If you built your house: What's the biggest mistake you made

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DustyDiamonds

Tue, May 02 2023, 1:29 pm

essie14 wrote:

Oh I hate those built in soap dispensers. When we designed our kitchen the designer tried to push those on me and I stood firm. They just get in the way. I like being able to move my soap dispenser when I'm doing dishes.

Wow, I was wishing for one recently! I love when all of my counters are clear except for the soap dispenser at each sink! Wish I didn’t need them! And I’m always moving them to wipe down the counters!

cupcake123

Tue, May 02 2023, 1:34 pm

It's so funny to see some things that people hate I love and some that people love I hate.
Some examples from this thread
I think central vacuum is terrible!
Also love my soap dispenser!

amother

Cognac

Tue, May 02 2023, 2:20 pm

I didn't build my house but I did renovate and here are some things I did that I love:

I asked the contractor to put fiberglass insulation (the old-fashioned pink insulation) in the bathroom walls for soundproofing. It's very effective. Don't let anyone convince you to do spray foam instead. For exterior walls or the attic, it's fine. It doesn't help with soundproofing. I would have put it between my floor joists too but I didn't open up my ceilings.

I love my shower niches. Keeps the bathroom so much neater. I opted for prefab because I didn't trust my contractor to get the 5-degree slope perfect.

I also love my pot filler and my tip out by the kitchen sinks.

I love love love that I had my electrician add a bunch of outlets wherever I thought I would appreciate one and a bunch of additional lighting. Makes the house feel so much airier.

I love the textured wallpaper that I did on my accent wall when you come into the house also. It makes the space look so much bigger.

I didn't hire a designer- I just chose everything myself and asked friends for advice.

Anon because this is all highly specific.

amother

Dandelion

Tue, May 02 2023, 2:45 pm

amother Steelblue wrote:

Someone I know has a bathroom all the way in the back- but straight across the front door. So if a kid is using the bathroom and left bathroom door open, and someone walks into the house at the same time... LOL

And along those lines, never put a bathroom too close/facing an eating area. I dont have that but I've seen it plenty of times. Its gross.

amother

Hibiscus

Tue, May 02 2023, 2:47 pm

something we did that I really love. we added a very small closet in the baby nursery with a tiny kitchenette inside. has a small sink, cabinet and a small fridge on a shelf above the sink. plus a bit counter space to fit a hot water urn and a little bottle rack. it is a lifesaver for those midnight feedings.

amother

Pink

Tue, May 02 2023, 3:44 pm

amother Cognac wrote:

Can you explain the bolded?

amother

Cognac

Tue, May 02 2023, 4:23 pm

amother Pink wrote:

Can you explain the bolded?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod.....psc=1

gingleale

Tue, May 02 2023, 4:31 pm

If you put damp sponges in the tip out will they dry without getting moldy?

amother

Cognac

Tue, May 02 2023, 4:33 pm

gingleale wrote:

If you put damp sponges in the tip out will they dry without getting moldy?

Yes unless the cabinet beneath it is airtight. If you have enough ventilation in the cabinet (or you can put one of those "keep dry" things" it should dry just fine with no issues. I do squeeze the sponge before putting it in.

amother

cornflower

Tue, May 02 2023, 6:27 pm

Me, with about $500 currently in my bank account, bookmarking this thread.
I’m having faith that one day I’ll need it!

amother

Cantaloupe

Tue, May 02 2023, 7:25 pm

I hate my kitchen cabinets. Got the shaker style in white, and I hate that things get stuck in the molding. They always have dirt in the corners and are very hard to clean. Wish I went with straight glossy formica.
I also wish I used different flooring for kitchen, I got porcelain faux wood grain tiles, but oh my if anything falls and hits that floor, it is kaput. I can't tell you how many acrylic container have broken. Corelle dishes. glasses, food containers. etc. Wish I went with something that has more give and easy to stand on.
My contracter picked out the sinks. but I told him get the biggest ones available. the ones that I can wash a whole large baking sheet in. Well I don't think he quite heard me correctly. When I saw what was installed, I was not happy. They were much smaller then what I had in mind. I had him change, them which entailed have the counter top people come and cut my counter tops to fit the new larger sinks. So now there are seams where they made the cuts. But it was worth it. I love my big sinks!!
I also orignially wanted a double oven and separate cook top, but was told I would need to re-wire and it would be very expensive. for all that, so I went with 2 separate ranges, one for milchigs and one for Fleshigs. which was a lot cheaper just had to pay for 2 ranges which was a bit over $1000.00 (few years ago) as opposed to $5.000, for what I had in mind. Very happy that decision.

Also wish I had more electrical outlets installed in the kitchen I have 3 outlets and I feel like it is never enough.

Happykind

Tue, May 02 2023, 7:44 pm

One mistake I regret is having the washer dryer in basement!

I need a cleaning lady just to shlep all clothes ups me down. It’s a huge job!

I dream of putting a. Stackable upstairs.

risenshine

Tue, May 02 2023, 10:04 pm

amother OP wrote:

I'm building my own house now and would love to hear what mistakes to avoid. It can be anything. Interior design, exterior design. Who not to hire, who yes to hire. From a mistake you made with your kitchen cabinet to your flooring. You name it.

Any tips and ideas are also welcome.

Thank you!

big mistake ppl make is light-colored floor by entryway, without place to dump wet boots, umbrellas, carriage, etc.

amother

Topaz

Tue, May 02 2023, 10:30 pm

if your'e like me and love music, put outlets on the higher up corners of the rooms you want music in so you can connect speakers there (you can't compare how amazing the sound is like that).
-an interior intercom system/front door intercom.
-an area ( we have by the basement staircase) to hang brooms and mops along with shelving for cleansers - I have a few long narrow shelves going down the staircase wall so all the cleaners are in a neat row, not one behind the other so they are easy to see
-a cabinet/desk area on the far end of the kitchen where kids can dump their homework to sign, you can keep daily used accessories like pens, staplers, tape,scissors etc, maybe with a cabinet/drawer area where you can keep important school, camp stuff (in my house the study is for my husband.)

amother

Hawthorn

Tue, May 02 2023, 10:34 pm

interior speakers so u can play music throughout the house-with separate volume controls in each room

amother

Topaz

Tue, May 02 2023, 10:36 pm

depending on your master bdrm setup - a place near your bed to charge your phones. some ppl I know made special outlets higher up.

amother

Bellflower

Mon, May 08 2023, 5:25 am

How do you follow a thread without posting a comment?

happyness

Mon, May 08 2023, 10:36 pm

Under the place where it says 'Previous 1,2,3,4..' for the pages of the thread you can select set bookmark/ follow this topic

clsw

Tue, Jul 04 2023, 11:29 pm

Bumping up this thread b/c I am starting the process of doing some work on my house and would love any more ideas!
These were all very helpful.

amother

Fuchsia

Wed, Jul 05 2023, 12:49 am

amother DarkPurple wrote:

DH thinks we should have made the dinning room bigger (it comfortably seats 14. I like our configuration, but if we configured it differently, it could have been larger. Personally, I am happy to not need to host 35.)

Do you mind posting the size of your dining room to help others in the planning stages?

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