Posted by
Brian Peters on Saturday, February 06, 2010 12:01:00 PM
Not often I agree with a blanket internet story from a major website, but today's 'Yahoo Finance' did a great job on what a house must have. Full story:
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/108701/the-10-must-have-features-in-todays-new-homes.html?mod=family-love_money
Excerpt's from the story:
1. Large Kitchens, With an Island
2. Energy-Efficient Appliances, High-Efficiency Insulation and High Window Efficiency
3. Home Office/Study
4. Main-Floor Master Suite
5. Outdoor Living Room
6. Ceiling Fans
7. Master Suite Soaker Tubs
8. Stone and Brick Exteriors
9. Community Landscaping, With Walking Paths and Playgrounds
10. Two-Car Garages
I don't why it took so long for designers and builders to catch on, everyone gathers in the kitchen. Whenever anyone comes over for any event in a house, that's where everyone always congregated. So finally, people learned. Seperated 'dining' rooms are only needed for restaurants, not homes, houses. The huge multi-roomed homes are a waste of space and energy, and anyone that has these monstrosities and espouses anything about 'being green' is a hypocrite.
After Katrina, many people that I know that live in Okinawa, asked this: Are the homes in the USA made of paper? They were serious too in their inquiry. They live every year with 'typhoons', which we call hurricanes. They button up their 'concrete' homes, wait for the storm to pass, then sweep off the vegetation that has blown around. Flooding is the only real issue that they face that can cause serious damage. That solution comes from firstly location, secondly, good engineering. So the foundations, frames, and exteriors, must be built of solid material, not composite paper, which has been a standard that is covered by cheap vinyl or thin bricks.
Back to homes.....bedrooms, need to be able to accommodate a large bed.....bedrooms are used mainly for sleeping (other conversation for another day) so the space required is minimal. Now the bathrooms must be large, as well as walk-in closets. The 'garden bathtub' is the biggest rip off ever invented for a home. Showers save water over bathtubs, but a good tub is also needed for good health to be able to soak in. Longer, deeper tubs are what is needed to be put in new homes....builders have to consider the size of the average male being at 6ft, 200 lbs. This is Worldwide, not just the USA, in the 21st Century.
So get busy designers and build the modern home that is both functional, economical, and displays common sense.