My Dream House

I'll admit, I was never one of those girls with a file-folder stuffed full of dream wedding ideas.  I never fantasised about what my perfect day would be like, and even now, less than three months away from the big day, I am having trouble being excited about things like party favours and colour co-ordinating bouquets.  "The Big Day" was never high on my daydream list...

My perfect house, on the other hand has always been a focal point.  I grew up in a couple...unusual houses.  A log cabin with its own charms and downsides. (Charms: Big wood fireplace. Downsides: Big, scary wood ants from the firewood). I lived in a less-than adequately winterised cottage over the course of several long cold winters, with frozen water systems and a two-seater outhouse.  Hey, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. And so, throughout my childhood, I've kept mental notes on what does work in a house with 6 kids, and what emphatically, does not.  You can share a bed with your little sister until the age of 10 for example, but expect a lot more bickering that way. 

The other night, with my own children (and their messiness) in mind, I sat down and made a 22-year old's list of features of her own perfect house.  Taz and I plan on building our own as soon as possible.  My parents did it, his parents did it, and we want to follow in their inspiring footsteps.

Here's The List so far:

1. NO "Just-Cuz STUFF"
Too much of it as a kid has made me clutter-phobic.  Dear lord, no scrap cars, abundance of useless computer geek junk, multiple 53" storage trailers, or 4 rented storage units.  None of that please!

2. A central vac. AND a big cleaning closet, properly organised, with shelves

3. Minimum of 3 bathrooms. At least 2 with tub/shower combinations

4. A pantry closet, a side-entrance mudroom, and the laundry room adjacent to his "mudroom". (The. Muck. Stops. Here.)

5. An outdoor patio-style shower drainage system, and a hose (for rinsing off the rascalians)

6.  A BIG fridge, in a nice kitchen, but still, a separate chest freezer

7. A double sink in the kitchen, with stainless steel grouting (is that the right word?) all around. 

8. A breakfast bar, and a wooden dining room table But those can wait. More importantly, I want a smart kitchen with ceiling pot hangers lowerable by a winch, deep counters (2.5" deep) at an ergonomic height.  Deep sinks too.

9. Properly installed shades.

10. A laundry chute from upstairs to the laundry room.

Ok, so I got a little bit fanciful towards the end, but they all have good reasons behind them.  Agree? Disagree? Any additional suggestions that made your house better for mommyhood?  Its crazy how much domestic thoughts have infiltrated my head recently.  The idea that most likely, I will be the partner who stays home is starting to sink in.  Soon, school ends, and I get to be a daughter and fiance (and farm hand) for 6 weeks, then wife, then mother, then daughter-in-law and Australian.