Now if your anywhere over the age of 22, you’ve most likely sat through a binge session of HGTV. You watch all the different homeowners give their list of wants and must-haves and as we’ve gotten to travel more and stay in a variety of different types of places, we’ve started making out own list.
At first it was just a mental one, things we’d discuss on our long drives, then we got more realistic and specific, and felt the need to write it down.
First and foremost, we want a home with a few acres of land. This is mostly due to the fact that we’re big on privacy and also hermits, so a few acres in between neighbors would be perfect for us. When Jay’s uncle bought his house, I immediately fell in love. So much so that we actually had our wedding out in the back of his massive yard. It just has this aura that makes me so happy every time I go. I knew right then and there I needed a big backyard.
Also, we’re total copy cats because he has the cutest little chicken coop with a few chickens and fresh eggs and we decided that we also want chickens and fresh eggs every morning.
In the same sense, I’d like to be able to have my own garden for fresh veggies. A big inspiration of mine lately has been Joanna Gaines. The home they’ve created is so down to earth and self sustaining, it’s exactly what I want. Now, I don’t know how to garden, but it’s on my list of things to learn because I have this vision of being able to work in the garden with my future kids and I plan on making it happen.
Let me just mention that everything on our list of must haves has been thought out with our future family in mind. If it were just Jay and I, we’d be totally fine in a studio somewhere with a computer, an xbox, and internet connection.
Still talking about the outside, we’d like the house to have a big wrap around porch. Some of my favorite memories as a kid were when the power would go out on rainy days and my family and I would sit out on a balcony playing card games and watching the storm pass. I want the same for my kids, but better.
Also, we’ve since decided that we want to build a house from the ground up so we want a plot of land that overlooks a lake so we can watch sunsets from our porch and have a dock with a boat so we can go fishing.
Now moving onto the inside, the place has to have high ceilings. I very specifically wrote on my notebook that they have to be 13 feet high. This is because I’m a giant fan of Christmas and I’ve always wanted a 10 foot tree that we can gather around on Christmas morning with the kids and some hot cocoa while we unwrap presents.
Christmas is also the reason our living room has to have a fireplace so we can light it at night watching Christmas movies while the snow falls outside.
In the kitchen, we want a breakfast nook. Preferably surrounded by windows overlooking the backyard, we want a space that we can sit in the morning, taking in the sunlight rising over the water before starting out day.
Now I’m more of a stickler for details than Jay is, but just like holiday decor, (he doesn’t find them necessary but enjoys then when they’re up) he’ll appreciate the next one.
Our home now doesn’t have very many windows but natural light is super important to me. It puts me in a better mood and I know it has the same effect on Jay, he just doesn’t take notice. So I want our forever home to have as many tall windows as possible. I don’t even know where I’ve seen it, but I have this very specific image of the back wall of our living room overlooking the lake/backyard to be lined with floor to ceiling windows. I don’t know how practical that is but it’s something we’ll seriously look at.
Last but certainly not least on this very long list, is a large open spaced basement for Jay’s endless list of hobbies. When we visited my dad’s uncle in Albania, he had a huge basement filled with his wine making supplies. He had bottles of wine older than either of us had been alive. Jay’s always been the hobby type, in fact, beer and wine making is on that list. The day we visited he was so happy exploring and tasting all of my dad’s uncle’s concoctions. It was pretty much settled then and there that we needed the space for him to store all of his many supplies so that they’re easy to get to and neatly organized instead of having things lost inside out house.
I’m sure our list will continue to grow, or even maybe shrink, as we get closer to buying/building our home, but keeping lists helps us keep our visions organized so that no matter what is on it, it’ll be possible.
featured image photo credit: https://www.houseplans.com
