Ed and I joke about the house we’re going to retire in. It will be in the mountains, within driving distance to a beach and will be by a lake in the country. We especially talk about it when we’re driving west to Iowa and hit the rolling hills just east of the Mississippi River. It’s a beautiful area, and we would love to live there some day even though it’s not really mountains and not by a beach.
Some “must-haves” in our retirement house, aka our dream house, are below. We love the house we live in now, but it was built in the 60’s and there are quite a few improvements that still need to be done. Our dream house, of course, will be completely updated before we even move in!
- My dream house will have a wrap around porch with rocking chairs so Ed and I can sit for hours and look at the lake. Which will be close by. There might even be loons on our lake, and there will definitely be deer in the woods. But they will not come and eat my garden.
- The kitchen will have walk-in pantry, instead of a tall cabinet with no built-in shelves masquerading as a pantry.
- There will be beautiful kitchen counter tops that have no seams and that don’t slant forward and drip water on the floor when I’m not paying attention.
- I’ll have a wonderful laundry room–a clean, spacious laundry room on the first floor–not a dirty, cobwebby basement laundry room in the same space as the furnace and water heater and a sewer drain that backs up in bad storms.
- The large master bathroom will have two sinks and a big, clean tub that I can soak in, unlike the pink bathtub we have now that never looks quite clean because the enamel is wearing off from years of use. Oh, yes, not having a pink toilet would also be lovely.
- On the top floor, perhaps in an attic garret, will be my quaint writing space. It will have a window that I will be able to look out of and become inspired.
- As a writer, I’ll also need to have a library so I can keep all my books in one place and never give them away because there’s no more room on the shelf!
- I’d love to have a large stone patio with a built-in grill and fire pit with comfortable outdoor furniture and a covered area to sit when it rains. And why not…throw in a hot tub while we’re at it.
- Since this is supposed to be our retirement home, I’ll throw in a workroom for Ed to do whatever he wants to do. Wood working, fixing things, putzing around…a retired man definitely needs a room to putz around in.
- We’ll also need a barn. Technically this is not part of the dream house, but we need a place to put our riding lawnmower and other lawn implements for our large acreage. And we’ll also have barn cats and maybe a chicken or two!
What would your dream house have?
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Great list. My husband and I often joke about our countryhouse in the Midlands in England. The Midlands are not really suited for countryhouses as I believe the charcoal mines were there, but I visited England once and went to the East Midlands. Alternatively, our dream house would be in the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. Now that I think of it, however, the one thing my dream house would have to have is good Wifi. I still use my own mobile connection here in the institution and the plans for getting Wifi were canceled by some manager type guy who doesn’t have a clue what the clients want or need.
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Definitely love your dream house and sounds a lot like what I would look for in my own 😉
Janine Huldie recently posted…“Happy Readers, Healthy Kids” BrightStart! Reading
Our dream retirement home is a condo that requires no upkeep. We live on a small farm that has lots and lots of upkeep, so we’re going for a simple life, except for all the traveling so we never have to see snow again. 🙂
Your house sounds similar to ours, especially the cobwebby, basement laundry “room”.
While our bathtub is in need of a re-enamel, at least it’s not pink. 🙂
christine recently posted…What a Mom Wants: My Ultimate Dream Home
My husband and I started out in a condo, and have always wanted to live on a small farm! I suppose the grass is always greener on the other side. 🙂
Your dream house sounds amazing!!!
My dream house will be on a beach in Hawaii – pretty much I haven’t thought about anything in the house as long as it is on the beach!!!
Kim recently posted…Happiness Is…..
I’ve never been to Hawaii. I’d love to go there some day! A little house on the beach would be wonderful!
I’ve got the attic reading room and wrap around porch on my dream house too! Maybe we can be neighbors!
Rabia @TheLiebers recently posted…#TuesdayTen: Barbie My Dream House Edition
Now that would make my dream house even better! 🙂
I would LOVE to have a library. I have so many books.
Amber recently posted…Hey, It’s Okay Tuesday!
Sounds absolutely lovely!
Lisa @ The Golden Spoons recently posted…My Dream House {#TuesdayTen Linkup}
Oh pantries, clean beautiful counters and a wrap around porch….. In the BEST location, oh how beautiful!!! Love the laundry room, would it come with someone to do the laundry????
BritishMumUSA recently posted…We Own a Hedgehog
I think a dream laundry room would definitely need to come with someone to do the laundry! I’m always behind in my laundry.
Well now you’ve gone and gotten that beautiful song in my head! I love it.
Wraparound porch for me too. I want an indoor jacuzzi and an outdoor hot tub to use year-round and to see the stars in.
I also a large kitchen because right now, two people cannot cook at the same time without bumping elbows constantly!
Tamara recently posted…Wordless Wednesday: Love Is Healing.
I actually do have a large kitchen, which is nice. We even have a “breakfast nook” which sounds cuter than it really is. But the kitchen itself needs to be redone. I still have the original cabinets, which are ug.ly!
I love your criteria! (and in the mountains, close enough to drive to the beach, but by a lake…sound like North Carolina!) I think I just want to be at the beach. I’ve never lived at the beach except for a week of vacation here and there, but it would be my dream to have coffee on a deck looking at the ocean every morning and being able to do daily walks up and down the surf. Maybe I’d change my tune if I ever *did* live at the beach (because I know there are issues) but that’s my dream. (Plus the kids (and hopefully grandkids) would always want to come and visit so that would be a plus) –Lisa
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Your house sounds great Ginny! Love the patio idea and the barn sounds cool too. My husband and I have been looking at places by the beach for a while now, but are planning to really pull the trigger within the year. My must have is an office and a room for each of our kids and their (hopefully, future families).
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I hear you on the bath tub. I would love to take a long hot bath every night with a glass of something. Not picky.
Your fingers have been working overdrive on your blog. I can barely keep up. I do love reading a new post every morning over my Cheerios.
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My daily blog writing is over until next November, but I’d like to keep writing more often in December! Glad you’re enjoying my blog!