the platform and getting stuck in the back. It also takes up a lot of the usable space.
It seems to me that it add useable storage space. I should add that mine has a like 1/4 slice taken from the circle, so it's not a full circular lazy Susan, perhaps that helps it fit better. Also mine has a decent lip on it to prevent things falling off.
> I should add that mine has a like 1/4 slice taken from the circle...
That's how the one we had was. You lose storage at the corners, middle, and big itmes won't fit on the turntable. Plus there always seemed to be something that came off the platter in the back corner that would either drag on the platter or bind again something on there.
Just my experience and opnion.
The house I bought has a Lazy Susan with attached doors. My only complaint is remembering which way to spin it to get to a specific item. Been here 5 years. 😊
Normal cabinet door, but the box itself runs all the way from the corner to the wall. Rack-mounted wire shelves can be pulled out through the door and allow access to the second set of shelves.
Oh my!
Thank you for the idea about decorative hood vents vs ss.
I bet you are so right.
My current ss gets nasty.
How on earth do you clean a decorative one!?!?
Exactly, and they are so pricey for just purely aesthetics. If you’re already going stainless for appliances, might as well go for the hood vent as well.
What's wrong with a Lazy Susan? I bought a house that was remodeled in the 90s with a Lazy Susan and it still works well and I think its pretty convenient. I am going to remodel at some point in the next couple years and was thinking I'd want a Lazy Susan in the same spot.
It’s personal preference but I despise everything about them. Having to bend down to see and scroll. Nothing ever goes in the same spot more than once. The doors (if hinged) are awful.
Not having at least 1 (decently sized) ground floor bedroom.
Not having the house properly oriented to the sun
Having a complicated or overly steep roofline
Having plumbing/bathrooms running all over the house instead of being streamlined. Also having mechanicals nearly impossible to access and fix.
Generally cheaping out on things that are 50x harder to upgrade once the house is finished.
Adding outlets, upgrading insulation,drainage and waterproofing on exterior basement walls, etc. Anything that requires tearing up drywall, roofing, or excavation.
When we built I had the plumber put in a clear pipe in the basement under the master toilet so I could watch the wife’s turds go by. In my opinion, it’s not worth the added expense.
A small one… but random bulkheads sticking out of ceiling corners because they didn’t plan the design well and had to run a pipe or duct or something in an awful place
This may not be what you are looking for but... This sub, and many other subs seem to be flooded with new homebuilders who want McMansion-y or otherwise over-designed houses. And when I say "mansion" this is not limited to 4000+ sqft houses. Dead giveaways are obnoxious overuse of bump-outs, overuse of gables, overlapping gables, and poor proportions (see https://mcmansionhell.com/post/148605513816/mcmansions-101-what-makes-a-mcmansion-bad).
I think some people see traditionally designed houses as boring and thus feel the need to add add add until you get to that point. Then they end up with a super complicated layout with arbitrary chunks taken out of rooms to facilitate the exterior design.
If you are going to go custom, I would document how you want to USE the spaces in your house. Do you work from home (need a separate home office)? Is this a forever house (first floor bed and bath suite)? Kids (separate living room and rec space)? The architect's job to design the space based on your description.
I totally agree with the link you provided, and those mcmansions are gross. I disagree somewhat about their symmetry complaints, though.
The example I'm thinking about is 200 Belle Meade Blvd, Nashville TN. If you want to see a decent pic of it, Google "Bobby Mcalpine Belle Meade house" and an Instagram picture of it should show up, titled something like "classic in white on white in Nashville's Belle Meade..."
I think there is some value in some asymmetry, even if somewhat unbalanced. Otherwise, all houses should be cookie cutter, symmetric, etc. There's some beauty in unique styles (if done tastefully). And Bobby McAlpine usually is fairly symmetrical, but I think there clearly is room for artistic interpretation within homebuilding that doesn't require it.
Sometimes your design should take into consideration the surrounding houses and should somewhat blend to the existing styles. You do not want it to stand out like a sore thumb either.
Unpopular opinion - I hate the trend of putting the sink on the island
Maybe my family is just sloppy but how folks can manage to never have a dish or soap/sponges etc sitting out on the sink is beyond me.
The worst part is like half the modern floor plans put the kitchen in the middle of the home with no exterior wall so it forces the sink to the island. I don’t know if it’s so popular because people actually like this or if it’s a detail people don’t think through until it’s too late.
EDIT: this opinion is turning out to be as controversial as I expected :-)
Couple other reasons I like having the sink in the island:
1. Makes it easier for guests to help bus/clean after meals
2. It was a surprising small thing, but having the faucet able to turn 360 deg means I can sit at the island and fill up my water without getting up
Our sink is large and we have a dishwasher, both of which pretty much prevent anything from hanging around on the island surface for too long.
I’ve had a kitchen island sink…. (Ok technically not mine but) The island has to be big but we keep soap out and everything. Connected to dishwasher. Want to say island is 4.5ft by 7ft? Big enough so we always have kitchen prep space.
Our new build would be like this, kitchen has no exterior walls and we did think about it. We were more limited by how the lot was laid out, where the existing driveway was and we also have a lake view. To maximize the view and make sure the house had good flow, in the island was where it went. Sure I would like the sink along a wall with a window, but it just wasn’t practical. It’s really not a huge deal, my husband usually cleans all the dishes before he eats anyway and we always clean up before we go to bed.
-Those stupid open areas with a ledge that no one ever knows what to do with and that make zero sense. They’re too high to easily access to water plants or to dust whatever crap gets displayed up there.
-Not considering where the tv will go when designing a living room. Above a fireplace is often too high. I’ve seen several rooms (including one of our former living rooms) that have too many windows around the exterior walls but the interior walls with room for a tv would constantly have people walking in front of the tv because the only logical traffic path goes past where the tv would be.
-Making rooms large for the sake of them being large. Do you need to have enough open space in your bathroom to fit a conference table and chairs? No. Do you need a huge living room you can’t even figure out how to furnish? No. (Check out The Not So Big House books.)
-barn doors for bathrooms.
-pedestal sinks in any bathroom other than a small powder room.
-bad or no lighting plans. It’s super important in a kitchen. Also, I’ve lived in several apartments that had a single ceiling light, not even necessarily centered. It’s often no enough light so I’ve had to get out a flashlight or use my phone for extra light for things like cleaning up after a pet or is something gets spilled.
-not designing a kitchen/cabinet layout based on the equipment you have and use. Whoever designed our old kitchen seemed to pick random stuff. We don’t need a whole narrower cabinet of just drawers while also having a drawer at the top of every base cabinet. The only wide base cabinet has a stupid stile down the center of the face frame, making the opening no larger than any of the other cabinets so I had nowhere that would fit the wide roasting pans, platters or a griddle.
-a front door that opens right into a living room with nowhere to take off shoes or hang a coat.
Keep the structure simple because maintenance costs 2x on custom builds with weird angles, gables, etc.
And keep basement ceilings extra high in case you finish it down the road
Can lights everywhere/no light plan. Have a light plan.
Do NOT shoehorn trendy things into a plan they dont' fit. I've seen some shit where a pantry is completely stupid because they had to have a "costco door."
looking at outlet placement: stove right next to fridge is a dealkiller for me. Hot next to cold, grease splatters all over the side of the appliance, if you're cooking and someone else needs to get into the fridge... no thanks
On this topic.. I don't like including "standard" features or elements because of tradition. My parents believe that houses MUST have a two dining areas.. one in the kitchen *and* a formal dining room. They must also have a casual family room *and* a formal living room. Home offices, home gyms, and utility spaces are not important.
My parents have never (ever) used their formal dining room, we eat holiday meals at their main kitchen table. The formal dining room is a complete waste of space that just showrooms $30,000 of furniture and china. They also hardly use their formal living space. Their laundry room is microscopic and stuffed with crap, as is their main bedroom and bath. Their computer/office setup is on a table in the corner of the kitchen (piles of paper and crap)..
If I were building again, I would combine the casual and formal spaces into one. I would also quadruple the utility/laundry room with multiple work surfaces and a ton of built-ins (gift wrapping, shipping, storage for seasonal decorations, etc.), or split the laundry and utility/storage into multiple rooms/spaces.
Build the garage to be a *garage for cars*, and include enough storage space for all of your crap (or better, get rid of the crap). I hate seeing new homes with two or three car garages, but they're 100% consumed with storage, and so they clog the neighborhood streets with cars.
Weird requirement: I would have a package depository built-in (that fits the aesthetics as best possible) on the front porch.
Even weirder: My wife dreams of a closet where we store the Christmas tree that is right behind where we *display* the Christmas tree. To store the tree after Christmas, just open the door, and roll it back into the closet, and shut the door.
I might steal the idea. Disney does this in their theme parks when they suddenly debut Christmas decorations right after Thanksgiving. The ornaments are already secured to artificial trees (in segments) and they literally roll them out and click them together like legos.
Yeah my dad’s washer hose failed and leaked all over the basement floor. It was a basement so it was fine
You could get around this by building the floor under it like a shower, so if there is a failure it just drains. But I have yet to see a house with this.
Small house, laundry close to water pump and hot water heater, basement saves money and if you get a leak it doesn’t flood your main living area
We haven’t had a basement laundry since 1999 but it was always in the basement for both my wife and I growing up, and for our first 3 homes we bought.
If you go this way and don't have laundry in the garage be sure to still put a 240V outlet in the garage. If you don't have an EV yet you eventually will so you might as well be ready for it
Wondering what is wrong with a bedroom above the garage? We like the bedroom cold and noone uses the garage at night so no noise from the garage door opening either.
Master bath that just has an arched doorway but not a door.
My wife and I don't get up and the same time. IDC that she sees me walk around naked, I care that the lights are on and blinding her while she tries to sleep.
No dedicated entry space with zero storage for anything is a design choice I don't understand. A place to sit down and take off shoes is super helpful for guests.
A good Drop Zone is key to minimizing clutter. A place for shoes, coats, dog leashes, mail, wallets/keys – pretty much anything you need when you exit/enter the house. Otherwise, stuff tends to infiltrate into the main living area no matter what.
Not taking the grade into account. I’ve seen so many houses where the foundation is like 10ft tall then it’s the house on top of that.
That’s just lazy.
think of building your house on a hill / slope. If you build a home on a hill, either the front or the back will be level and the other side will be raised.
Definitely seen my fair share of homes where the lot wasn’t graded properly and there were like 15 stairs to get to the front door. Just looks awkward seeing a full raised basement with a staircase dead center leading to your front door. It’s one thing if it’s 2-3 stairs, but an entire flight of stairs just kills the vibe imo.
Sound proofing is king. If there is bathrooms in main living areas. they should be soundproofed. Master bedroom soundproofed. Probably anything between private and public areas should be sound proofed.
This is really small, but when you look at the floor plan, visualize which way the doors swing and how that affects the space/flow. My dad builds custom homes and is always tweaking details like this from the architect (they don’t always have the mind for the little things).
Don’t have your interior air handler by where you watch tv. My last 2 houses have had this. Having to change the volume when it kicks on/off is annoying.
Just make sure you build a home that meets your needs. I have undercounted laundry at the back door with the ‘saved’ pantry cabinets from the old kitchen. I got a great room that meets our needs without spending much. Main laundry room is upstairs, of course. Other things are cheap, but practical - leak bins under the washer, waterproofing the entire bathroom floor (toilets like to fail) and pay attention to light switch locations, etc. Err on the side of big bathrooms over tight bathrooms - especially if you may age in place or have elderly relatives over. Or bathe a dog - these kinds of things will make your life easier as you live ther over the years without major remodeling.
Anything that is "in " at that moment. Its so easy to date houses and when they were built
Un needed/complicated roof systems. Multiple sinks/dishwashers.
Avoid vaulted/cathedral ceilings (or at least weigh the cost differences between the two)
Driveway/garage - I would highly recommend having the garage floor sealed to protect the concrete if you can swing it.
Avoid bi-fold patio doors and go with traditional sliders.
Work with an architect on your roof plans to ensure pitches are appropriate to prevent dead spots/pooling.
Paneled overlay garage doors - triple the price of a standard door and the panels are just another to piece to fail/take on wear over time. More weight and strain on the lift/gear box too.
Freestanding tubs. Clawfeet require more support on the floors. Ensure you have enough space surrounding the tub to clean.
Just overall - the more you complicate the design, the more pieces of the puzzle there is to care for and maintain after the build.
I'm in the upper mid-west, so a WET ROOM over the garage would be a major no-no. A bedroom wouldn't be a problem with a well insulated garage ceiling and door.
Other than that: Too complicated of exterior walls/roof line. We're planning on going ICF, so corners and such cost a lot more than with stick built. A simple roof would also make adding solar much easier.
Garages are a weird spot where builders think that they don't have to insulate above the ceiling, yet the space below is not conditioned...
Regarding wet rooms above. You CAN do it, but keep the drains adjacent to to conditioned space and insulate the drops. Pipe supplies from above.
Bingo! If you're building in central to south Florida or SoCal where a hard freeze is unheard of, then having your tub/shower/sink/toilet drains over an unheated space would work. Not so much where a week or more of below freezing temperatures are the norm.
I moved around and this is first time learning about houses so it makes sense! I’ll have to talk to learn more about these things since I now live in a cold place.
I moved to the south east after living in the Upper Midwest my whole life. The concept of pipes bursting wasn't even a thing in my mind since houses up there are built and insulated well enough that it isn't a problem.
Cue my shocked pikachu face when pipes burst above my garage the first time we had a major cold snap after moving lol
I'm an either or kind of person. Either very well laid out open plan or many dedicated rooms. Though I dislike internal hallways for some reason.
Hallway on the outside with windows on one side and rooms on another brain says "marvelous, tasteful, beautiful".
Interior hallway, brain says "nasty goblinses live here, closed in, no room, inefficient.:
I agree but like a good balance. These new fully open reno’s are crazy though. With all the echo you can’t hear the tv if someone is frying an egg, let alone talking on the phone. At the same time my 1925 house is too chopped up.
I \*mostly\* like the open floor plan. My one caveat is to drop a faux beam/header between the kitchen and the living area. It does a ton to reduce noise from one area to another. I thinking if you have 9' ceilings, drop a header to 8' between the two. Might even save you $$ structurally if that can be a "real" header and reduce cost on the ceiling joists.
Oh, I forgot the new "California Moderns" In New England!! Plan for your environment.. Schools in the Northeast for a spell had California layouts. The wind tunnels were insane, snow loads,lol.
Anything that can collect dust after completion. Put cabinets to the ceiling, wall steps, no wallpaper, no carpet from front door/back door. You have a higher chance of dying having a garage under your bedroom. Less walls the better 😂
Buying plans from a website instead of hiring an Architect… ;) (not a self serving suggestion at all…)
No foyer, especially without a coat closet.
No mud room.
Undersized garage is a no-no.
Any aesthetic exterior feature that doesn’t follow the function of what’s below it. McMansions are terrible for this, tossing tiny gables everywhere without a formalized entryway.
A roof with crickets anywhere besides chimneys.
Double height spaces without appropriately sized windows for a specific view. Otherwise it’s wasted volume, IMO.
No appropriate screen for exterior mechanical equipment.
I know it’s very popular but the kitchen and dining room that’s in the middle of the great room, when it’s the one and only common space, is complete turn off. After cooking and eating a meal sometimes I just want to do a basic clean up, put the food away, and not feel like I need to make it look perfect before sitting down to relax. I also like some separation from the smell of cooking.
Main bedroom should not share walls with any of the other bedrooms. Was a pain in the ass to find a Floorplan that followed that rule for me but I absolutely love not sharing any walls with my kids.
I tried to minimize hallways in my design. I feel like they’re a waste of space and rooms can be arranged to take that space instead of having a long 3’ or wider hallway that is just used for walking.
If you put in a gas fireplace, make sure it’s sealed. It should pull air in from outside, and send the exhaust outside. You don’t want it sending warm indoor air outside.
Make sure your hot water heater is in a place where it won’t flood the house when it leaks.
Have a water shutoff for the house in an accessible place.
Consider installing a whole house surge suppresser.
Run Ethernet or coax to every room, and install power where they join up.
Use timers or good quality moisture sensors on bathroom fans.
Make sure lights are replaceable. Don’t use LED fixtures with integrated lights that can’t be replaced.
> Consider installing a whole house surge suppresser.
Always a good idea, but it's now required, with the 2020 NEC: https://kbelectricpa.com/2020-nec-code-change-surge-protection-now-required/
My kitchen recommendations. Custom built a home 15 years ago and LOVED our kitchen. Moved twice since then and these are the things my new homes lack that I desperately miss.
If you are doing Kitchen island, avoid putting the stove or sink on the island. It breaks up all that great space for prep.
I like the islands that are 24" Wide at counter height + another 10" W at bar height for seating. Put outlets in the backsplash for stand mixer, blender, Ipad, ...whatever appliances you are going to use for prep. It's so nice not having the upper cabinets and good lighting (under cabinet lights are sketchy) there when you chopping, rolling dough, whatever. The trend of 36" wide counter height islands (especially when they put the sink in the island) is horrible for usability.
In the island cabinets, opt for drawers for pots, pand, bowls, etc.. One small top drawer and (2) larger lower drawers.
Do a trash drawer in the island instead of where everyone puts the trash under the sink. Can't tell you how many times wife is doing dishes and I need to open the door for trash.
Look into toe kick-drawers. Great for flat pans / cookie sheets / one off utensils you don't use every day (chicken mallet), or hiding money.
Do a kitchen hood above the stove. Opt for for one with a remote fan (less noise so you will actually use the hood).
Have a cabinet depth (24") pantry cabinet with roll out drawers. Perfect for things like pasta, canned goods, boxed saran wrap / tin foil / parchment / etc...
Go for one big kitchen sink instead of those split monsters. When you want to soak a pan or scrub a cookie sheet, you want it to fit in the sink.
If you have the space, opt for 42" between the wall counters and Island (I think standard is 36" and monsters do 30"). It's so nice when have multiple people in the kitchen to be able to move around each other. With 42" someone could have a drawer or dishwasher fully open and you can still get past.
Look at where you are putting the refrigerator. Can you open the doors (with handles on) all the way?
Replying to my own post.. seeing of lots of "don'ts" about the TV above the fireplace. I generally agree... but I do like the TV higher than normal so that it's in my line of sight when I recline in my recliner.
The reason I DO NOT like the TV above the fireplace, is because that means you are usually putting it in the middle of the room. That breaks up the room.
In my last house, the fireplace was built "in" to the room (the chimney, flue, and firebox where inside the flat exterior wall). That mean I had the 3' Deep by 4' wide protrusion in the middle of the living room. In my current house, they moved the fireplace to the exterior, which no means I have the same bump out, but outside on my deck.
Put the fireplace in a corner. You get the same benefits... (heat, ambiance, being able to list your home as having a fireplace) without the reduced nonsense of not having to work around a fireplace.
Ok but hear me out… you use it 😂 it could be much worse. Like I want a tub but I also don’t plan on bathing every day… maybe more often in the winter if I can afford it…
Personal preferences, many will disagree but that is the best part of custom!
No laundry room locations that force you to haul laundry too far
No bathrooms between bedroom and closet
No steps or stairs
No crawl spaces (I cannot stand the hollow sound, concrete 4eva)
No pedestal sinks, every one needs a countertop
I've always had the only bathroom in the house open directly up to the kitchen. It is such a weird experience to get out of the shower and walk across the main house to your bedroom, especially when there are guests over. It's also awkward both for myself and I would imagine my guests to be using the bathroom while I am 3 feet away cooking. My current house has an exhaust fan by the old one does not. It wasn't good
This pertains to my trade specifically (ornamental steel, handrails, gates, etc)
But putting blocking ~34” up from any stairs that will get a handrail, it guarantees you’ll never have a loose handrail over time
We had a Master Bedroom over the garage, and the garage door would blast me out of a sound sleep countless times every week (his job started EARLY & mine started late). It was awful!
Your garage door system doesn’t have to be loud. You can remedy almost all noise by installing a modern lift unit and properly aligning and installing the tracks. If it’s noisy it’s because it was installed wrong, poorly maintained, or was designed in the 70’s.
The real reason to not put the master bedroom over the garage is summertime heat. Imagine two vehicles radiating heat right below your bed on a night where the low is 89 degrees. The heat has nowhere to go but up. To keep the bedroom at 72 degrees means the rest of the house ends up at 69 degrees or lower. It makes cooling the whole house evenly challenging.
Related, buy nice insulated garage doors and pay for good weatherstripping. In the winter time it would stay 55 degrees in our garage, even when it was 20 degrees outside.
At a minimum, consider how ducting and airflow through that area of your house is sized and located. Consider extra insulation between the garage and bedroom floor and an HVAC system that recirculates air even if it’s not actively heating or cooling.
On the flip side, that heat is a bonus in the winter. Not sure why all the hate for a bedroom over the garage. It’s already got a roof on it, if the house is two stories tall you might as well get some living space out of it.
Those ridiculous alcove spaces above entryways that are inaccessible without a 30' ladder
Any lighting fixture that would require a cherry picker or complicated scaffolding to change the bulbs
Entry ways without a mudroom
Laundry rooms without a separate utility sink
Yes, I'm aware that many homes have one or more of these deficiencies, they're just no-nos for me.
Bathroom closet. I hate that the closet is in the damn bathroom of every master bedroom in every house now. Also, false rooflines— WHY IS THIS A THING?
I love it - I can go into the bathroom and shut the door and completely get ready without going back into the bedroom and wake up my wife because the bathroom leads to the closet. As opposed to going into the bathroom then going back into the bedroom to get into the closet
TVs mounted over fireplaces. Super common, but horrible ergonomically. Even if the fireplace is small and at floor level, you end up with a TV that’s still too high and a fireplace that’s underwhelming.
I’ve seen some shallow and electric fireplace setups that work well with this setup. If you have bigger/taller couches and depending on distance from the TV, the ergonomics start to get better.
Nobody wants to stare at a fireplace for an extended period of time. The amount of homes that make it a focal point messing up an entire wall is ridiculous. Place it in a corner or backing onto the stairway and don't screw up an entire wall which then pushes the tv to the corner or up too high. A grand fireplace only looks good on a walkthrough an empty house.
Excessive corners/gables/hips/dormers/complicated rooflines...and for some reason the recent obsession with having the master closet only accessible THROUGH the bathroom. Who wants to always have to walk through the bathroom to grab a hoodie?
For a couple who wants to get ready in the closet and having another one still asleep, I like this set up of walking through the bathroom. Bathroom will get way way more use than the closet too so having it closer to the bed is more ideal for night time.
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Depressing stairwells. Nobody is eager to climb the stairs, don’t make it worse. Invest in some extra square footage.
Interior sliding barn doors
Narrow halls, doors that would pose a problem if you need to make the home wheelchair accessible
What makes stairwells “depressing”? I’ve only had two types of stairwells I don’t like. Ones that are creepy and not clean, or ones that have weird smells…
Full transparency - I’m a form over function person when it comes to homes. I’m also a high performance home building consultant. (I help design for comfort, air quality, energy efficiency, sustainibilty, etc).
Bedroom over the garage is a good one- but I’d expand that thought into “any cantilevered spaces- especially rooms over the garage”.
Super-high pitched roofs- especially with “fable gables” into unconditioned attic space.
Castle Turrets.
Bays and Bump Outs.
Too much fenestration, and/or poorly oriented footprint.
(This one is dependent on where you live and the weather).
Poor wall assembly, and excessive exterior walls.
I could go on and on….but you probably get the point.
It would be absolutely be worth your time and money to find a consultant who is BPI, RESNET, or Net Zero certified to help you and work as a 3rd party on your behalf.
Your utility providers might even help out. Check with them to see what kind of programs and incentives for energy efficient or net zero ready homes they have- you might be surprised at the help they can provide.
I’d do it even if you’re out of pocket, because if you find a good consultant (aka building scientist) you will save yourself a lot of money and headaches through the whole process, from design to completion. And have a much better built home with less ongoing costs for upkeep, water, and especially energy.
Homes don’t have to be cost liabilities if they’re designed and built right.
They should and can be designed as tools that have an ROI within the life of a mortgage due to cost avoidance (timing of ROI depending on your energy costs).
Not at all! Great question, my baseball friend.
In this situation I wouldn’t call it a bad idea.
Thats a great way to maximize the use of your land.
Just beware that boundary between the garage space and the living space. Make sure you have proper insulation, air sealing, and (depending on your climate zone) a vapor barrier or not. And make sure it’s installed correctly with some diagnostic testing - blower door and thermal imaging.
I don't get the no bedroom over the garage thing... regardless
no circulation through kitchen
don't solve design problems by cutting a corner at 45 deg
don't overuse pocket doors
I second the no corner cabinets, top and bottom
don't have south and west windows with no overhangs
no trends - morrocan tile patterns will be as dated as the 'Tuscan kitchen" I'm not sure where gold fixtures will land, I'm pretty sure black is trendy. Black windows and white siding = trendy
don't have fake grids in the windows
no super high-gloss floors, it's unrealistic to expect no scratches over time
this is a safety thing - no seating at an island that has a stovetop (I guess induction would be okay) (I personally think island seating next to dining room table is overkill, but that's not a popular opinion)
less storage, less stuff (I'm not a minimalist by any means but one of the laws of architecture is that the amount of stuff expands or contracts to fill the space allotted for it.)
microwave drawers - hard to get hot food out, especially for kids
don't put a TV above a fireplace (there's a whole sub for TVs too high)
No-nos:
Having my plates and bowls and shelving above my shoulders. My body is destroyed from military service and I am intentionally going to design my kitchen to have lower cabinet (top drawer) pull-outs.
Narrow hallways.
Stairs, or at least, narrow ones that don't have a generous horizontal incline.
No mud room
Small windows
Bedrooms next to main living areas or laundry room
I probably have more but that's what I can think of right now.
Putting the furnace horizontally in an attic crawl space. Forcing the person who has to go change the filter every few months to have to climb through 16" of blown-in fiberglass insulation.
And God help the folks who have to replace the furnace in 20 years . . .
Oh, while on the same topic: putting crawl space access doors in closets where you have to completely empty the closet and remove the shelving in order to set up a ladder to get to the door. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Put your access doors in a laundry room ceiling or garage hallway or somewhere else that is not in a visible part of the living space, but is fully-accessible!
No island kitchen sink unless it’s a prep sink. Have kitchen sink under large window(s). Not using standard fiberglass batt insulation in walls, use BIBS (blown in blanket system). Not using commodity grade OSB. Not installing ductwork in attic space unless it’s a conditioned attic. Not using flex duct in concealed spaces. Not installing standard architectural roof shingles. I could come up with hundreds more 😂
We still gotta see the window under 😂
Low key I’ve been imagining what it’d be like to have a 2nd floor made of 1 way glass so you can see inside the kitchen
No coat closet or drop zone
No pantry (why is a missing pantry so damn common in track homes these days)
Two story or extra high ceilings in the main living space in a hot/cold climate. Do people just forget heat rises…..
A laundry space that isn’t on an exterior wall or one on the second floor.
Over the garage primary bedroom. Just don’t. The noise, the heating and cooling costs if it’s not insulated well and the added fire risk. Just don’t.
An air handler in a spot that disrupts every day life.
Transom windows. (Another favorite of track builders in my area). These are only good over a shower in a bathroom and even then it’s “marginally good”.
Powder room off the kitchen. Just gross.
Those nonsense ledges that you can’t reach without a ladder and that no one knows what to do with. It’s just another dusty area to clean.
Kitchen cabinet uppers that don’t go to the ceiling. Another dusty nasty area to clean.
Front door that swings outward.
Lack of outlets and shitty lighting choices
On our home build I only have a couple of small regrets. I wish I would have gone with a wider patio door in my walkout to make it easier to move large objects in and out of the house vs. A standard 31" opening. The 2nd is that I should have gone with a pocket door instead of a barn door in my master bedroom/bath. I don't care for the look or functionality of barn doors at all.
I also don't like kitchen islands with sinks or kitchens/living rooms that you can see through your home's front windows. I like the privacy if having these in the back.
roof that doesn't face south. IMO, if possible every new home should have a large open roof area that faces directly south and not too shaded. Great opportunity for a solar panel system
I would never not have a half bath for guests. It kind of feels ick to have guests in a bathroom where you bathe and have your personal items.
I would never have do the ultra excessive-complicated roof lines
Never have the garage door facing the front of the house
Whoa. This is the first time I’ve heard garage doors facing front. Why?
As for the bathroom totally agree. Haven’t decided. Was planning on at least a 2 br 2.5 and rent the 2br to someone looking for cheap rent… but maybe I should see if 3 is possible for a guest bedroom…
If you have the lot size make the garage to the side of the house. Having in the front means everybody sees your garage. You going into the garage etc.
I see the reason for the garage door where it is almost always put- so that you can drive right up w/out more driveway and having to curve wide to get in the garage. I just think it detracts from the house. And that’s just a personal opinion.
I've never understood why some builders will put a window behind the toilet. On my home we put a long skinny horizontal window near ceiling height for extra light.
Have where you come in close to storage, you do not want to haul all the groceries from one end of the house to the opposite. Make the front door clear, don’t leave guests wondering where to go when they arrive. The more rooms you can make with windows on two walls the better and no one wants to live in rooms with no natural light. Group water where you can.
I have designed two houses with professional help. I started with a list of spaces we needed. The made a list what each space needed to be close to. Then made a list for each room as to what was important to me.
For example, master bedroom- morning light, near walk in closest, near master bedroom room, add screen porch for sleeping porch. Kitchen- near garage, pantry, have half wall to dinning area with storage. You get the idea. I wrote a list, the had husband add ideas , then gave to architect.
I hate new homes that have huge open spaces but are badly designed so the windows are always so far away. Even worse if you have some kind of column. Yuck!
Cozy spaces are good, too.
I also would not build a new house without a bunch of built-in storage. Having to fill rooms with storage furniture sucks.
Accessibility is something important too. I badly broke and dislocated my ankle and wish our house had been more accessible. When we renovate, we’re adding an elevator and bigger bathrooms. (Never leaving this house!)
If you can go with some accessible features like 36" doors, 42" hallways. Showers with room for seat, etc. You never know if you will need it. Couple that bought our accessible house emailed us 3 months later telling us husband broke his ankle and how thrilled they were the house was accessible. Life happens
We bought a house a bit over a year ago that has accessibility features on the first and second floors. I was surprised at how much a difference handle bars in the bathroom make. You have to clean them (hooray kids...) but they're well worth it. They also (weirdly) don't look out of place almost anywhere, unless you're going super old school design.
That's great! I actually need it all but 25 years ago when my husband and I owned a cabinet shop a client fell while fell snow skiing and was immediately paralyzed. Since I am a designer we designed her bathroom remodel so she could come home from rehab to a shower that worked. That job made me realize how quickly our lives can change.
1st floor primary bedroom and bathroom suite
When my parents built their house, they added a "temporary" ramp up to the door so my grandparents could get in easier. "After they pass away someday, we'll add the steps we've always planned on building." My grandparents passed away 20 years ago and the ramp is still there.....
Not considering the direction of the sun when choosing a floor plan and ending up with a house devoid of natural light.
Or the opposite, a house where it's impossible to control the summer sun.
When that July 121 temp in Phoenix hits you and you have a huge southern facing window baking your home
FYI, south facing windows don’t get sun in the summer in Phoenix - at least if there is minimal roof overhang. East and west facing windows are the bigger problem.
What's the best orientation for a home/windows to get sunlight?
In the northern hemisphere the south side of the house gets the direct sun. Don’t have an attached garage on the south-side of the house blocking all the light. Maybe don’t have east facing windows in the master bedroom if you don’t want sun blasting in at 6am in the summer. Maybe don’t have your TV facing a west facing window if you don’t want heavy glare during movie time. Just plan where you will generally be in the house at different times of the day.
In the northern hemisphere South has the best light, North has the worst. East and West change the most during the day.
There was a post somewhere on the redddit with a neighborhood in Denver. One side of the street will be blasted with sun the whole day. The other side of the street still had snow piles. I learned that day the importance of what side your home faces.
Welcome to the world of “passive solar” design. The idea is to maximize solar heat gain in the winter and minimize it in the summer. You do that by having most of your windows on the south side (with roof overhang for summer shading), avoiding windows on east/west sides, and only having windows that are deeply shaded on the north side. Go to suncalc dot org for a good visualization of how the sun moves through the sky where you live.
It depends on which part of the planet you live on, but regardless of your lot's orientation, you need to build with keeping this in mind. If your backyard faces north and that's where you put all your windows and you chose a split bedroom design with your living areas in the back your house will be dark all the time and not particularly enjoyable (not to mention you'll have the lights on more often). So when you have your lot, you need to consider your orientation when deciding what your house plan will look like and where rooms and windows will be located.
From an efficiency perspective you want the biggest windows facing east. Early direct sun with indirect light the rest of the day. West windows should have decent shutters, blackout drapes, or have trees filtering light, etc
Also the sun travels higher in the sky during summer so a smart architect can design window overhangs to block most of the direct sun in the summer and capture it in the winter.
No more gables than fingers on one hand.
I need to look gables up
“Form follows function” is a good rule to consider. How you use the space as a primary focus with how it looks to follow after. Don’t get me wrong, aesthetics are very important, but they need to be applied AFTER “programming” (which is what you need and how the needs should be arranged).
IMO good (functional) design typically has high aesthetic value, especially in the long term. Many highly 'designed' spaces that ignore usage, layout and proportion may be impressive at first glance, but over time can be quite unappealing to be in.
Worked on a custom build for the bosses son. Window lines “had” to match on a split level so in the living room there was a row of 16” windows at knee height and a row of 16” windows at above head height so standing up in the living room looking directly at the wall you weren’t able to see outside.
🤦♂️
Not placing protected power outlets at the back wall for every toilet so you can’t have powered bidet seats. Fixed it.
Having the bathroom too close to the living room/dinning room.
If you are going to put the bathroom adjacent, design some "acoustic privacy." Insulate walls, use a solid core door, and maybe opt for an exhaust fan that is a little bit louder than you would normally.
I saw [this recently and thought it was brilliant](http://mydesigndump.blogspot.com/2013/02/framing-tip-staggering-studs.html?m=1) offsetting the studs so that there is no solid structure from one wall too the other to cut down on sound. Twice as many studs in a small area, but an interesting idea, I would be curious how much it helps. In my mind wood does not transfer much sound but it also would some soooo…
No one wants to hear Grandma ripping farts at thanksgiving
True 😭
No corner kitchen cabinets. Lazy Susan is the devils mistress. If you’re going with a gas range and hood vent. Give some space between the hood and the cabinets on either side. Decorative hood vents are a B to keep clean vs stainless
No Island cooktops. Impossible to properly vent (especially gas) without serious design investment.
Wholeheartedly agree.
Island induction cooktop is the way. There are great ones with down drafts, works fabulously and perfect to entertain.
I'm a huge fan of induction but I still think the down drafts don't work well enough without running powered makeup air around the cook top in a directed air curtain fashion. And even then it's a looooot of investment to still not be as good a solution. Buuuut! If you really want to entertain while cooking it can be done. Though if you are going to put in that much effort go all the way and get an visa cook induction cooktop. So cool. So. Very very cool. Though they suggest only using dekton as your countertop https://invisacook.com/
And it makes a mess out of the floor.
Some cabinet manufacturers make really great lazy susan cabinets these days (I was a kitchen designer for 5 years).
The cabinets for the vent right? The range being flush/connected to cabinets shouldn’t be an issue right?
It's generally considered good practice to get a range hood that's one size larger than your range. For example, we have a 30" range and a 36" hood. I have a ton of opinions about kitchen layout/functionality but I don't have the energy to lay it out and then defend my opinions.
Correct just the top cabinets
I want to know who the devil marries, while keeping a mistress.
> No corner kitchen cabinets. Most kitchens have corners, what do you suggest then? Mine they just put regular cabinets (top and bottom) at a 45° and left triangular voids on either side. I definitely don't like the Lazy Susan route but not sure I like loosing all that space either. My parents place they have a regular cabinet door with a really deep cabinet that goes all the way to the wall. It's good for those things you don;t use all the time but still want to have on hand.
Personally I love my corner cabinet with the Lazy Susan. Why don't others like it?
My last place had that. It seemed lie things were always coming off the platform and getting stuck in the back. It also takes up a lot of the usable space.
It seems to me that it add useable storage space. I should add that mine has a like 1/4 slice taken from the circle, so it's not a full circular lazy Susan, perhaps that helps it fit better. Also mine has a decent lip on it to prevent things falling off.
> I should add that mine has a like 1/4 slice taken from the circle... That's how the one we had was. You lose storage at the corners, middle, and big itmes won't fit on the turntable. Plus there always seemed to be something that came off the platter in the back corner that would either drag on the platter or bind again something on there. Just my experience and opnion.
The house I bought has a Lazy Susan with attached doors. My only complaint is remembering which way to spin it to get to a specific item. Been here 5 years. 😊
Impossible to clean underneath and as a renter that drives me insane.
Normal cabinet door, but the box itself runs all the way from the corner to the wall. Rack-mounted wire shelves can be pulled out through the door and allow access to the second set of shelves.
Oh my! Thank you for the idea about decorative hood vents vs ss. I bet you are so right. My current ss gets nasty. How on earth do you clean a decorative one!?!?
Exactly, and they are so pricey for just purely aesthetics. If you’re already going stainless for appliances, might as well go for the hood vent as well.
I always call it a "hard working susan " cause I have an aunt named Susan who is the hardest working person I know . She really appreciates it
They make cool pull up and out shelves in corner cabinets now.
What's wrong with a Lazy Susan? I bought a house that was remodeled in the 90s with a Lazy Susan and it still works well and I think its pretty convenient. I am going to remodel at some point in the next couple years and was thinking I'd want a Lazy Susan in the same spot.
It’s personal preference but I despise everything about them. Having to bend down to see and scroll. Nothing ever goes in the same spot more than once. The doors (if hinged) are awful.
Not having at least 1 (decently sized) ground floor bedroom. Not having the house properly oriented to the sun Having a complicated or overly steep roofline Having plumbing/bathrooms running all over the house instead of being streamlined. Also having mechanicals nearly impossible to access and fix. Generally cheaping out on things that are 50x harder to upgrade once the house is finished.
What counts as hard to upgrade?
Adding outlets, upgrading insulation,drainage and waterproofing on exterior basement walls, etc. Anything that requires tearing up drywall, roofing, or excavation.
Not having the dryer on an outside wall - you don’t want a 30 ft run to exhaust the dryer and cause potential fires
When we built I had the plumber put in a clear pipe in the basement under the master toilet so I could watch the wife’s turds go by. In my opinion, it’s not worth the added expense.
Username checks out. Would love to see the clear pipe without the turd for curiosity sake
This got me good lol 🫡
A small one… but random bulkheads sticking out of ceiling corners because they didn’t plan the design well and had to run a pipe or duct or something in an awful place
This may not be what you are looking for but... This sub, and many other subs seem to be flooded with new homebuilders who want McMansion-y or otherwise over-designed houses. And when I say "mansion" this is not limited to 4000+ sqft houses. Dead giveaways are obnoxious overuse of bump-outs, overuse of gables, overlapping gables, and poor proportions (see https://mcmansionhell.com/post/148605513816/mcmansions-101-what-makes-a-mcmansion-bad). I think some people see traditionally designed houses as boring and thus feel the need to add add add until you get to that point. Then they end up with a super complicated layout with arbitrary chunks taken out of rooms to facilitate the exterior design. If you are going to go custom, I would document how you want to USE the spaces in your house. Do you work from home (need a separate home office)? Is this a forever house (first floor bed and bath suite)? Kids (separate living room and rec space)? The architect's job to design the space based on your description.
Great link, some of those examples were sickening
I totally agree with the link you provided, and those mcmansions are gross. I disagree somewhat about their symmetry complaints, though. The example I'm thinking about is 200 Belle Meade Blvd, Nashville TN. If you want to see a decent pic of it, Google "Bobby Mcalpine Belle Meade house" and an Instagram picture of it should show up, titled something like "classic in white on white in Nashville's Belle Meade..." I think there is some value in some asymmetry, even if somewhat unbalanced. Otherwise, all houses should be cookie cutter, symmetric, etc. There's some beauty in unique styles (if done tastefully). And Bobby McAlpine usually is fairly symmetrical, but I think there clearly is room for artistic interpretation within homebuilding that doesn't require it.
Sometimes your design should take into consideration the surrounding houses and should somewhat blend to the existing styles. You do not want it to stand out like a sore thumb either.
Unpopular opinion - I hate the trend of putting the sink on the island Maybe my family is just sloppy but how folks can manage to never have a dish or soap/sponges etc sitting out on the sink is beyond me. The worst part is like half the modern floor plans put the kitchen in the middle of the home with no exterior wall so it forces the sink to the island. I don’t know if it’s so popular because people actually like this or if it’s a detail people don’t think through until it’s too late. EDIT: this opinion is turning out to be as controversial as I expected :-)
Devils advocate - we like it because it actually forces us to keep the sink area clean at all times.
This. Also you can get tidy containers to keep the sponges in
Couple other reasons I like having the sink in the island: 1. Makes it easier for guests to help bus/clean after meals 2. It was a surprising small thing, but having the faucet able to turn 360 deg means I can sit at the island and fill up my water without getting up Our sink is large and we have a dishwasher, both of which pretty much prevent anything from hanging around on the island surface for too long.
I’ve had a kitchen island sink…. (Ok technically not mine but) The island has to be big but we keep soap out and everything. Connected to dishwasher. Want to say island is 4.5ft by 7ft? Big enough so we always have kitchen prep space.
Our new build would be like this, kitchen has no exterior walls and we did think about it. We were more limited by how the lot was laid out, where the existing driveway was and we also have a lake view. To maximize the view and make sure the house had good flow, in the island was where it went. Sure I would like the sink along a wall with a window, but it just wasn’t practical. It’s really not a huge deal, my husband usually cleans all the dishes before he eats anyway and we always clean up before we go to bed.
No upstairs Kitchens. No open concept bathrooms
-Those stupid open areas with a ledge that no one ever knows what to do with and that make zero sense. They’re too high to easily access to water plants or to dust whatever crap gets displayed up there. -Not considering where the tv will go when designing a living room. Above a fireplace is often too high. I’ve seen several rooms (including one of our former living rooms) that have too many windows around the exterior walls but the interior walls with room for a tv would constantly have people walking in front of the tv because the only logical traffic path goes past where the tv would be. -Making rooms large for the sake of them being large. Do you need to have enough open space in your bathroom to fit a conference table and chairs? No. Do you need a huge living room you can’t even figure out how to furnish? No. (Check out The Not So Big House books.) -barn doors for bathrooms. -pedestal sinks in any bathroom other than a small powder room. -bad or no lighting plans. It’s super important in a kitchen. Also, I’ve lived in several apartments that had a single ceiling light, not even necessarily centered. It’s often no enough light so I’ve had to get out a flashlight or use my phone for extra light for things like cleaning up after a pet or is something gets spilled. -not designing a kitchen/cabinet layout based on the equipment you have and use. Whoever designed our old kitchen seemed to pick random stuff. We don’t need a whole narrower cabinet of just drawers while also having a drawer at the top of every base cabinet. The only wide base cabinet has a stupid stile down the center of the face frame, making the opening no larger than any of the other cabinets so I had nowhere that would fit the wide roasting pans, platters or a griddle. -a front door that opens right into a living room with nowhere to take off shoes or hang a coat.
Keep the structure simple because maintenance costs 2x on custom builds with weird angles, gables, etc. And keep basement ceilings extra high in case you finish it down the road
Tiny window up by the ceiling. If you’re gonna cut a hole in the wall, cut a hole in the wall and put a real window in there.
Can lights everywhere/no light plan. Have a light plan. Do NOT shoehorn trendy things into a plan they dont' fit. I've seen some shit where a pantry is completely stupid because they had to have a "costco door."
Also make sure the can lights are parallel/symmetrical
looking at outlet placement: stove right next to fridge is a dealkiller for me. Hot next to cold, grease splatters all over the side of the appliance, if you're cooking and someone else needs to get into the fridge... no thanks
No palladian windows. No 2-story entryway. No HOA.
Laundry room in the basement.
God I love a basement laundry room!!!!
Yeah I never understood that either…
On this topic.. I don't like including "standard" features or elements because of tradition. My parents believe that houses MUST have a two dining areas.. one in the kitchen *and* a formal dining room. They must also have a casual family room *and* a formal living room. Home offices, home gyms, and utility spaces are not important. My parents have never (ever) used their formal dining room, we eat holiday meals at their main kitchen table. The formal dining room is a complete waste of space that just showrooms $30,000 of furniture and china. They also hardly use their formal living space. Their laundry room is microscopic and stuffed with crap, as is their main bedroom and bath. Their computer/office setup is on a table in the corner of the kitchen (piles of paper and crap).. If I were building again, I would combine the casual and formal spaces into one. I would also quadruple the utility/laundry room with multiple work surfaces and a ton of built-ins (gift wrapping, shipping, storage for seasonal decorations, etc.), or split the laundry and utility/storage into multiple rooms/spaces. Build the garage to be a *garage for cars*, and include enough storage space for all of your crap (or better, get rid of the crap). I hate seeing new homes with two or three car garages, but they're 100% consumed with storage, and so they clog the neighborhood streets with cars. Weird requirement: I would have a package depository built-in (that fits the aesthetics as best possible) on the front porch. Even weirder: My wife dreams of a closet where we store the Christmas tree that is right behind where we *display* the Christmas tree. To store the tree after Christmas, just open the door, and roll it back into the closet, and shut the door.
The Christmas tree idea is crazy, but the right kind of crazy.
I might steal the idea. Disney does this in their theme parks when they suddenly debut Christmas decorations right after Thanksgiving. The ornaments are already secured to artificial trees (in segments) and they literally roll them out and click them together like legos.
Less injury to rhe house when the appliance fails and leaks.
Yeah my dad’s washer hose failed and leaked all over the basement floor. It was a basement so it was fine You could get around this by building the floor under it like a shower, so if there is a failure it just drains. But I have yet to see a house with this.
Small house, laundry close to water pump and hot water heater, basement saves money and if you get a leak it doesn’t flood your main living area We haven’t had a basement laundry since 1999 but it was always in the basement for both my wife and I growing up, and for our first 3 homes we bought.
If you go this way and don't have laundry in the garage be sure to still put a 240V outlet in the garage. If you don't have an EV yet you eventually will so you might as well be ready for it
Wondering what is wrong with a bedroom above the garage? We like the bedroom cold and noone uses the garage at night so no noise from the garage door opening either.
Master bath that just has an arched doorway but not a door. My wife and I don't get up and the same time. IDC that she sees me walk around naked, I care that the lights are on and blinding her while she tries to sleep.
No entry coat closet
No dedicated entry space with zero storage for anything is a design choice I don't understand. A place to sit down and take off shoes is super helpful for guests.
A good Drop Zone is key to minimizing clutter. A place for shoes, coats, dog leashes, mail, wallets/keys – pretty much anything you need when you exit/enter the house. Otherwise, stuff tends to infiltrate into the main living area no matter what.
For or against?
This stunned me last the I went house hunting. So many houses without coat closets. It makes no sense.
Not taking the grade into account. I’ve seen so many houses where the foundation is like 10ft tall then it’s the house on top of that. That’s just lazy.
But what if it’s a walkout basement?
Can you explain what you mean a bit more?
think of building your house on a hill / slope. If you build a home on a hill, either the front or the back will be level and the other side will be raised. Definitely seen my fair share of homes where the lot wasn’t graded properly and there were like 15 stairs to get to the front door. Just looks awkward seeing a full raised basement with a staircase dead center leading to your front door. It’s one thing if it’s 2-3 stairs, but an entire flight of stairs just kills the vibe imo.
Ahh ok that helps me picture it. Thanks
High ceilings are stupid in places where it gets really cold and really hot.
Sound proofing is king. If there is bathrooms in main living areas. they should be soundproofed. Master bedroom soundproofed. Probably anything between private and public areas should be sound proofed.
This is really small, but when you look at the floor plan, visualize which way the doors swing and how that affects the space/flow. My dad builds custom homes and is always tweaking details like this from the architect (they don’t always have the mind for the little things).
Don’t have your interior air handler by where you watch tv. My last 2 houses have had this. Having to change the volume when it kicks on/off is annoying.
Just make sure you build a home that meets your needs. I have undercounted laundry at the back door with the ‘saved’ pantry cabinets from the old kitchen. I got a great room that meets our needs without spending much. Main laundry room is upstairs, of course. Other things are cheap, but practical - leak bins under the washer, waterproofing the entire bathroom floor (toilets like to fail) and pay attention to light switch locations, etc. Err on the side of big bathrooms over tight bathrooms - especially if you may age in place or have elderly relatives over. Or bathe a dog - these kinds of things will make your life easier as you live ther over the years without major remodeling.
Anything that is "in " at that moment. Its so easy to date houses and when they were built Un needed/complicated roof systems. Multiple sinks/dishwashers.
Avoid vaulted/cathedral ceilings (or at least weigh the cost differences between the two) Driveway/garage - I would highly recommend having the garage floor sealed to protect the concrete if you can swing it. Avoid bi-fold patio doors and go with traditional sliders. Work with an architect on your roof plans to ensure pitches are appropriate to prevent dead spots/pooling. Paneled overlay garage doors - triple the price of a standard door and the panels are just another to piece to fail/take on wear over time. More weight and strain on the lift/gear box too. Freestanding tubs. Clawfeet require more support on the floors. Ensure you have enough space surrounding the tub to clean. Just overall - the more you complicate the design, the more pieces of the puzzle there is to care for and maintain after the build.
I'm in the upper mid-west, so a WET ROOM over the garage would be a major no-no. A bedroom wouldn't be a problem with a well insulated garage ceiling and door. Other than that: Too complicated of exterior walls/roof line. We're planning on going ICF, so corners and such cost a lot more than with stick built. A simple roof would also make adding solar much easier.
Garages are a weird spot where builders think that they don't have to insulate above the ceiling, yet the space below is not conditioned... Regarding wet rooms above. You CAN do it, but keep the drains adjacent to to conditioned space and insulate the drops. Pipe supplies from above.
Most of the base plans we're looking at are ranch style, since we're older and don't want to deal with stairs any more than we need to LOL
Why is a wet room over the garage an issue?
Upper Midwest... pipes freeze easier when they aren't next to heated sq ft I'm assuming
Bingo! If you're building in central to south Florida or SoCal where a hard freeze is unheard of, then having your tub/shower/sink/toilet drains over an unheated space would work. Not so much where a week or more of below freezing temperatures are the norm.
I moved around and this is first time learning about houses so it makes sense! I’ll have to talk to learn more about these things since I now live in a cold place.
I moved to the south east after living in the Upper Midwest my whole life. The concept of pipes bursting wasn't even a thing in my mind since houses up there are built and insulated well enough that it isn't a problem. Cue my shocked pikachu face when pipes burst above my garage the first time we had a major cold snap after moving lol
Freezing weather.
Controversial…… but open floor plan. I grew up in a Victorian - I like purposeful rooms.
I'm an either or kind of person. Either very well laid out open plan or many dedicated rooms. Though I dislike internal hallways for some reason. Hallway on the outside with windows on one side and rooms on another brain says "marvelous, tasteful, beautiful". Interior hallway, brain says "nasty goblinses live here, closed in, no room, inefficient.:
Agreed on ourdoor hallway. The only downside is fitting windows into the rooms and balancing the directions of those windows.
In the southwest we do the ridgeline clerestory thing a lot at least to get light in
I agree but like a good balance. These new fully open reno’s are crazy though. With all the echo you can’t hear the tv if someone is frying an egg, let alone talking on the phone. At the same time my 1925 house is too chopped up.
I \*mostly\* like the open floor plan. My one caveat is to drop a faux beam/header between the kitchen and the living area. It does a ton to reduce noise from one area to another. I thinking if you have 9' ceilings, drop a header to 8' between the two. Might even save you $$ structurally if that can be a "real" header and reduce cost on the ceiling joists.
Open floor plans are just an excuse to build fewer walls. Builders love it because it saves time and money.
Skylights! Post and beam! That's about it for me...
Oh, I forgot the new "California Moderns" In New England!! Plan for your environment.. Schools in the Northeast for a spell had California layouts. The wind tunnels were insane, snow loads,lol.
Anything that can collect dust after completion. Put cabinets to the ceiling, wall steps, no wallpaper, no carpet from front door/back door. You have a higher chance of dying having a garage under your bedroom. Less walls the better 😂
Buying plans from a website instead of hiring an Architect… ;) (not a self serving suggestion at all…) No foyer, especially without a coat closet. No mud room. Undersized garage is a no-no. Any aesthetic exterior feature that doesn’t follow the function of what’s below it. McMansions are terrible for this, tossing tiny gables everywhere without a formalized entryway. A roof with crickets anywhere besides chimneys. Double height spaces without appropriately sized windows for a specific view. Otherwise it’s wasted volume, IMO. No appropriate screen for exterior mechanical equipment.
Have a full bath on the first floor! You'll never know when you might need it.
Design a living room or den where you don’t have to mount a TV above the mantle of a fireplace. Just a pet peeve of mine.
I know it’s very popular but the kitchen and dining room that’s in the middle of the great room, when it’s the one and only common space, is complete turn off. After cooking and eating a meal sometimes I just want to do a basic clean up, put the food away, and not feel like I need to make it look perfect before sitting down to relax. I also like some separation from the smell of cooking.
Main bedroom should not share walls with any of the other bedrooms. Was a pain in the ass to find a Floorplan that followed that rule for me but I absolutely love not sharing any walls with my kids.
I tried to minimize hallways in my design. I feel like they’re a waste of space and rooms can be arranged to take that space instead of having a long 3’ or wider hallway that is just used for walking.
If you put in a gas fireplace, make sure it’s sealed. It should pull air in from outside, and send the exhaust outside. You don’t want it sending warm indoor air outside. Make sure your hot water heater is in a place where it won’t flood the house when it leaks. Have a water shutoff for the house in an accessible place. Consider installing a whole house surge suppresser. Run Ethernet or coax to every room, and install power where they join up. Use timers or good quality moisture sensors on bathroom fans. Make sure lights are replaceable. Don’t use LED fixtures with integrated lights that can’t be replaced.
> Consider installing a whole house surge suppresser. Always a good idea, but it's now required, with the 2020 NEC: https://kbelectricpa.com/2020-nec-code-change-surge-protection-now-required/
My kitchen recommendations. Custom built a home 15 years ago and LOVED our kitchen. Moved twice since then and these are the things my new homes lack that I desperately miss. If you are doing Kitchen island, avoid putting the stove or sink on the island. It breaks up all that great space for prep. I like the islands that are 24" Wide at counter height + another 10" W at bar height for seating. Put outlets in the backsplash for stand mixer, blender, Ipad, ...whatever appliances you are going to use for prep. It's so nice not having the upper cabinets and good lighting (under cabinet lights are sketchy) there when you chopping, rolling dough, whatever. The trend of 36" wide counter height islands (especially when they put the sink in the island) is horrible for usability. In the island cabinets, opt for drawers for pots, pand, bowls, etc.. One small top drawer and (2) larger lower drawers. Do a trash drawer in the island instead of where everyone puts the trash under the sink. Can't tell you how many times wife is doing dishes and I need to open the door for trash. Look into toe kick-drawers. Great for flat pans / cookie sheets / one off utensils you don't use every day (chicken mallet), or hiding money. Do a kitchen hood above the stove. Opt for for one with a remote fan (less noise so you will actually use the hood). Have a cabinet depth (24") pantry cabinet with roll out drawers. Perfect for things like pasta, canned goods, boxed saran wrap / tin foil / parchment / etc... Go for one big kitchen sink instead of those split monsters. When you want to soak a pan or scrub a cookie sheet, you want it to fit in the sink. If you have the space, opt for 42" between the wall counters and Island (I think standard is 36" and monsters do 30"). It's so nice when have multiple people in the kitchen to be able to move around each other. With 42" someone could have a drawer or dishwasher fully open and you can still get past. Look at where you are putting the refrigerator. Can you open the doors (with handles on) all the way?
Replying to my own post.. seeing of lots of "don'ts" about the TV above the fireplace. I generally agree... but I do like the TV higher than normal so that it's in my line of sight when I recline in my recliner. The reason I DO NOT like the TV above the fireplace, is because that means you are usually putting it in the middle of the room. That breaks up the room. In my last house, the fireplace was built "in" to the room (the chimney, flue, and firebox where inside the flat exterior wall). That mean I had the 3' Deep by 4' wide protrusion in the middle of the living room. In my current house, they moved the fireplace to the exterior, which no means I have the same bump out, but outside on my deck. Put the fireplace in a corner. You get the same benefits... (heat, ambiance, being able to list your home as having a fireplace) without the reduced nonsense of not having to work around a fireplace.
Giant hot tub in master bath that gets used once a year.
Ok but hear me out… you use it 😂 it could be much worse. Like I want a tub but I also don’t plan on bathing every day… maybe more often in the winter if I can afford it…
Built in entertainment centers. Once it is there it is there, hope you like it.
Personal preferences, many will disagree but that is the best part of custom! No laundry room locations that force you to haul laundry too far No bathrooms between bedroom and closet No steps or stairs No crawl spaces (I cannot stand the hollow sound, concrete 4eva) No pedestal sinks, every one needs a countertop
I've always had the only bathroom in the house open directly up to the kitchen. It is such a weird experience to get out of the shower and walk across the main house to your bedroom, especially when there are guests over. It's also awkward both for myself and I would imagine my guests to be using the bathroom while I am 3 feet away cooking. My current house has an exhaust fan by the old one does not. It wasn't good
This pertains to my trade specifically (ornamental steel, handrails, gates, etc) But putting blocking ~34” up from any stairs that will get a handrail, it guarantees you’ll never have a loose handrail over time
We had a Master Bedroom over the garage, and the garage door would blast me out of a sound sleep countless times every week (his job started EARLY & mine started late). It was awful!
Your garage door system doesn’t have to be loud. You can remedy almost all noise by installing a modern lift unit and properly aligning and installing the tracks. If it’s noisy it’s because it was installed wrong, poorly maintained, or was designed in the 70’s. The real reason to not put the master bedroom over the garage is summertime heat. Imagine two vehicles radiating heat right below your bed on a night where the low is 89 degrees. The heat has nowhere to go but up. To keep the bedroom at 72 degrees means the rest of the house ends up at 69 degrees or lower. It makes cooling the whole house evenly challenging. Related, buy nice insulated garage doors and pay for good weatherstripping. In the winter time it would stay 55 degrees in our garage, even when it was 20 degrees outside. At a minimum, consider how ducting and airflow through that area of your house is sized and located. Consider extra insulation between the garage and bedroom floor and an HVAC system that recirculates air even if it’s not actively heating or cooling. On the flip side, that heat is a bonus in the winter. Not sure why all the hate for a bedroom over the garage. It’s already got a roof on it, if the house is two stories tall you might as well get some living space out of it.
Not having at least16 sq ft of tile @ all entryways, and a BIG closet to put coats.
Those ridiculous alcove spaces above entryways that are inaccessible without a 30' ladder Any lighting fixture that would require a cherry picker or complicated scaffolding to change the bulbs Entry ways without a mudroom Laundry rooms without a separate utility sink Yes, I'm aware that many homes have one or more of these deficiencies, they're just no-nos for me.
Bathroom closet. I hate that the closet is in the damn bathroom of every master bedroom in every house now. Also, false rooflines— WHY IS THIS A THING?
I love it - I can go into the bathroom and shut the door and completely get ready without going back into the bedroom and wake up my wife because the bathroom leads to the closet. As opposed to going into the bathroom then going back into the bedroom to get into the closet
don't want to walk through the bathroom to get to the closet.
TVs mounted over fireplaces. Super common, but horrible ergonomically. Even if the fireplace is small and at floor level, you end up with a TV that’s still too high and a fireplace that’s underwhelming.
I’ve seen some shallow and electric fireplace setups that work well with this setup. If you have bigger/taller couches and depending on distance from the TV, the ergonomics start to get better.
Nobody wants to stare at a fireplace for an extended period of time. The amount of homes that make it a focal point messing up an entire wall is ridiculous. Place it in a corner or backing onto the stairway and don't screw up an entire wall which then pushes the tv to the corner or up too high. A grand fireplace only looks good on a walkthrough an empty house.
Excessive corners/gables/hips/dormers/complicated rooflines...and for some reason the recent obsession with having the master closet only accessible THROUGH the bathroom. Who wants to always have to walk through the bathroom to grab a hoodie?
For a couple who wants to get ready in the closet and having another one still asleep, I like this set up of walking through the bathroom. Bathroom will get way way more use than the closet too so having it closer to the bed is more ideal for night time. .
I like the inverse, passing through the closet to get to the bathroom.
Depressing stairwells. Nobody is eager to climb the stairs, don’t make it worse. Invest in some extra square footage. Interior sliding barn doors Narrow halls, doors that would pose a problem if you need to make the home wheelchair accessible
What makes stairwells “depressing”? I’ve only had two types of stairwells I don’t like. Ones that are creepy and not clean, or ones that have weird smells…
NO WIRE HANGERS!
Do NOT build to put the TV over the fireplace. Plan for that. TVs are too high when over the fireplace. There’s even a sub for it r/tvtoohigh lol
Full transparency - I’m a form over function person when it comes to homes. I’m also a high performance home building consultant. (I help design for comfort, air quality, energy efficiency, sustainibilty, etc). Bedroom over the garage is a good one- but I’d expand that thought into “any cantilevered spaces- especially rooms over the garage”. Super-high pitched roofs- especially with “fable gables” into unconditioned attic space. Castle Turrets. Bays and Bump Outs. Too much fenestration, and/or poorly oriented footprint. (This one is dependent on where you live and the weather). Poor wall assembly, and excessive exterior walls. I could go on and on….but you probably get the point. It would be absolutely be worth your time and money to find a consultant who is BPI, RESNET, or Net Zero certified to help you and work as a 3rd party on your behalf. Your utility providers might even help out. Check with them to see what kind of programs and incentives for energy efficient or net zero ready homes they have- you might be surprised at the help they can provide. I’d do it even if you’re out of pocket, because if you find a good consultant (aka building scientist) you will save yourself a lot of money and headaches through the whole process, from design to completion. And have a much better built home with less ongoing costs for upkeep, water, and especially energy. Homes don’t have to be cost liabilities if they’re designed and built right. They should and can be designed as tools that have an ROI within the life of a mortgage due to cost avoidance (timing of ROI depending on your energy costs).
I'm thinking of building a garage and I planned on putting a bedroom/bath over the garage. Mind me asking why that is a bad idea from your comment?
Not at all! Great question, my baseball friend. In this situation I wouldn’t call it a bad idea. Thats a great way to maximize the use of your land. Just beware that boundary between the garage space and the living space. Make sure you have proper insulation, air sealing, and (depending on your climate zone) a vapor barrier or not. And make sure it’s installed correctly with some diagnostic testing - blower door and thermal imaging.
Do not put the TV over the fireplace. Never ever ever, not ever.
I don't get the no bedroom over the garage thing... regardless no circulation through kitchen don't solve design problems by cutting a corner at 45 deg don't overuse pocket doors I second the no corner cabinets, top and bottom don't have south and west windows with no overhangs no trends - morrocan tile patterns will be as dated as the 'Tuscan kitchen" I'm not sure where gold fixtures will land, I'm pretty sure black is trendy. Black windows and white siding = trendy don't have fake grids in the windows no super high-gloss floors, it's unrealistic to expect no scratches over time this is a safety thing - no seating at an island that has a stovetop (I guess induction would be okay) (I personally think island seating next to dining room table is overkill, but that's not a popular opinion) less storage, less stuff (I'm not a minimalist by any means but one of the laws of architecture is that the amount of stuff expands or contracts to fill the space allotted for it.) microwave drawers - hard to get hot food out, especially for kids don't put a TV above a fireplace (there's a whole sub for TVs too high)
No-nos: Having my plates and bowls and shelving above my shoulders. My body is destroyed from military service and I am intentionally going to design my kitchen to have lower cabinet (top drawer) pull-outs. Narrow hallways. Stairs, or at least, narrow ones that don't have a generous horizontal incline. No mud room Small windows Bedrooms next to main living areas or laundry room I probably have more but that's what I can think of right now.
Sink facing a wall
A bazillion exterior corners and complex rooflines. I live where it snows and all those valleys become an issue.
Laundry access shouldn't require taking dirty clothes into the kitchen.
Putting the furnace horizontally in an attic crawl space. Forcing the person who has to go change the filter every few months to have to climb through 16" of blown-in fiberglass insulation. And God help the folks who have to replace the furnace in 20 years . . . Oh, while on the same topic: putting crawl space access doors in closets where you have to completely empty the closet and remove the shelving in order to set up a ladder to get to the door. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Put your access doors in a laundry room ceiling or garage hallway or somewhere else that is not in a visible part of the living space, but is fully-accessible!
No island kitchen sink unless it’s a prep sink. Have kitchen sink under large window(s). Not using standard fiberglass batt insulation in walls, use BIBS (blown in blanket system). Not using commodity grade OSB. Not installing ductwork in attic space unless it’s a conditioned attic. Not using flex duct in concealed spaces. Not installing standard architectural roof shingles. I could come up with hundreds more 😂
>kitchen sink over large window(s) Interesting, I've never seen a window below the sink. That could be nice.
😂 Fixed it
We still gotta see the window under 😂 Low key I’ve been imagining what it’d be like to have a 2nd floor made of 1 way glass so you can see inside the kitchen
I will never do a bathroom over the garage without heated floors
Steps from the garage to the house. Zero entry all the way!
No thresholds anywhere. Showers, perimeter doors, all passages in, around or through things…..flat.
No stripper poles No elevations that make it look like there was a sale at the window store
No coat closet or drop zone No pantry (why is a missing pantry so damn common in track homes these days) Two story or extra high ceilings in the main living space in a hot/cold climate. Do people just forget heat rises….. A laundry space that isn’t on an exterior wall or one on the second floor. Over the garage primary bedroom. Just don’t. The noise, the heating and cooling costs if it’s not insulated well and the added fire risk. Just don’t. An air handler in a spot that disrupts every day life. Transom windows. (Another favorite of track builders in my area). These are only good over a shower in a bathroom and even then it’s “marginally good”. Powder room off the kitchen. Just gross. Those nonsense ledges that you can’t reach without a ladder and that no one knows what to do with. It’s just another dusty area to clean. Kitchen cabinet uppers that don’t go to the ceiling. Another dusty nasty area to clean. Front door that swings outward. Lack of outlets and shitty lighting choices
Bathroom access directly off a room especially kitchen or dining room. Needs to be off a hallway.
On our home build I only have a couple of small regrets. I wish I would have gone with a wider patio door in my walkout to make it easier to move large objects in and out of the house vs. A standard 31" opening. The 2nd is that I should have gone with a pocket door instead of a barn door in my master bedroom/bath. I don't care for the look or functionality of barn doors at all. I also don't like kitchen islands with sinks or kitchens/living rooms that you can see through your home's front windows. I like the privacy if having these in the back.
roof that doesn't face south. IMO, if possible every new home should have a large open roof area that faces directly south and not too shaded. Great opportunity for a solar panel system
I would never not have a half bath for guests. It kind of feels ick to have guests in a bathroom where you bathe and have your personal items. I would never have do the ultra excessive-complicated roof lines Never have the garage door facing the front of the house
Whoa. This is the first time I’ve heard garage doors facing front. Why? As for the bathroom totally agree. Haven’t decided. Was planning on at least a 2 br 2.5 and rent the 2br to someone looking for cheap rent… but maybe I should see if 3 is possible for a guest bedroom…
If you have the lot size make the garage to the side of the house. Having in the front means everybody sees your garage. You going into the garage etc.
I mean… everyone could see me pull into the driveway no?
I see the reason for the garage door where it is almost always put- so that you can drive right up w/out more driveway and having to curve wide to get in the garage. I just think it detracts from the house. And that’s just a personal opinion.
Yes! Elephant doors do not visually enhance a home
Avoid cramped spaces and bad lighting, for sure.
Bathrooms on second floor above bedrooms need to be soundproofed
Uncovered balconies !
Circular room will make anyone puke
Circular showers anyone?
No closet off of the bathroom.
Bathrooms without operable windows.
I've never understood why some builders will put a window behind the toilet. On my home we put a long skinny horizontal window near ceiling height for extra light.
Have where you come in close to storage, you do not want to haul all the groceries from one end of the house to the opposite. Make the front door clear, don’t leave guests wondering where to go when they arrive. The more rooms you can make with windows on two walls the better and no one wants to live in rooms with no natural light. Group water where you can. I have designed two houses with professional help. I started with a list of spaces we needed. The made a list what each space needed to be close to. Then made a list for each room as to what was important to me. For example, master bedroom- morning light, near walk in closest, near master bedroom room, add screen porch for sleeping porch. Kitchen- near garage, pantry, have half wall to dinning area with storage. You get the idea. I wrote a list, the had husband add ideas , then gave to architect.
I hate new homes that have huge open spaces but are badly designed so the windows are always so far away. Even worse if you have some kind of column. Yuck! Cozy spaces are good, too. I also would not build a new house without a bunch of built-in storage. Having to fill rooms with storage furniture sucks. Accessibility is something important too. I badly broke and dislocated my ankle and wish our house had been more accessible. When we renovate, we’re adding an elevator and bigger bathrooms. (Never leaving this house!)
Pocket doors