The Architecture of Home - Part I

If you could have any house to make your home, what would it be like?

This is a very good question to answer just prior to beginning a search for a new home. It also turns out to be productive for anyone trying to hone the way space is utilized in their current home since many of the things that may be not quite right can be remediated without moving to a new house.

This is not so much an exercise in preparation for ‘building your own’ as it is about making choices that utilize or adjust the architecture to make wherever you dwell into your home. It should be unique to you not someone else’s ideal. To clearly visualize your ideal - become familiar with your needs and preferences (and those of the people that share your home).

The list below (and continued in tomorrow’s post) is intended to help you develop a deeper understanding of your

Ideal Home Architecture.

Enough space - Think about what you really need from many perspectives

‘Caves’ for each person in the household - A ‘cave’ is the place for each person to have as their individual space to do things on their own; it could be a place with computer and comfy chair or simply surface area for projects. The key is to acknowledge the space each person needs for just themselves. My 'cave' looks most like an office - with a pleasant view from the window and good lighting.

Shared areas - every home needs spaces where people do things together. Maybe it is a large kitchen/breakfast area or a den or an outdoor patio.

Kitchen 

• Counter top space - For kitchen equipment and/or multiple cooks. Cooking and eating together is an important part of the interactions in my home so the kitchen has to accommodate multiple people cooking in it at the same time.
• Counter top material - Granite is popular now…but is the durability of granite may be over the top for what you really need. There are some beautiful counters made from recycled color glass that I’ve been looking at.
• Cabinets (or other storage) - For at least the frequently used kitchen items. The challenge for me to is to get everything I use frequently onto the shelves I can reach without needing a step stool (if what I need is out of reach I tend to avoid using it).
• Cabinet material - Color/type of wood. Light is important to me so like light colored wood cabinets the best. I like the kitchen to be one of the brightest rooms in the house.
• If there were extra storage in the kitchen - what would you use it for? The area where the phone is in our current kitchen is never used for food. It holds mail and projects and purses. I’m spoiled enough by the extra space that now it is part of my ‘ideal.’
• Pantry - storage for non-refrigerated food. Do you buy such food in bulk? I prefer a long pantry that is not very deep so that I can easily see and retrieve things on the shelves. The bulk items (like paper towels and cat food) go on the top shelf or under the bottom shelf.
• What layout fits the way you cook? I like a big U with an island counter in the center. I do most of my mixing on that island. My salad preparation is done next to the sink although I put most of my parings in the compost rather than garbage disposal. The refrigerator, oven, and dishwasher can all open all the way with some room to spare although there is barely enough to walk by; at first, I thought my ideal would be to have a bit more space to walk but I’ve gotten used to them now.
• Space for Appliances - what appliances do you need: microwave, oven/range, refrigerator, dishwasher, etc. We have a large side by side and were pleased that the house was built with a water connection for the ice maker. The microwave is built-in over the oven/range; the configuration is ideal but the reliability of the unit has been abysmal. We are getting ready to replace it again.

 Bedrooms 

• Number and size- Keep in mind not only the people that normally live in the home but if you need to handle guests. I like a guest room that has another purpose (such as for special projects) or is small enough that it does not take a sizable chunk out of the space that used every day.
• Double as 'caves'? - This can be quite easy if the bedroom is for one person…more complex if it is a shared room.
• Closet space - Do you like walk in…sliding doors…builtins…shoe racks…other closet features? Will all clothes be kept in the closet or will out of season clothes be moved elsewhere? There are a lot of solutions for closet limitations. A quick and easy one I’ve done several times it to raise the bar a few inches then create a double decked section with Hanging Rod from the top bar. 

Bathrooms 

• Number and size - How many people have to get ready concurrently? Is there one on each floor of the house? We have full baths in the basement and bedroom floors but only a half bath on the ground floor. My ideal would have a full bath on each floor to add flexibility to the ground floor rooms.
• Shower/tub - both, together, separate. I definitely prefer a shower rather than a shower tub.
• Towel and toiletry storage. I find that I don’t care as much about a full linen closet as I do about storage in the bathroom itself. My idea would be to have adequate enclosed space in each bathroom for everything that would be needed there.

Minimize these types of spaces: Every home has some of these---if they are significant enough, think of ways to improve the spaces for your family. I’ve listed some ideas below.

• Hallways - Make it into a picture gallery or add hooks for car keys and purses or build in narrow shelves for paperbacks/pictures/display items. Improve lighting if it is too dark.
• Small rooms with lots of doorways - Close off one or more of the doors and put furniture in front of it or consider repurposing the room to have a table and chairs in the center with minimal furniture against the walls.
• Awkwardly shaped corner cabinet spaces - Get a rotating spice rack to put in the space, store special occasion dishes or platters only used once or twice a year in the space.
• Garage without shelving - Add free standing metal shelving or cabinets along part of the back wall and on the sides if the garage is wide enough or add higher wall attached shelving along the whole length of the back wall.

Tomorrow I'll continue this post with sections on room configuration, lighting, and features that have potential for the future.