We're preparing to build a house in which we plan to spend the rest of our lives. Why'd we decide to build, when buying is cheaper? Two reasons: We want a small house, but we want it to have a few luxury features, and that isn't something that's typically found on the market. If we find a house that has the large pantry we want, it comes connected to an oversized kitchen. If we find the kitchen we want, it's in a house with tiny bathrooms. In short, we want an unusual combination of features. Second, we want to build with aging in place in mind; having watched my grandmother struggle with certain parts of daily living, we see clearly that we can avoid some of these struggles through good planning.
Specifics we plan to build:
- All brick with welcoming front porch
- Upgraded, true divided light windows -- good windows make a HUGE difference in a house's character -- and tall windows; this is worth a splurge
- Widows on two sides in as many rooms as possible -- windows on two sides make every room so much nicer
- Nice crown molding -- again, makes a big difference in one's perception of a house's quality
- Luxury Vinyl Tile flooring -- softer on the joints than hardwood, easy to keep clean, cheaper than hardwood
- Foyer will double as a library /built-in bookcases running the length of the foyer
- Everything from appliances to windows will be standard-sized and, thus, less expensive
- Large great room with built-in for TV, storage for movies and games, gas fireplace, sliding glass doors out to large patio /covered porch
- Small U-shaped kitchen with nice finishes and just enough space for our everyday stuff -- adjacent large pantry to hold other items; this is cheaper than storing everything in expensive cabinetry, and I have LOADS of kitchen stuff
- Pocket office off the kitchen -- if we were not so near retirement, we'd go with a full-sized office -- with more and more people working from home, it just seems wise
- Three modest bedrooms, walk-in closet in the master -- we don't hang out in the bedrooms, so need to splurge here
- Master bath designed for aging in place -- no-barrier walk-in shower with space for a stool or hospital chair /hand-held shower nearby -- grab bars installed now before we need them -- linen closet for good storage
- Laundry close to the master bedroom; I do remember my grandmother struggling to carry laundry baskets in her old age
We are NOT including a number of things that many people consider "must haves":
- No double sinks -- in fact, few double anythings
- No toilets crammed into closets that're hard to clean and impossible for elderly people to use
- No French doors
- No oversized garage
- No dramatic, soaring ceilings
- No security system that tells us someone is breaking in; rather, we'll put the money into materials that keep the burglars out
- No one-use rooms -- media room, man cave, sewing room, etc.; rather, we'll have one nicely designed great room for the two of us to share, and then we'll have the bedroom and the pocket office