Brad Wardell's views about technology, politics, religion, world affairs, and all sorts of politically incorrect topics.
Published on March 18, 2008 By Draginol In Building a home

As seen here, our future house is under construction.  Some of the general goals were in that first article but to quickly summarize what we are looking to do:

  1. This will be our "last" house until old folks home.
  2. Needs to be completed while our children are young so that this will be their "home" when they go away to college or sugar mines or whatever they are going to do.
  3. Needs to be "green". I.e. I am willing to spend extra to make the house have as little impact on the environment as I can which will be tough given its excessive size.
  4. Needs to be large enough to be able to entertain (for business and family purposes) and for people to want to come there.
  5. Needs to have enough "features" so that two home bodies (Debbie and I) will be happy spending lots of time in it.

 

So what are the specific features we're looking to have on the main floor?

  • 2-story library. I go through a ton of books each month and like collecting books and other nick knacks.
  • Conservatory.  I have a 55 year old pet turtle named Cuddles. My boys and I love critters. My Internet handle is "Frogboy". So we want a room where, despite being in Michigan, we can have aquatic life forms living all year around as well as plants and such in a cool space.
  • Media room. We want a place that is good for getting together for watching sports, movies, what have you.
  • A huge "keep". When we have friends over, we end up being in the kitchen area anyway. So we want an area large enough where people can get together and have fun.
  • A large formal dining room. Someday, we hope to host holidays with our kids and such and want to make sure it's large enough that it is the logical place to host such a thing.
  • Big mud room and laundry room for dealing with the laundry and dirty needs of 3 children and a..ahem messy husband.

For the top floor, our goals are:

  • Master bedroom that is practically an apartment unto itself so that if our kids' are having company or what have you, we can have some privacy upstairs.
  • Rooms for the kids with the boys sharing a bathroom. Ashley, our little girl, would have her own room and bathroom.
  • Guest room with bathroom so that when my friend Neil or other friends from Europe visit, they can stay for extended periods and feel like they're at home.
  • Extra area for future expansion.

As for the bottom floor (walk out basement). It's going to have a 10 foot ceiling so it won't seem like a basement. We haven't decided precisely what we want to do yet. We have 2 years to decide that.


Comments
on Mar 18, 2008
Brad,

Something I've always wondered about but never heard anyone discuss.

Because you will have a massive basement, is there a practical way to move the air from the basement through the house? Since ground temperatures are fairly constant, I was thinking this might be a way to slightly reduce heating/cooling costs by using natural means. If this would be practical, it seems it would have the added benefit of reducing moisture buildup in the basement by giving it constant airflow.

Not sure if this is a practical idea, or if the savings would even be noticeable, but it would be interesting to look into.

Also, what about the idea of a solarium for your aquatic life? The room could function as a passive solar collector in the wintertime and give you a way to beat the winter blahs.
on Mar 18, 2008
I like the idea of a two-storey library. Just don't forget the balcony so you can look down over the stacks.

Because you will have a massive basement, is there a practical way to move the air from the basement through the house? Since ground temperatures are fairly constant, I was thinking this might be a way to slightly reduce heating/cooling costs by using natural means.


High ceilings, good insulation and broad eaves to east and west will ward against heat in the home. If rooms only get direct sunlight from the north (in US terms that could be the south) you'll get it at the right time of day to give warmth when you need it for each season.
on Mar 19, 2008

Let me wipe the drool from my chin.

I can not wait to see pictures.

Have you ever considered contacting HGTV and letting them know about this project?  They have various shows which could film at different points of construction.  (Not to mention always give helpful advice on eco friendly ideas and interior design.)