Comments on: What We Want in Houses Now

By: Shari D.

Shari D. — Sat, 18 May 2013 06:13:20 +0000

That “stone house on Meridian in Indianapolis” is but one of many gorgeous older mansion style homes in that area. North Meridian – north of about 42nd Street and on up – is widely known for it’s marvelous old architecture. There are many old Colonial Revivals and the half-timbered English style mansions, and it just continues on down the side streets beyond that. That area was where the original rich and famous Indianapolis entrepreneurs built there homes “away from downtown” but close enough to be convenient to get to their businesses. The Governor’s Mansion is on North Meridian not too far from downtown. I have lived in Indiana since 1977, and lived and/or worked in Indianapolis for over 20 years. That part of Meridian is well known to me as I used to work at Methodist Hospital south of there. I have a hard time driving up Meridian Street by myself because I get caught wanting to admire all the gorgeous old homes!

By: hookedonhouses

hookedonhouses — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 00:24:13 +0000

Same here! When my neighborhood was built, all the houses had the 2-story foyers and family rooms and all the master baths had giant tubs. Now everyone I know complains about how hard it is to heat and decorate the 2-story rooms, and I’ve talked to a lot of neighbors who say they never use those tubs. I hope those are trends that are fading!

By: DG in GA

DG in GA — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 23:07:40 +0000

Ana, I realize you wrote your comment months ago, but it sparked some thoughts for me. For years when I have seen the two-story entries and the two-story family rooms in the McMansions in our area, I have thought to myself 1) you have to pay to heat that, 2) it’s grand, but it’s wasted space, 3) the noise will travel up from the first floor to the bedrooms and 4) how in the heck do you get all the way up there to change a lightbulb or to CLEAN that light fixture? I wonder if people who have lived in those houses look for the same thing when they move, or try to go back to a more traditional floor plan without those issues. I know for a time in our area the realtors said you couldn’t sell a house if it didn’t have a two-story entry and a two-story family room. Oh, and you had to have a jacuzzi too. Well, in my neighborhood all of the houses have jacuzzis and I only know two people who say they actually use theirs.

By: hookedonhouses

hookedonhouses — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 01:56:16 +0000

Well said!

By: Charles

Charles — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 23:59:24 +0000

One of the possible arguments for, ‘down-sizing’,that I have heretofore not really addressed is: age V health; although I would LOVE a three-story, Victorian with multiple fireplaces, elaborate wood work and built-ins, I would have a most difficult time having to climb stairs after stairs. To find a suitable house–then–it would have to have an elevator already in place, or, sufficient room to install one. A larger home means longer distances to have to walk; garden tubs are nice, but potentially dangerous. And while a substantial, well-manicured, gardened lot would be pretty, it would entail having to have professional help. Likewise, it would, ‘seem’, at least more comforting to have dent, and friendly neighbors within shouting distance. What is regrettable is that many older, beautiful, smaller homes are often sandwiched between violent neighborhoods! Access to medical care, commestables, and easy transport are of paramount importance. Thanks! Charles

By: cm

cm — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 01:10:12 +0000

I second that! There’s alot of houses that have nice entry ways but because the cars park to the side, everybody including guests come through the garage!
We built a 3 story, 3200 sq.ft. modular. We’ve got a circle driveway, so the real front door gets used everyday.
Speaking of modulars (they ARENT trailers!), ours is so energy efficent that our heating/ac/electric bill is under $200 a month, alot of times its below a $100. My parents live in a tract house and their bill runs $400 some months even though they keep the AC on at 80 degrees in the summer. We also saved $40k over a similar (and much smaller traditional stick built house).

The builder installs the brick foundation, meanwhile the house is built inside a factory. Everything is installed including the drywall, trim and kitchen cabinets. Then the sections are loaded on trucks and driven to the location. A crane and a crew “set” the house on its foundation. Our’s took a day. We moved in 3 months later. There’s very little waste from building and the building materials don’t get ruined sitting out in the weather. Also its easy to stay on budget. I think we came within $300 of our quoted price.

In places where labor costs big time $$, like Martha’s Vineyard, modular mansions are very popular. The average house can cost $400 a square foot, a similar modular house costs $200.

We’ve lived in this house for 3 years and love it. We’re in our 30s and hope to live here until the nursing home!

By: What We Want in Houses Now « From Julie Smith

What We Want in Houses Now « From Julie Smith — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 16:50:26 +0000

[...] What We Want in Houses Now [...]

By: Chris Howard

Chris Howard — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 17:38:15 +0000

That sounds like a wonderful life and a wonderful plan Alison!

By: Alison

Alison — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 17:03:44 +0000

When we bought our house 8 years ago, we were moving out of Boston with a baby and a puppy. We were looking for a house in a great town with great schools. We just considered it a “starter home” and then real estate plummeted. Now our family of four and two dogs are still living in our 1600 square foot cottage on the New England coast. We have 6 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2 living rooms, a nice sized kitchen and 2 full baths. The layout is one level and set up nicely. The kids bedrooms are in the front and our master is in the back. The original part of our house was tiny and built in 1920 as a vacation beach cottage and has had additions over the years. I love living right on the water in this cozy house and my daughter swears she will never leave this house. Considering she is 9, I’m sure her views will change, but it makes me feel so good to know that although many of her friends live in huge houses, she considers ours perfect.

We always thought we would move into something larger, but we love our location and the kids are happy. Now we’re considering adding a garage/mudroom and we just put in an outdoor shower which is nice when your kids are coming home sandy all summer. We’ve also started upgrading the kitchen and will need a new deck soon. I think once the kids are grown it will be nice to have this house (mostly as a summer house) and get a studio in the city for my husband and myself. We live in a town where we can ferry to and from Boston. So maybe that will work out for us.

By: bfish

bfish — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:12:34 +0000

Our 1920s house is about 2400 sq ft, a hybrid of Arts and Crafts and Colonial Revival styles. Though they don’t run all the way through the house, the entry hall and upstairs hall are each 8′ x 15′ and the large stairway/landings footprint is about 7′ x 13′ on each floor, so essentially it’s more like 2000 sq ft of “room” space. But I wouldn’t change a thing! Upstairs we built a large wardrobe closet on the longest part of the wall, with built-in bookcases on its ends. There’s a dresser across from it and the hall passageway between closet and dresser is still a lot wider than upstairs halls in newer homes. In the entry hall we’re adding floor to ceiling bookcases on one wall and also have a desk and cabinet in there, without crowding. Since most of our rooms aren’t large and original storage is minimal, we’re using these hallways as “rooms” since they’re basically the same square footage as our bedrooms, just with more doors!