Describe your dream home and theater, audio/video and all!

[Chris D]

I think this might be an interesting discussion--describe your dream home, any aspect of it you like, including exterior, interior, location, cost, size, style, furnishings, etc. And, of course, since this is an audio/video forum, tell us where the theater/audio room is and what it's like!

[Chris D]

I'll go first:

Location: I grew up in Colorado, and have debated whether I want to return there or not. There's some downsides there, like the cost of living which has risen astonishingly since I left in the late 90's. So many outsiders have moved there from higher-cost places like California and the East coast, and really changed the demographics and feel of the place. Plus I've got extended family there, and you know how that goes--it's great to be around them, but too close can be stifling. But CO has a special place in my heart, with such a beautiful front range and mountain skyline. So for now I'll say that my dream house would have to be on the Coloradan eastern front range at the base of the Rocky Mountains, ideally next to a lake with beautiful views of the lake, plains, and mountains. I'd have to be in a semi-suburb type area, where I'm close enough to Denver or a major city to have access to A/V, home improvement, and other stores, but not part of the actual city life.

Style: I really like Craftsman style homes and ones like that. I LOVE brick homes, or brick homes that also use stones on the exterior. Large wooden beams for accents and around doors and windows would be perfect. I'll see if I can find a picture example--something like this would be nice:



Exterior: I'd need a decent-sized piece of land, for privacy and aesthetics. Maybe 5 acres. Something for sure where I could use a riding lawn mower. Probably small trees along the driveway and a wrought-iron fence around the property. In the backyard, a large wood deck butting up against a small swimming pool. At one end of the deck, a sunroom with small plants (nothing crazy) and a sauna inside. The driveway would end at a small parking area flanked by two 2-car garages. One garage would adjoin the house. The other garage would be free-standing and a little larger with the capability to house oversized items like a boat. Both garages would be heated, with finished walls and workspace, finished black and white checkered protective floors. A built-in air compressor and distribution system, or perhaps shared with the workshop room. Like the house rooms, garage wired for audio/video, security, etc.

Interior: Dark walnut or cherry wood flooring throughout the house. Lots of wood, iron, and marble accents throughout the house. Double-opening front door with thick beveled glass inserts. I'll go for 10' ceilings in most of the house. The entryway would be open and inviting, with a wide spiral staircase to the floors above and below.

Size/rooms: I think I'd have to go with at least 3,000 sq ft; upwards of 4,000 might be better. In general, I would configure the house to have three floors, nothing unusual, the upper floor would be all bedrooms and private living, the main floor would be all living, dining, and formal entertaining, and the lower basement level would be for fun and entertainment.

If we're talking my dream home, I'd need lots of rooms for specialty purposes. One would be a wood and craft workshop with powertools with a built-in compressor, vacuum, and ventilation. A two-story office and library would be perfect, old style with wood and dark red/brown leather, bookshelves on all walls and a narrow iron spiral staircase up to a balcony around the 2nd level to reach the 2nd level of shelves. Full-sized suit knight suit of armor in the library. Small wine cellar room with small arched door, thick dark walnut door. Exercise room with mirrored walls. Laundry room would be on the upper floor with the bedrooms, with a large countertop space and sink.

The kitchen would be big, of course, with a walk-in pantry with a custom frosted glass door. Dark golden-brown-red wood cabinets with dull golden handles. Solid granite slab countertops, either black or green, or dark red marble. All appliances in a titanium/pewter/stainless steel finish. Fridge would be built in the cabinetry, double-size as you rarely see in stores. Actually two units, where one is completely a fridge, one is completely a freezer. Jenn-air range and convection oven.

Home Wiring: Each room in the house would be wired for audio, video, telephone, HVAC, security, and computer. Each room would have a control unit just as you enter by the door that would control each of these things. The wiring would all go to a central control room in the house. This control room would also be the equipment room for the theater, housing a central switchboard for the telephone and computer network distribution. The equipment stack would be shared with the theater and home distribution, so that any room could access satellite television, a DVD, radio, etc. The control room would be kept independently cool by an industrial cooling system, and be thermally and sonically isolated from the rest of the house. The master bedroom and front door control unit would have additional control features for the house such as security measures and the ability to turn off all lights in the house with one button push.

Master suite: Bedroom would have hidden surround sound system using in-ceiling/wall speakers. Flat plasma-like TV on wall opposite the bed. When not in use, the TV would be hidden by a work of art that would motorized slide-down over the TV. Using a picture frame around the TV, it would make it look like framed art, with no hint of a TV. Two large walk-in closets, a his and hers. (I'm a little tired of our closet now being taken over by the wife) Oversized bathroom would have walk-in double shower with glass doors and marble walls. One corner of the room would have an oversized oval-shaped jacuzzi tub on a stepped platform. Heated floors. Large LCD television on a swinging adjustable wall mount opposite the tub, viewable from anywhere in the room.

Rec Room: I would want to make the basement the entertainment floor, full of fun. One room would be a kids playroom with toys and games. The main room would be a rec room, oversized. My antique belgian bar would be in one area, by a wet bar countertop along the wall. Large sink and horizontal under-counter refrigerator. The rec room would have many game activities like air hockey, high-quality pool table with light bar hanging overhead, game table for chess/checkers/backgammon, etc. Large soda vending machine in one corner, actual British red telephone booth in another, Wurlitzer jukebox, my professional popcorn machine on a cart. One wall would be an oversized built-in lit fish tank. The rec room would be in dark forest green, with dark wood and thick rope accents. Many nautical decorations, with a rope fishing net, ship wheels and anchors on the wall, etc.

And the best for last, the THEATER! Actually, the theater I've built in my current home is very much along the lines of my ultimate theater design, so I've got a great place to start from.





The general interior design of the theater would be to make patrons feel like they are sitting outside on a summer's night with a park nightscape around them. I'd keep my dark grey and dark blue primary colors in the room, which are functional for movie theater design as well as contributing to the feel of the room. I'm making my theater so that the lower parts of it are a little lighter and have some objects like my seats and riser steps, the intention being it's like having park benches and objects around you, and it fades into the dark blackness up to the night sky above. I put lights in the top of my columns, which are GREAT for indirect lighting, very functional, but having the look as if they are lamposts in the park. I'd like to make a starfield ceiling, adding the final touch to the illusion that you are sitting below an open night sky, possibly augmented by a ceiling mural of a night sky. My seats are black to blend in with the room visually and functionally. The only real non-dark neutral color I currently have in my theater is the motorized red screen curtains, which I'd actually probably keep, because I think it looks so great.

I'd go for a theater size of about 11' ceilings, 17.6' width, and 25.63 length. This corresponds exactly to the largest of Sepmeyer's Golden Room Ratios, (x height, 1.6x width, 2.33x length) so that if I were to increase any of the dimensions, I'd increase the others correspondingly to keep the same ratio. Right now I have two rows of three seats each, which works pretty well. I might go to two rows of four seats, or three rows of four seats. There would be no windows or other openings in the room for perfect audio isolation, but plenty of lighting to brighten up the room when the lights are on.

From the rec room in the basement, you would walk down a small hallway by the house's central equipment and control room and maybe the wine cellar, to the door to the theater. As you walk from the rec room to the hallway to the theater, you would transition from a house to a true movie theater feel, with poster bills on the hallway walls and a ticket counter booth by the theater entrance door. Large lit theater sign over the entrance door, and velour theater rope across the door. Ideally, I'd like to have the theater itself not be part of the actual house and foundation, so that there is complete sound isolation. The theater door could be at the very edge of the house foundation, and then the theater itself would be a structure next to the house but not touching it, partially or completely underground. To complete the sound isolation, it would have a dedicated HVAC system, which would also provide for the necessary substantial ventilation needs in a theater. Multiple dedicated electrical power circuits for the equipment control room and theater.

I like the "clean feel" I designed into the room, with all front speakers and subwoofers hidden behind a front perforated screen and false wall covered with acoustical fabric, so I'd definitely keep that. All surround speakers are hidden in columns around the room, which I also really like visually, so I'd probably do that again, too. I have a bit of feaux wood trim on my theater now. I'd like to increase the amount of wood and make it really classy. I'll keep the lit exit sign over my theater door. I'll keep the rope lighting under the lips of the seating risers and front proscenium stage.

For equipment, I currently have Klipsch speakers. My ultimate theater, though, would probably have electrostat or magnetic planar speakers for the entire set. It would have to be a 1080p or higher front projector, maybe SED or SXRD, or whatever technology they come out with next. Power and A/V jacks would be hidden in the risers to allow people to plug in and use things like gaming consoles.

[aud19]

This thread's going to take some time to respond to...that I don't have right now :lol:

I'll be back

[P-Dub]

This is a great thread!

I thought I had things laid out, but I'm no where close to that much detail.

You've provided me with some great ideas!

Location for me would be Vancouver. No doubt. Cost of living is high here, but we're talking dream home right?

[Lex]

Well, the needs of a single guy, with only 1 daughter are fairly modest. Mostly, my current all brick home accomodates my needs. There are glaring exceptions. Garage, utility, storage space are my major complaints.

So whatever I do someday, involves that. At this time, I am thinking 3000-3500 sq foot upstairs, sensible luxury accomodated. Full basement downstairs devoted at least half to garage. The rest to shop, utility, storage. All living space will be upstairs, along with another 2-3 car garage for daily driver cars. This quickly becomes fairly extensive for a single guy, lol. But I don't care. I want my ultimate shop space someday, and several hot rods to fill it up. One is a 68 Shelby GT-350 or 500. Another 70 Mach I, maybe a Vette, and a true street rod. so what I want in the garage, could cost as much as the house, or more.

Doug

[Kevin P]

Don't forget the dedicated cable building shop and test lab there Doug

As for me, I'd have to think about all the crazy details, so I might edit my post from time to time, but I'll rattle off the major features now:

Location: as far away from the in-laws as is possible on such a small planet. :rofl: But seriously, someplace warm, ocean front. Maybe on some island in the Caribbean, right on the beach. I'd have a nice little yacht to travel to/from the island. The yacht would be something I could spend days/weeks in, and it would have its own yacht theater system. But this thread is about the home, so on to that...

The home would be spacious, with enough room to have a dedicated room for each and every function I would want to have there, but no uneeded rooms. Since we have no kids, we could get by with one master bedroom and a guest bedroom. Maybe a couple more guest bedrooms depending on how many guests we expect to have at once. Functional rooms would include the usual kitchen, baths, master bath, and living room. In addition, I would have a dedicated library/reading room, a dedicated 2-channel music room, a dedicated home theater (of course), a large office, a work area in the basement, a dedicated server/media system room, an exercise/workout room, multiple-car garage(s), a nice fenced/landscaped yard, in-ground pool and outdoor jacuzzi, and I'm sure a ton of other things I'm not thinking of right now.

Every room would have in-ceiling speakers and keypads connected a central whole house audio/video distribution system. Many rooms would have either plasma or LCD displays on the wall, for TV, movie, or monitoring CCTV cameras located throughout the house. With cameras and monitors all through the house, a video intercom would allow people in different parts of the house to interact with both audio and video.

The house would be wired for cable, satellite, phone, network, audio/video and WiFi throughout.

The dedicated theater room would have Martin Logan electrostats throughout, a 1080p or 9" CRT projector, large screen, total light control (no windows), acoustically treated, stadium seating risers, with comfortable sofas and/or theater-type seating. An entryway to the theater would have posters, a box office, a bathroom (or two) with LCD monitors so that people don't miss any of the movie when nature calls, and popcorn and soda machines. The theater and the 2-channel music room would be acoustically isolated from the rest of the house.

The 2-channel audio room would have high-end analog and digital gear, tube pre and/or power amps, and top-end speakers (perhaps electrostats in this room as well). The room would be acoustically optimized for music listening. It would be adjacent to the library, so I can easily get a book to read while listening.

Cost? I can hardly imagine. This is a dream after all.

[aud19]

Geez.... where to start....

I too love stone/brick work and might going for something like a modernized Georgian or maybe even Tudor...I like Craftsmen too... but i'd really have to think long and hard on that one... It would certainly be somewhere here in the Vancouver area. Either North/West Van or maybe Crescent beach area...somewhere from 1/4 to 1 acre should be enough. Moderately landscaped with lot's of existing big trees etc. I wouldn't want it overly done, have to keep some of the local rustic beauty

I'd probably say 3-4000 Sq Ft as well (theatres take up a lot of space :B ). Two floors plus a basement level on a hill so the back of the basement opened with french doors to the partially indoor/outdoor pool and the rest of the backyard. The rest of the basement would be the theatre with adjoining bar/recroom (with pool table) and a washroom/change area for the pool.

Main floor would be the main living spaces. Living, dining, kitchen, den and / or library. I too have always wanted a 2 floor library with a big fire place, two story windows etc :B Possibly put the 2-ch system in there or the adjoining Den. Add a washroom or two etc. Kitchen would be maple cabinets, granite or stainless counters, stainless appliances.

Upstairs would probaby be a Master plus two decent sized bedrooms, art/workshop "loft" room over (and accessible by) the 3+ car garage for projects, painting etc. Plus a laundry room with space for ironing/storage etc. Plus the usual ensuite and common bathroom.

The whole house would be hardwood/tile, NO CARPET, with radiant in floor heating. I'd go with a mix of maple an cherry woods for the floors/finishing. Hot water would be via "tankless" point-of-use water heaters.

Whole house AV system with media server and keypads for the bedrooms/secondary rooms, larger say PDA units for the living room/master bedroom and then something like a full on tablet for the theatre.

The theatre itself would have an SXRD projector, Bryston monoblocks for the front three channels, two 2ch amps for the surrounds, Genesis speakers, SVS subs etc. SXRD RPTV's (bar/pool room) or Pioneer plasmas for the rest of the house (unless SED comes out by then).

All this is making me want to do up a floor plan like I used to do... if I only had the time :lol:

[aud19]

Ok after a quick search I think we'd go with something like one of these:

http://www.collectivedesigns.com/dsgnr/dd0500/dd3843.htm

http://www.collectivedesigns.com/dsgnr/dd0500/dd3842.htm

I like the top plan the most though they'd need a little tweaking.... and a basement with the appropriate theatre/bar/rec room/pool table and pool but otherwise pretty good. I'd likely scrap the family room on the main floor and stick with just a living room as the theatre/rec room downstairs would cover that. Then I could spread the library/den out more. I'd also have one central bath for the secondary bedrooms and have the WIC with a seperate entrance than the ensuite ( I HATE that).

[Chris D]

Oh, wow, Jason, I like!

I forgot about the big fireplace in the library. Yes, yes... somewhere for me to film my appearances on "Masterpiece Theater".

Yeah, every once in a while I get the itch and go research floor plans.

[Chris D]

[Chris D]

[Chris D]

NOTICE THE THEATER AND 2-STORY LIBRARY IN THIS ONE!




(of course, also notice the size of the man's walk-in closet compared to the lady's)

[aud19]

Those are nice but a little big for my tastes :lol:

Plus I don't know about having the library RIGHT beside the theatre.... :scratchhead: I think I'd still prefer a smaller L X W with a basement for the theatre :yesnod:

[Chris D]

So, uh... Jason, does that mean that these two houses are out?

Check these things out. Notice the castle turret in house 1 and the bowling alley in house 2.

[David Meek]

That's easy. I've known my dreamhouse for 40+ years. It's called Falling Water and was created by Frank Lloyd Wright.







As far as location goes, the one it's sited on isn't chopped liver, but I'd like it here on Orcas Island with a south-facing view like our current one.

The dedicated theater room and the dedicated listening room would have to be (you did say dream, right?) underground add-ons so as not to spoil the flow of the house. More on these two rooms later. . . .

[bigburner]

Chris, that's a very impressive description! You've obviously given a lot of thought to your subject. It makes me wonder what your current house is like. How about posting a photo of the exterior? I will if you will. I don't have a photo handy, so in the meantime here's a picture of my holiday house.

[aud19]

Yes Chris, anything with "wings" is a bit much IMO :lol:

Nice choice David. Ya can't go wrong with FLW :T

[Chris D]

bigburner: :rofl: Sure, I'll take a pic. You're not going to fly up from NZ and rob my house, now, are you? Well, actually, you can even do that, if you promise to take me back with you!

David, that house is stunning! I'm curious, where is it now?

[aud19]

Here ya go Chris

http://www.paconserve.org/index-fw1.asp

[wkhanna]

David, that house is stunning! I'm curious, where is it now?

It’s located at Bear Run, about 1-½ hours east of Pittsburgh, and was built in the 1930’s for the Kaufman Family as a summer home. They wanted a ‘little’ place that had a view of the waterfall where Kaufman had fond memories playing as a youth. Wright decided to put the house ‘on’ the falls, instead.

I’ve been there at least 8 times, and see something ‘new’ each time.

BTW, the front gates that were designed by Wright but were never installed just went on eBay a few months ago for either $7k or $10k, I can’t remember for sure.

http://www.wam.umd.edu/~stwright/FLWr/fallingwater.html

http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/fa267/FLW_fallingwater.html

http://www.fay-west.com/fayette/fallingwater/

[Alloroc]

I suppose you guys have seen this all before, and not that it's my dream house or anything, but this is what you can have if you're Bill Gates....

http://www.zpub.com/un/bill/ecology.html

BTW, I'm in the middle of my own build at the moment. I'm finalising contracts with a German company called Huf. They 'pre-build' in Germany, roll up when all is ready and assemble your house in a couple of weeks.

Long story short, I'm building, a bespoke, modern, eco-friendly home with plenty of space and lots of light - I'm also installing geothermal heating system to reduse heating bills. There will be a large basement included, with a 30 x 20 foot room for entertainment. More on that to follow.

Here's a link to their site - they are really quite innovative and good value too, whe all is considered.

http://www.huf-haus.de/en/index1_ds1205563485.html

All in the costs are more expensive than a traditional built home, however the Huf house includes the highest grade fixtures, fittings, flooring and kitchen, with high end appliances (Gaggenau). Add that to a traditional build and it does not appear as cheap then!

Hoping to be in by end of summer.

[David Meek]

Good luck Victor! :T

[wkhanna]

I’ve been giving this way too much thought since the day it was posted. But I think I’m to the point now that I will give it a whirl.

Location:
This was probably the toughest decision of all; there is the Finger Lake Region of New York State that I’ve been more times than I can count, good wine, good people, beautiful hills, and four true seasons.

Then there’s Carmel Ca, oceanfront of course! And with easy access to CA Highway 1, for those great cruises on the old mottos and sports cars. Or maybe rural Germany on the Rhine, or Northern Italy both offering great wine and spectacular food. Or Southern Portugal or Southern Spain, with great weather and again, the food and wine.

But in the end............. It just has to be, when it is all said and done, like nowhere else in the world......... Monaco!

I’d say about 4 to 12 blocks from the ocean. But it MUST be on a street that is part of the F1 Race Track.

Style:
Who Cares!?!?!?!!!
Yet, something simple and definitely ‘Old-World’.

Exterior:
Two balconies, one facing the Race Track street, and one facing East, as I prefer watching the sunrise.

Interior: Three floors

First Floor:
As a garage and workshop; with a lift, of course. I would need it large enough to keep one four-wheel vehicle and at the minimum, four mottos plus a turquoise Vespa w/side hack for the wife (great for running to the store and easy to park). I guess the rest of the stable could be garaged out of town and my chauffeur/mechanic could deliver on demand. Since this is a ‘workshop’ I need something not too fancy, but rugged and durable, so I’ll put an all Krell 2-ch here, just CD and a Tuner. This would be the equivalent of most people’s study, but for me, this where I go to relax and meditate.

Second Floor:

This will be the Master Suite, with one smallish guest bedroom and its private bath facilities. This suite would more like two rooms with a divider, so I can watch Big flat panel when my wife wants to sleep. I’m a bit of an insomniac. And I like couches in bedrooms, with enough room to not look overcrowded.
Audio / HT...... ? Tag McLaren and Snails; No in-wall/in-ceiling, I like to SEE where the music comes from.

Third Floor:
This is where we LIVE. Kitchen, dinning room and living room with no separation. The entire floor plan open and accessible. Big and Airy. The kitchen would encompass ½ of the level with a couch on the periphery, acting as a divider to the intimate dinning room table. I feel the kitchen is the heart of the home. It must be functional and comfortable. Have you noticed anytime you have guests, they always seem to migrate to the kitchen? It’s where the Action is. Food. It is the mortar that binds social interaction, whether it be intimate family or casual friends.

Beyond that is the living room. Real wood burning F/P with a stone hearth.

E/T Center would have two slabs of black granite on either side of the F/P supporting tubes. BIG TUBES with Russian transistors from the ‘Cold War’ and Electrostatic making the noise.

Home Wiring:
Wiring? Sure! I like the idea of 24/7 power service. A CPU telling my coffee maker when to brew? No thanks. I can still make my own Java.

Well.... this was just a quick draft of what I came up with, but you are all welcome to come over for the Grand Prix of Monaco anytime!

[KeithM]

Except I don't want to be the president. I guess I'll just have it parted and shipped out to British Columbia where mountain biking is best. Doesn;t the white house have a theater built in?

[David Meek]

Yeah it does, but it only shows old Ronald Reagan movies. :

[Chris D]

Then there’s Carmel Ca, oceanfront of course! And with easy access to CA Highway 1, for those great cruises on the old mottos and sports cars. Or maybe rural Germany on the Rhine, or Northern Italy both offering great wine and spectacular food. Or Southern Portugal or Southern Spain, with great weather and again, the food and wine.

But in the end............. It just has to be, when it is all said and done, like nowhere else in the world......... Monaco!

Oh my gosh, wkhanna, you couldn't be more right about any of those choices. Awesome places. I'd take a place on the Rhein or Mosel river there in Germany any day. I have a friend that owns a winery on the Mosel river, and his river valley is my 2nd favorite landscape view in the entire world. (1st is the Grand Canyon)

[bigburner]

bigburner: :rofl: Sure, I'll take a pic. You're not going to fly up from NZ and rob my house, now, are you? Well, actually, you can even do that, if you promise to take me back with you!

Chris, you do know that New Zealand is in the bottom far corner of the world, don't you? If our one and only DC3 were to break down you could find yourself stuck here for a year with nothing to do except watch the sheep grazing. Are you prepared to take that sort of risk?

[Chris D]

As long as that's all that you do with the sheep, sure. From watching Lord of the Rings, I know that you have more than just one DC3, you have a fleet of oversized Eagles that carry you guys anywhere you want to go! :rofl:

Seriously, I NEED to get down to NZ some day. On the topic of this thread, is Kiwi architecture different than other places in the world?

[bigburner]

On the topic of this thread, is Kiwi architecture different than other places in the world?

New Zealand was populated from the mid-19th century onwards largely by immigrants from Britain. New Zealand architecture was therefore influenced by our British heritage from the early days. However the architecture has always had a distinctly local flavour due to New Zealand’s relatively small population and a lack of wealthy people who could afford substantial buildings. Another big difference between the architecture of New Zealand and that of other countries is the widespread use of wood as a building material. Trees grow very well here, as you may have noticed from Lord of the Rings. However there are also many stone and brick buildings too, including fine Gothic churches and impressive Baroque public buildings. Many colonial buildings and cottages from our pioneering days still exist. The architecture of our indigenous Maori people adds an interesting flavour to some buildings.

[Chris D]

Resurrecting this thread simply because I'm about to move and looking at new homes.

[Brandon B]

Not moving to NZ are you?

I'd love to.

BB

[Chris D]

No, Alaska. Someday I'll get to Aussieland and Kiwiland, but not yet.

[Chris D]

Here's the latest house plan that I've found and like, being fairly feasible for me:

http://www.houseplans.com/plan_details.asp?id=6675&st=13

Main floor:



Upper floor:



Little features I like about this house:

- sound isolation for each bedroom from other rooms
- big, open spaces, especially the consolidated great room
- his and hers walk-in closets (I REALLY like this)
- walk-in pantry (and butler's pantry, too)
- upstairs laundry
- added basement would give extra space for specialty rooms like rec room, theater, kids playroom, etc.

Things that I'm concerned about with that layout:

- No dedicated office, so at least temporarily, I'd have to use the guest bed while finishing the basement.
- I can't tell what all those little lines mean in the kitchen. I take it that the stove is in the bottom left corner, the sink on the counter in the upper right. Is the thing in the middle supposed to be a very small island? What are all the circles on the edge of the free counter? Are those stools that are dashed on the upper edge of the free counter? I think the fridge goes in the bottom right, and I don't know if that could be modified for a double-wide model, with individual full-size units for a fridge and freezer.
- With the laundry room next to the master bath, I'm wondering if it would send noise into the master bedroom if trying to run a load of laundry overnight.
- No room for my Maclaren F1 as a 4th car when I buy it.

[aud19]

It's quite nice Chris :T

[wkhanna]

I'd be more concerned about where the furnace is!

[Chris D]

I'd be more concerned about where the furnace is!

Furnace?

(sorry, I guess this latest plan is a feasible house I'm considering, not a dream house like I started this thread for)

[Thelonious Funk]

I just want a basement so I no longer have to worry so much about the people next door complaining about the "noise" (by which I have to assume they mean the beautiful sounds coming from my speakers)

Florida really isn't that bad, but a water table two feet below the ground bites.

[wkhanna]

Furnace?

Sorry Chris, a poor attempt at some humor on my part.
It's just that Alaska seems so far away and 'coooold'.
Yet, I would love to see it, sometime; as I know it is a most beautiful place.
I sure hope they have lots of de-icing juice for your wings up there!

[Brandon B]

I just want a basement so I no longer have to worry so much about the people next door complaining about the "noise" (by which I have to assume they mean the beautiful sounds coming from my speakers)

You don't have to have a basement. My neighbors can't even hear my system at full volume, as the house is insulated well enough that it takes it down to a level that doesn't carry into theirs, and they are far enough away (~70 ft) that the bass doesn't couple to their house and transmit.

And that's a standard California concrete slab and stick construction home.

BB

[Thelonious Funk]

My house is 50 years old and the guy next door is about 20 feet away. Sometimes with the windows open I can hear him on the phone... Too bad I don't speak spanish. Might be some juicy gossip.

Ah well. Until I move into Chris' dream house while he is out flying somewhere, this will have to do.

[Chris D]

Would he like it better if you played non-stop Menudo?

[Thelonious Funk]

not since they kicked out ricky martin

[Chris D]

I found a new plan which might be my favorite yet.

http://www.architecturaldesigns.com/house-plan-12064jl.asp

This one is 3700 sq ft, so it's still feasible without getting ludicrous. Again, with a basement, you could have a large rec room and theater for all your entertainment needs.

Here's a pic of a slightly larger version of the house, I just like the look and finish of this one, too.



The interior finish on this particular home is a little over the top, LOTS of ornate wood.



But look at this master bath, the way it's built to have the promenade leading to the tub room!

[aud19]

"Keeping Room"...oooooh la la :roll: : :lol:

[Chris D]

Yeah, Jason, I don't understand that one. What the heck is a "keeping room"? Looks like a living room to me. And what's a "Loggia"? Looks like a covered porch.

Ah, maybe this one's just too "foofy" for me. Heck, I'm still not even sure what to do with a "sitting room"! I sure do like it, though. I wouldn't finish it like those other people did on the inside, though, with the gaudy wood.

I guess I'll keep dreaming.