What is the vision for your dream home?
Daily | December 18th, 2008
“Buildings, too, are children of Earth and Sun.” – Frank Lloyd Wright
Carrie says: I have two dream homes, don’t all designers? A Georgian urban home with a modern interior and a contemporary weekend home in the country filled with antiques.
Danielle says: I reeeally dig the Flatpak pre-fabs. Modern, clean, smart – but warm. Add in: solar panels, heated floors, Patricia Larsen art, Moroccan pillows, a killer sound system, a koi pond and twinkly lights in the garden, and great dinner parties…my dream come true.
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December 18th, 2008 at 4:39 am
Modern, minimalist, and spacious. High ceilings, low furniture, black heated hardwood floors. Simple interior colors: black and white for polarity, red for passion. Potential bedroom? http://chrismfrench.com/images/dream.jpg
Lucky Bamboo on a black dining room table, as well as in every other room of the house (Bamboo is my favorite plant). Simple square indoor zen garden with white pebbles and large black stones across from the front door in the entrance room.
Japanese Maple trees everywhere, outdoor koi pond in front with bridge leading to my front double red doors. One story, wood exterior, and double paned windows with black frames everywhere.
Someday…
December 18th, 2008 at 6:22 am
That's easy, a Victorian home. with a wrap around porch, and flower garden in the front . I nthe back a garden plentiful of veggies and fruits. Plenty of yard space for the dog and kids, and colorful curtains. Soft couches, Yes, I adore Victorian homes, but long for soft and comfy couches… Natural woods OR babmboo ( it is after all more environmental friendly) in EVERY room for flooring iron looking wall sconces… Antiqued decor, feminine BUT NOT too much so… And must have a large kitchen and FORMAL dining area.
One day, but if not I can bring all the decor and gardening items into the home I currently have. I choose to enjoy what I've got… And am currently working on making the colonial I have into my dream home, no it'll never have a wrap around porch, but I can make the interior as I want, along with the outside decor.
December 18th, 2008 at 6:33 am
My dream home would have to be close to water. I currently live on the shores of Lake Huron. It is the only place to be in the summer. My home would have a workable kitchen because I love to cook and bake. It would have a sewing room for me, and a space to refinish furniture. The bedroom has to be big enough for a four poster bed and armoire. A fireplace in the livingroom is a must. I would have a nice deck and fish pond along with a comfortable place to sit under the trees.
December 18th, 2008 at 6:56 am
The details are a little fuzzy, but I know my dream home has my husband, my dogs, lots of nap-inducing furniture, and an out building where I can write.
December 18th, 2008 at 7:01 am
a deck overlooking fields. a kitchen with glass-paneled cupboards. A place where you feel completely at-home and yet energized. A place where my friends come to to get away from it all. Simple, easy, cheerful, meaningful.
December 18th, 2008 at 7:12 am
I have always wanted a big brick building – a loft, I guess. I want to be able to ride my bike, hang up swings, work on my art (I could go large scale!), hold art and creativity workshops, and live. It must have lots of light and hopefully brick walls. Also an extremely eclectic interior – I could get all my “weirdities” out of storage and enjoy them!
December 18th, 2008 at 7:25 am
I want a victorian style house in the country so I can have space to have a huge veggie garden. I want a big kitchen and one of those garden rooms that's nothing but windows. It needs to have plenty of bedrooms so family can come visit.
December 18th, 2008 at 7:52 am
I am lucky enough to be living in my dream house, designed and built by my husband and I. It was EXTREMELY challenging- but soooo worth it. We moved in 3 months ago, and are just starting to enjoy it. It's in St. John, USVI, complete with beautiful morning and sunset views, my studio has great light and views of the ocean, St. Croix and sail boats passing by. It's light and bright, and the doors are always open allowing the breeze to flow effortlessly. Furniture is chic, but not fussy and invites you to just lounge, shoes are optional. The outdoor deck space is just as important as the indoors, and has a beautiful lush turpentine tree in the center. Great big kitchen in the center of the house which inspires communal cooking, and a casual outdoor dinning room which seats 8 comfortably, and has just started to host dinner parties for friends- Christmas Eve is our next big fare.
My second ideal dream home would be the opposite, a super sleek NYC apartment in Manhattan, with a great neighborhood coffee shop, and funk shops & galleries only found in NYC. Perhaps one day, but for the moment I am extremely grateful!
December 18th, 2008 at 8:01 am
I'm grateful FOR you. I'd love to see photos. Send to http://www.simplybeach.ca
I scout for decor magazines in Canada.
December 18th, 2008 at 8:04 am
My dream home is a stone cottage similar to the one in the movie Random Harvest. It would be overlooking the water – a lake perhaps, but preferably the ocean someplace with all four seasons….not just HOT like here in the south. Maybe Oregon. The interior would be atypical….a huge stone fireplace, of course, but quirky items all around that I have picked up in my travels….the more you look, the more you find. A serene Asian influence. Peonies outside in summer. Blooming cherry trees in spring. Holly in winter. Gingkos and maples in autumn. A lovely area to sit outside and just be.
December 18th, 2008 at 8:08 am
In typical Gemini form I want two residences, maybe three. I want that NYC style apartment, painted creamy white, lots of built-ins for books, nooks and cranny's, hardwood (creaky) floors – so maybe a Brownstone (Meg Ryan's apartment in You've Got Mail or Mia Farrow's (actually hers) in Hannah and Her Sisters). It has to be set in a neighbourhood within walking distance to books, bakery, flower shop, deli, etc.
Then there's the white house with black shutters and red front door in a country setting. Again, there's nooks and crannies, built-ins, down filled sofas and chairs, a walk-in pantry off the kitchen with a swinging door complete with kick plate and round window, a large, claw foot tub set beneath a low window and looks out to a tree top view. But, then there's the ultimate and if I have to pick one I guess this would be it… the house in 'Somethings' Gotta Give.' Do you get the feeling I should be living in a movie set? Me too.
December 18th, 2008 at 8:08 am
My thoughts too…it sounds wonderful….can you send pictures????
December 18th, 2008 at 8:41 am
I'm building mine now — from yesterday's discarded ruins. (See it here: http://tinyurl.com/3jwxoh) But I guess that's a good analogy, right? Making something like a home from what currently exists using the magic of imagination and vision. An ever-changing creative process that ideally reflects love inside & out.
December 18th, 2008 at 8:53 am
I have my dream home in the Pacific NW – it named itself Kindred Spirits and is awaiting the right person for the guest house – perhaps a “soilmate” to help with the gardens and orchard? Now I'd like a SW getaway with lots of sunshine – a adobe abode within walking distance of the Santa Fe plaza, from whence I came.
December 18th, 2008 at 9:35 am
I love Victorian, Colonial, or tudor heritage-style homes. Homes with a front porch, peaks and irregular roof lines. Bright and open floor plan with lots of wood-framed windows, hardwood floors, bay windows, brick chimmney and a sun,or sitting room where one can read and relax, or chat with friends and family on an oversized couch with big pillows and a fireplace. I would also love a wrap-around deck around the top floor where all the bedrooms would be located which would extend from the master bedroom around to the dining room and kitchen which would have patio or french doors opening onto the deck. My final wish would be that the home overlooks a body of water, such as the Columbia River in the Kootenays because I find the flow of the water and watching the sun rise and set over the river most theraputic and peaceful. The kitchen, living and dining areas (not traditionally overly formal) must be on the side of the home facing the river. I love to restore and refinish old antique furniture. So, like Carrie, I too would fill my home with antique furniture and other antiques such as old silverware, dishes, wood-framed mirrors etc. etc.
December 18th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Lots of light. Warm woods. The perfect reading chair. Books on bookshelves. I'm another one who is torn between an apartment in the city near books and bakeries and a house near water somewhere beautiful and serene. So I would like both. A big kitchen that is well laid out. Love.
December 18th, 2008 at 9:51 am
My family's cottage is on Sauble Beach – what a great part of the world!!
December 18th, 2008 at 9:57 am
I always wanted a teensy jewel-box of a studio apt in a big city – then I got married and had two boys, and all those men take up a LOT of space!! These days my dream is to land in our dream neighborhood, and just have at – make whatever house we get our own, with vibrant colors, a fire pit in the backyard, and since we're talking dreams here, a studio/office for me with a skylight!
December 18th, 2008 at 10:03 am
Truly, at my dream home's core is ORDER and ORGANIZATION. My big, old, imperfectly beautiful nearly-my-dream home has various needs/wants (a leak fixed, an oak wood floor board replaced due to termite damage, a kitchen revamp), but it is overrun with too much stuff that makes my breath shallow and my head hurt (when I'm searching for something!). I'm continuing my quest this year to declutter (and be a better steward by giving away good things we no longer use).
A streamlined house that exudes harmony — that's my vision and goal for my dream home! (And if I get to update my kitchen, then that's a wonderful bonus.)
December 18th, 2008 at 10:40 am
A super slick townhouse here in T.O. (it's on the market now for $1.1M, so I might be able to get it when I'm about 50) and a place either in Muskoka or cottage country for nature retreats when the urban living gets too much…
December 18th, 2008 at 11:03 am
Well, not to sound like a consummate suck-up but…Carrie, ALL about the love of contrasts! Danielle, LOVE all the great pre-fabs out now, and the eco details…holla! But have a serious soft spot for classic Farm House architecture. And I dream of a tiny house. I aspire to small, simple living. I said “aspire”…not quite there yet!
December 18th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
My dream house is a stone cottage in the midst of olive and cherry trees with views of the Italian Mediterranean. Clean spare rooms with beamed ceilings, wood & tiled floors, spacious windows, a generous atelier space for designing sustainable textile fashions and a quiet dreamy room with a writing desk. Extra bedrooms for visiting family & friends. A doable garden for fresh salads, herbs, vegetables and fruit trees. Peonies, roses and lavender wafting scent and colour. Fresh air and sunlight and peace, a place to express oneself with clarity and power. Come visit me in two years.
i'd love to hear what you created in your world.
December 18th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
A home in Edmonds with a view of the Puget Sound. A large deck w/ the view off the kitchen/dining area that is partially covered for year-round entertaining. A smaller deck off the master bedroom w/ french doors. A landscaped yard with enough room for experimental gardening too (I'm still learning!). A wonderful, expansive “cook's” kitchen that is warm and inviting and can fit lots of people.
I've actually found the near perfect version of this home, just .5 miles away from where I currently live. I drive by it several times per week and just envision myself living there. When it was on the market I had a real estate agent friend take me on a tour and spent time meditating in a few rooms that it was mine
December 18th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
We found it. We just need the money to move into it. A 3-story townhouse, where the hubby's gym room is on the very 1st floor and my office is on the very top. Decorated with eco-friendly furniture and appliances.
December 18th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Low-impact woodlen home http://www.simondale.net/house/, looks like a hobbit house. On land close to national forest with a wide, deep stream or rivulet running through it. Woods and meadowland, good workable soil for fruit trees and a vegetable garden. Interior works with antique smaller sized furniture and a rustic farm table. One room with nothing but Persian rugs and a good sound system. Separate writing hut hidden in the trees. Outdoor clawfoot bath tub surrounded by sweet smelling vines and a fire pit near by to heat water. Cistern for minimal water lugging in an area that gets a decent rainfall. A guest house, as this will probably be fairly remote, and an old barn for a horse on one end and 2 gresel converted vehicles on the other— preferably an old jeep pick-up truck and an old bently. Bliss.
December 18th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Whenever my place gets too cluttered, I pull out the book “Clear your Clutter with Feng Shui” by Karen Kingston for inspiration. When I get to the “I'm not sure” pile I invite a discerning friend over with a bottle of wine and make it a little party. Will be doing this again come Jan.!
December 18th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
That's right near my favourite place in the world – our house on the beach in Southampton. It's magical on Huron, isn't it? So glad that other people know about this treasure.
December 18th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Mediterranean styled home with three bedrooms and a separate writing loft/bungalow and a pool on Coronado Island.
December 18th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
I love Arts & Crafts-style houses, so that's what mine would be. Lots of wood (reclaimed, if possible, so I don't have to chop down more trees), built-in bookcases, cupboards, etc. so not too much furniture. Good use of space, warm, friendly, good kitchen because I love to cook, big dining room table for entertaining, etc. Preferably near water, mountains, & forest.
December 18th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Two bedroom, one bath Craftsman-style bungalow with a huge front porch, fenced in yards, screened-in sun porch in the back so that my two rescued kitties could sunbathe in safety but feel like they were outside. And a huge vegetable garden where I could grow organic veggies. Built-in bookcases in the living room on either side of the fireplace, a claw-foot bathtub, and a decent-sized open kitchen with island. Doesn't have to be big, just cozy.
December 18th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
you moved!? welcome to the Pacific NW.
December 19th, 2008 at 6:57 am
Thank you so much! It's been a lot of hard work and it is a work in progress.
You can view picture at:
http://woobiluv.shutterfly.com/
Enjoy!
CC
December 19th, 2008 at 8:36 am
Wow… lucky you. Gorgeous (love kitty too). Is there a Canadian connection to this project? The Canadian publications I scout for need that. Can you send further information via personal e-mail? Mine is linda@simplybeach.ca
December 19th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
To have more than enough space to host fundraisers, parties, celebrations, community, church and non-profit black tie events for politicians, family and friends. 2-4 car garage! WALK IN CLOSETS!!! More spacious than the one on Sex & the City. To be able to welcome overnight guests into my home. And of course Peace, Love & Joy make up my DREAM HOME!
December 20th, 2008 at 10:41 am
One that never needs cleaning!
December 25th, 2008 at 8:23 am
My dream home would be near my parents house. It would be a wildly modern structure with soaring exterior walls of glass. The house would have polished concrete floors in a dark gray color and integrated heating elements. It would have dark cherry cabinets and granite countertops. I would then furnish it with brightly colored area rugs and an eclectic mix of european and american antiques. It would be incredibly functional and beautiful at the same time. It would be one of those warmly lit houses that people desire to be in when they drive by and view it from the outside.
May 18th, 2009 at 7:37 am
A city mansion made from stone in the heart of one of my favorite cities.
Or a fabulous villa or farmhouse somewhere in the country, but only after I got married and he would be the one who enjoyed doing all of that.
I would just enjoy getting to see him dirty…haha