Moving into the lighthouse has helped me further refine what I look for in a home!
- a sink dimensional to the bench space: there’s no point in a huge sink at the expense of bench space (ie the light house) and there’s value in small sinks as they take less water (thank you loft)
- gas stoves are wonderful (light house), but 5 burner is overkill for a small kitchen
- air conditioning being built in is SO much quieter than portable aircons. But if it’s ducted, it needs a timer and zones.
- insect screens on the windows – I realise now that the 2 bedder was great for having screens on all openings – making the mozzie bait safe (me!); the loft needed one on the sliding door and I would have invested in one, but moved out before my second summer. Here – the windows all have screens but the bifolds don’t and I notice an increase in bedtime biters if I leave the bifolds open in the dusk hours.
- dishwashers – for 1-2 person dwellings, a single drawer dishwasher is a brilliant idea. The loft had a fullsize one, and I seldom filled it for a load.
- mixer taps! I never thought about the kitchen sink NOT having a mixing tap, and it’s a step more than you really want to deal with when you want to quickly rinse something in warm water.
I still want a bathroom with a window – something none of my past three homes have had.
I always seek out
- pantry. The light house was super shallow and I think this is the optimal style to not lose things behind other things
- linen closet. Somewhere that’s central to all people is better than something that will be steamed up in the bathroom.
And all three have had lifts (something that was on my ‘don’t want list’ when I was buying!). In the two bedder and here, being on level 3, I’ve been pretty thankful to have a lift!
Interesting list.
I want a bath. As well as a shower. We don’t have flu screens as the windows open out like a door. Not a problem about flies as we don’t have many here but mozzies? We have millions and they love me. We leave the pedestal fan running if there’s mozzies. They can’t fly against the air moving from the fan and we spend the night free of being bitten or hearing the mozzie buzzing.
I definitely use the fan option where there’s mozzies about, but I prefer to have no mozzies!
I’m totally thinking of renovating the loft’s bathroom – it’s currently a shower over a bath, and going to no bath and a huge shower space with frameless doors… of course this expensive plan is on hold til I’m working again
I keep a ‘preferred house items’ list as well!
Flyscreens are so essential in Australia (my personal peeve when landlords are too miserly to install them!)
Most of my list is things to do with energy efficiency (orientation, window design etc.) But isn’t it funny how the practical daily things like pantry or linen design can make life so much happier if well-designed?
Orientation is so tricky though, like, I know I will go for a place in spite of something like that, cause I feel other things would overrule?
I sort of wished my tenants had asked for a screen door – then the work could have been a tax write off. Oh well