Dream House

Brian and I enjoy looking at books and magazines of house plans together. We are actually people with completely different personalities and interests, but this is one of the things we like to do together. We like to sit down and plan our dream house, which we may or may not live in someday. Sometimes I find myself thinking of this dream house, and I thought it would be fun to put it in writing to see how it compares to what we actually end up in someday.

Disclaimer #1: If I heard of someone talking about wanting things in their house that I want, I would probably assume that they were rich snobs who wanted to show off their money. You have to believe that I'm not like that. The elements of my dream house are there because they're things I really want, and if I do get them someday, please don't think that I'm trying to one-up the Joneses.

Disclaimer #2: Brian may or may not agree with my idea of a dream house, so who knows what we'll end up with. He keeps talking about putting in a bat cave, but no one's supposed to know about that. He also wants to have secret passageways, and I think that would be cool.

Here goes, if you're interested. (edited to add: After writing all this, I realize how boring it sounds, and I actually sound kind of snotty. Sorry about that. Keep in mind that I'm referring to a dream house.)

The Kind of House that Will Make Carrie Very, Very Happy

• The feeling: I don't like today's modern houses. I don't like what home plans call the great room, which is basically a huge room that functions as a living room, family room, and sometimes kitchen and dining room as well. To me, these rooms feel too big. They feel great and spacious (Book of Mormon pun almost intended), and kind of make me feel overwhelmed. Okay, I guess I shouldn't say that I don't like them, because I've been in many houses where this is a beautiful arrangement. I just wouldn't prefer to live in a house like that. Another things about modern houses is that they feel too blocky to me. A lot of times they're just a large square or rectangle with windows. So the feeling that I want my house to have could be described as romantic or cozy. I want it to have the feeling of an old farm house or English mansion or Victorian cottage. I want it to have little details that make it interesting. While looking for places to live in Tacoma I came across an Italian bed and breakfast that was for sale, and in one of the bathrooms there was a beautiful, small chandelier hanging over the claw foot tub. I loved that. It just a really cool detail that makes it so much better than just having a light in the ceiling. I love how the older houses here in Forest Grove have the detailed trim around the windows. They're beautiful.
  
• The kitchen: Brian and I have never had a large kitchen. I don't need a huge kitchen, but I definitely want one that's large enough to do some serious cooking in. I would love to have two ovens. You know those lattice-looking wine racks that are sometimes built into the cupboards? I want one of those to keep sparkling cider or Italian Soda flavoring in. Being left-handed, I want the dishwasher to be on the right side of the sink.
• The family room: The family room will be right next to the kitchen, so the whole family can hang out together. I like it when I can have the kids near me while I'm doing dishes or making dinner. We'll put the t.v. in the family room, as well as the computer.
  
• The library: I want a library. It doesn't have to be large, or even medium-sized, but I do want a library. It'll be a place to keep our books, obviously, and to read and have quiet time. There will be no computer in the library.
• The living room: I almost want to call our living room the parlor, instead, because I don't want to live in the living room. The living room will be to entertain guests (usually home and visiting teachers), have scripture study, etc. I don't want it to be off limits for the kids, but I do want it to be a place that's treated with respect and that stays clean so you can feel the spirit. We'll also keep the piano and any other musical instruments in the living room for practicing. Alyssa keeps saying she wants to play the violin, and I keep telling her to wait until she's older.
  
• The staircase: Brian and I love the rotunda staircases, that turn in a circle around the entry way. They're just beautiful.
• The dining room: I've been back and forth on the idea of having a formal dining compared to having a dining area in the kitchen. I love the idea of having a place for guests to come have dinner with us where they don't have to see our messy kitchen and family room, but I also realize that so much happens in the kitchen, and even though it can be messy, it's a great bonding place.
• The ballroom: Yes, you read that correctly. This is one thing that Brian and I disagree on, but I want a ballroom. It doesn't have to be huge, but I want one so bad! You don't even know how many times each day the kids and I have dances together. If we had a ballroom, the kids could practice any type of dance they're interested in without kicking couches and the entertainment center, we could easily host Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, we could have a super cool place to have wedding receptions and murder mystery parties. Brian and I love to have people over, so having a large place to put large amounts of family members/friends would be great. The reason Brian doesn't like the idea of a ballroom is that it would be an empty room that would be used infrequently, but I honestly think that we would give it plenty of use. Anyway, if I ever get a ballroom, it will have lots of windows and probably three chandeliers, one large one in the middle and two smaller on the sides. Who knows?
• The bedrooms/bathrooms: Another thing I don't like about a lot of the modern home plans is that every bedroom seems to have it's own walk-in closet and private bathroom. I don't think this is necessary at all. At all. I can see having a boy bathroom and a girls bathroom, but even that is not necessary.
  
• The rooms, overall: I think with just about every room I've written about I found myself writing, or at least thinking, "It doesn't have to be very big..." I like older homes, because they have smaller rooms, and it just feels cozier to me. The living room doesn't have to be very big at all. The bedrooms and bathrooms don't have to be big. The dining room, if we go that route, doesn't have to be big, either. You get the picture.
  
• The garage: I want one of those garages that are turned to the side, because garages aren't too pretty.
• The yard: I want a large yard that the kids can run around in and have a blast. I love roses, and would love to have a rose garden and roses along a white picket fence, like my parents have. And there has to be lots and lots of trees.