I saw this question around on Twitter somewhere, and I was intrigued by it: If you were to build a house on two acres for which money was no object, what five features would you insist upon?
I don't have a Twitter account, so I'm going to post my response here in a whole, long blog post that is going to be way more than 280 characters. WHEE!
Number one will probably surprise no one: a garden. But not just any garden. I want a walled kitchen garden. Like this:
Be still my heart.
(This is West Dean, in England, and the full gallery of photos is here.)
I have always wanted one of those walled gardens with the espaliered fruit trees and tidy rows. And of course, were I ever to possess such a thing, no weed would dare show its face in those perfect rows.
Ahem.
Number two: A sort of butler's pantry just inside the house when one comes in from the garden. I don't know if butler's pantry is quite the right word, but what I mean is a small room with lots of counters and shelves, and a big farm sink. This would be so handy to have for things like butchering and cleaning produce and storing large canning pots and so on. And, you know, having a place to store extra food that is not the floor around my woodstove.
Which leads us to number three: A proper laundry room off the pantry, with an easy-to-clean floor and a place to store brooms and things. This would lead to . . .
Number four: A kitchen of my own design, with a really, really nice range. I have probably the world's worst range right now, so this has been on my mind lately. I don't necessarily need a really big kitchen--what with that handy pantry I would also have--but I would like to have a good range. And a bigger refrigerator. And maybe a wood topped island.
The kitchen could be its own entire post. But moving on.
Number five: A small library room. I wouldn't really want a huge library, just a small room with shelves for books and a comfortable chair with a reading lamp. Plus a soundproof door with a lock on it to keep my children out.
Just kidding about the door.
Kind of.
Okay! Now tell me: What five things would you have in the house of your dreams?
I will up you one of the butler's pantry and just have a butler. :)
ReplyDeleteLet me think, I'll be back.
Can't really think of five things, just three.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a smaller house, than we have now.
Less, wooded area so a garden would actually thrive.
Larger laundry area. Our washer & dryer now, are stuck in a closet, and I do mean stuck.
Linda
Thought of another...hard wood floors throughout the whole house.
ReplyDeleteLinda
I adore English Gardens... Excellent choice on your part.
ReplyDeleteMy ideal house would have a tiled sun room, perfect for plants and cats. And stained glass pieces hanging in the windows. And maybe a cozy couch/chair for spending time.
Not that I've given it much thought, you know...
Air conditioning, electricity, multiple dogs,running water.
ReplyDeleteOnly five is a bit tough. It's taken me this long to narrow it down.
ReplyDelete• An outdoor porch for sitting, not just door access.
• An indoor porch with enough space/counters/closets/cupboards for all the stuff — cow/vet, winter coats, eleventy billion boots, sports/outdoor toy randomness, laundry — and a spot to hang wet/damp stuff indoors and a place to sit for booting/garbing.
• A project space, so that the kitchen table is free for things like (gasp) eating and things like 4-H projects, jigsaw puzzles, major tax prep don't have to be interrupted to do the eating.
• A guest room. I do wish people could visit us. You maybe have seen the beach-scene meme "This could be us, but we have cows." We go nowhere. A lot of our people are relatively far-flung, but I think they would visit if we could extend an invitation that included a place to stay.
• Proper ventilation, specifically a range hood and bathroom fan. (This was a hard choice over a strawberry bed. I think I could more easily establish strawberries than I could get a range hood.)
Karen.
The walled kitchen garden is something I dream about too. Tuesday sometime between 2:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., some critter (woodchuck is the best bet) scooted under my deer fence and mowed down my ENTIRE ROW OF PERFECT LETTUCE. And tore down some of my perfect peas. So yesterday, before my little jaunt to Lake Champlain, I had to build low fence to go with my deer fence. Old farm houses used to have "summer kitchens," which were basically simple additions to the main house not to be used in the winter but perfect for all the rough stuff -- and canning over a wood stove, etc. So, yes, a "utility room," in more modern parlance, would be great.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'd really, really like fully functional windows that could be opened and closed and cleaned on both sides. And they would have to look good, with proper muntins. Oh, and a modern heating/cooling system would be nice, also. Laundry ditto.
Oh, I love this idea. I'm not quite at the wood stove storage stage, but there's canned goods in the laundry room and a vacuum sealer on top of my fridge so I'm with you on the butler's pantry area and the perfect kitchen. That's two. I also need a quilting space because that's what I do. Fourth, a screened porch with a view. Sneaky right, location isn't a room, but it might as well be. Last, a space for guests with their own bath, maybe a coffee bar/mini fridge and room for entire families as our kids mostly all have their own kids now.
ReplyDeleteKristin....the room you yearn for is a scullery, it goes along with your walled garden and contains all the detritus of keeping a kitchen, but OUT of the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: YES! I couldn't think of the appropriate Victorian word. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteYou all have terrific ideas. I would love a garden and someone to look after it please. I ache too much. A butler type pantry would be lovely and a bigger kitchen would be nice. Ours is so small and two is a crowd, so a larger kitchen with a gas stove and a decent fridge and freezer would be fantastic.
ReplyDeleteOn to other areas I would love a space to sew and create in. Since I live in Queensland, Australia I would appreciate decent air-conditioning etc.