Our favourite daydream is “We won a billion dollars- what would our dream home look like?” Just thinking about it raises our mood. While we’re not set on what the building would look like structurally, we’ve got a list of 5 things we would definitely be included...
1. An underground wine cellar. We love the idea of opening a secret door to a dimly lit spiral stair case. As you climb down the stairs the air becomes cooler and when you reach the bottom you see something like the photo above from Bests winery. It really is all about the exposed dirt and how the racks are organised.
2. Switchable Glass. After seeing this recently on an episode of Grand Designs, we’ve become slightly obsessed. The glass has a liquid crystal polymer in it that when the switch is on the glass is transparent but while the power is off the glass becomes opaque. We see this being integrated into the bathroom. From Pro Display.
3. Library with rolling ladder & card file. After working in a library for a few years we became hooked on the idea of how lovely it would be to have our very own card file. We’ve been out bid on ebay so many times we want to cry but we haven’t given up hope. As for the ladder– who doesn’t want to slide from shelf to shelf all day?!?! From Zimmermanzinger.
4. Grant Featherston Rocker. This is the only item of furniture we truly lust over. Beautiful Australian design and not a dime a dozen either. A pair of Featherston chairs that were in desperate need of restoration recently sold for $18,000– sigh. From Architonic.
5. Pablo Picasso The Dog. We love Picasso and find all of his work so interesting but this sketch is our favourite. We also love sausage dogs but the other half doesn't agree, this would be our compromise. From Wizard Academy.
And of course there will be a fully restored 1968 Citroen DS wagon in the garage. What’s on your dream list?
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A large, wooden flat file for photographs.
A sauna
A coat closet.
A linen closet.
A walk-in pantry.
A small, private patio area for morning coffee in my jammies.
A view of the ocean ;-).
wine cellar
private fireworks-view at least 400 square feet of outdoor private space--I'd settle for a bathroom on the roofdeck though.
I agree with the library. Rolling ladder is a must!
I'd have a secret passage way (like shown previously today) to a lush secret hideout complete with mirrored bar cabinet and velvety chairs to plop down in. (sigh)
I'd also like to have a super deluxe kitchen for entertaining. It doesn't have to be all marble (and any other 'luxe' finish) to be fancy, I just want to have a big comfortable, homey kitchen.
My billion dollar home would also have fantastic gardens as well. Complete with fantastic gardener.
1- huge library, with wood table, ladder leading to the catwalk of the upper shelves, fire place (carefully away from the burnable books), globe and comfy chairs. tea/coffee/liquor station
2- theater- complete with stage, removable seating, popcorn maker, retractable screen and projector with surround sound.
3- batting cages with stands just off the east wing of the house opposite the vegetable garden.
4- large kitchen with the best appliances- fully stocked with delicious foods.
5- A MAID.
1. trombe wall for catching solar heat in winter and hot water pipes to move it around the house at night.
2. water harvesting system
3. solatubes for more daylight
4. a yard -I miss having plants outside
5. home office
and i dig that switchable glass... its very sexy...
i've always dreamt about having a bathroom that is larger than any other room in the house.
* Soda Fountain
* Korean BBQ grill
- partially underground
- big cosy kitchen with a walk-in fireplace
- gardens all around and on the roof
- flagstone floors
- round windows and doors
Yep, its a hobbit hole!
I would contract to build an intricit, totally functional zip line in metro Los Angeles for people to get around on. Trading in your car to zip past tall buildings and over PCH to get to where you wanted to go would be amazing.
Dreams are wonderful escapes.
1. Victorian conservatory full of palms and tropical plants.
2. A biiiig organic garden, a mixture of veggies and flowers, and some trees, with chickens. Totally willing to sacrifice house-space for this baby.
3. A home office/library, with all the computer stuff hidden away, lots of leather and old maps and general steampunkness, and antique desks.
4. A shower with multiple heads and room enough for two.
5. Compost toilets.
1. Fireplaces in as many rooms as possible
2. Gym with Sauna and in-house massage therapist
3. Wine-Cellar-and-Screening Room combo
4. Roof garden with pool
5. Solar panels and/or gray water system
PS-I like the zip line idea for LA.
1. a lap pool with really palm springsy - decor
2. Drop down TV's from the ceiling
3. copper gutters (but, already sort of greenish looking..)
4. Joan Crawford style vanity with great lighting and lots of drawers
5. A fully restored gas range from the 50's with drop-in broiler, warmer, and 8 burners (eek! I cook for two).
Sauna, workshop, garden, ball pit (those brightly colored plastic balls for little kids), and an elaborate system of lofts and hammocks.
this is one of my favorite games to play:
1. ocean view or mountains or something beautiful to look at
2. my own real master bathroom with lots of white tile and plenty of space and piles of fresh, clean towels (I am tired of tiny little apartment bathrooms)
3. a big laundry room with space for a couple of drying racks
4. a perfect armchair and ottoman for my morning cup of tea
5. my dream kitchen with brand new appliances including a dishwasher. after being a renter for so long, I would love to be the first person to use the fridge and the stove
1 - White terrazzo floors throughout the house that continue out to the terrace surrounding the lap-pool and jacuzzi - all hydronically heated.
2 - A walk-in closet in the master suite with built-in floor-to-ceiling wardrobe cabinets with plenty of drawers, etc. so that there's no need for dressers or other storage in the bedroom.
3 - Floor to ceiling masonry Rumford fireplaces in the Living Room, Master Bedroom and Den.
4 - A master bathroom with a curbless aromatherapy shower and separate jacuzzi tub where I can shower or bathe while gazing out at the view.
5 - A green roof planted with a combination of wildflowers, sedge, alfalfa and/or clover - at least over the parts that aren't given over to roof-terraces and solar panels.
1.) An oversized clawfoot tub by a large bay window overlooking the beach.
2.) A workshop with vaulted ceilings, detached from my house, large enough for a sewing/craft area, a computer/business area, and a power
3.) A super organized walk-in closet, with Anna Sui's wardrobe entrance. Also including a vanity, a couple antique full-length mirrors, and center "lounge" area.
4.) A large balcony with a spiral staircase down to the beach sands.
5.) A large, open "loft-style" floor plan. Just one floor is fine with me... as long as it's huge.
a huge marble bathroom - white walls, gray floor, with teak furniture, an indoor/outdoor shower with a natural river rock floor that opens into a secluded lush garden, and a bathtub with a fireplace.
a walk in close / dressing room with thick carpeting off the bathroom
full vegetable garden, herb garden and fruit trees.
whoever said ball pit, add a jump room to that - you know the big inflatable things they have at kids birthday parties? And a trampoline... and a wave pool...oh my!
and my secret passage way would lead to a cozy library / yoga room with floor to ceiling windows on the top floor with a city / ocean view.
ahhhhhhh... nice mental break from work :)
1) Library with ladder, yes!
2) Rooftop garden/deck.
3) Bay window(s).
- Fully soundproofed and air conditioned studio outfitted with Genelec monitors and every vintage synth I can get my hands on. And a sound engineer to make my music sound better! :-D
- A private jacuzzi
- Huge kitchen
- Whatever my wife wants
- Large backyard with plenty of trees and no nosy neighbors
you know what? I would like to recall my previous submission.
I just want the loft from Big.
Huge windows, huge trampoline, a soda machine, bunk beds and wood floors.
wooden hot tub (with someone who maintains it)
non-chlorinated pool (with someone who maintains it)
private outdoor area (yard, patio, roof, deck, whatever)
indoor air fully cleansed by big plants
large flat TV screen that somehow stays out of sight when not used, hooked up to a hard drive
And all still in the city.
a tree house
a small courtyard right in the middle with a tree in it
a lounge/dining room with 2 storey high ceiling with spiral stair in the middle right near the kitchen
a rain water tank complete with outdoor shower area
a solar hot water / heating system
Cool concept!
Library complete with fireplace I can stand in (I'm 6'4)
Home theater (leather recliners, top of the line stereo)
Indoor/outdoor pool with an infinity edge for good measure
Underground garage complete with tools and wood workshop
Secret garden/courtyard off of the master suite with plunge pool
I have very simple tastes. :D
My dream house was a cottage built in Carmel that was dynamited. View of the ocean -- the horizon line with its suggestion of the sublime. Think Michael Mann in scenes from "Miami Vice." A courtyard garden with a fountain. Think LA Courtyard houses. Light and refined proportions. Quiet. Warm climate. Unpretentious. Think Irving Gill.
A house in the treetops near a waterfall (but not necessarily over!) a la Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater.
A dining room with a huge flat screen (at least 10' X 8') with hundreds of videos so that we could "have dinner" in a different spot in the world each evening. Like sunset over the Taj Mahal or an afternoon in San Tropez or looking out over the Grand Canyon.
A living room with a huge fireplace and rockers around it like the Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone.
A personal spa with a hairdressing chair for styles and treatments. An enclosed lap pool off of the bedroom for a morning swim.
A full room of closets, dressing table, beautifully crafted woodwork for my wardrobe.
Glorious gardens with ancient stonework like that found in Ireland and dozens of flowering trees and shrubs. Butterfly and hummingbird habitats as well. A water lily pond with colorful dragonflies. A green house for a year-round cutting garden for flowers for the house.
A large outdoor pool/jacuzzi entertainment area for our family and friends with comfortable outdoor living room furniture to lounge on. Lots of colorful sunbrellas for shade.
Well, I sure can dream can't I??????
a humble 20 room aprtment in NY along the park.
a humble country home in the country in Buck County, PA.
1. An indoor swimming pool, potentially a wave pool.
2. A dressing room with space for tons of shoes and a chandelier.
3. Secret passageways, ball pits, trap doors, a moat perhaps?
4. A Saarinen tulip table (laminate!)
5. My very own windmill to power the place?
One kitchen drawer.
In a 500 sq/ft apartment, I would kill for just one kitchen drawer right now.
1. Whatever it would take to make the house "off the grid"
2. Sunroom
3. A profession cat-hair remover who would de-hair the house as needed (i.e. daily), unobtrusively.
4. Exciting artwork everywhere.
5. A big but comfortable kitchen with a large farmhouse table in the middle and lots of counterspace (that would be uncluttered).
-a washer and drier that aren't relegated to the basement
-hardwood floors throughout
-a big backyard with lots of trees
-a windowseat (I've wanted one since I was a little kid)
-lovely new top-of-the-line kitchen appliances
(I'm pretty easy to please.)
1. My partner.
2. My dog.
...
The rest we can pretty much improvise.
The Citroen DS should have been #1. Such a great looking vehicle.
Wow. You all dream great. I'd live in a few of these. My tastes are simple. My dream home isn't that big and I only need:
1. Beautiful greenheart wood floors throughout.
2. Enclosed patio with constant ocean breeze and gorgeous vintage windows I can open in the summer and close off in the winter.
3. Walk-in closet
4. Incredible art
5. Energy efficient cooling/heating/appliances throught.
1. A live-in cook/housekeeper.
2. Big arched doorways (think old-school hacienda) with shutters instead of doors
3. A bathtub big enough to lay flat and float in!
4. A biiiig garden with winding walkways and hidden nooks to get lost in.
5. No stairs. I've never lived without stairs, but I'm dead set on having my washer/dryer on the same floor as where I store clothes!!!
1. Cleaning person/assistant
2. Inground pool
3. An office with really high ceilings & windows that open out like old french doors w/ blact cast iron terraces.
4. Soapstone counters.
5. not sure what the technical name is, but wooden floors where the slats meet in a V configuration.
attatched garage
open floor plan
my very own bathroom
convienient laundry
nice private fenced outdoor space
not too much to ask .....
Dream house would be:
very close to a beach
have a giant kitchen complete with soapstone, a banquette and easy outdoor access
a huge master bathroom with giant tub and walk-in shower
dedicated laundry room on second floor
a small outdoor studio for me. Modern cabana would be great!
1. Two-story, highly energy efficient house on a hill with a view of ocean, mountains, or city.
2. Lap pool with infinity edge and adjoining hottub, adjacent to living room and library.
3. Pocket garage (garage in basement) with woodshop.
4. A hidden spiral slide from top floor to basement with intermediate main floor entrance.
5. A big entry foyer with center table and chandelier.
- A hammock
- A kick-ass entertainment center room (I'm a filmmaker and football fan!)
- hardwood floors
- stainless steel kitchen appliances (including the subzero fridge!)
- Yes, I too would like my home to be along the ocean so that my feet his sand the minute they leave the deck, and I could learn to surf so I could do it every morning!
a huge tub and separate shower
enough closet space
no cat
a migraine room (small, dark, cold, comfortable and with a lock)
a Wegner wing chair
facing the ocean
hacienda -- or some sort of house with an interior courtyard
more or less inaccessible (sometimes I'm social)
a library that's distinct from the home office
a large fantastic kitchen with a round table that can seat/feed six comfortably (sometimes i read MFK Fisher)
white subway tiles in the bathroom
projection tv
walk-in pantry
saarinen tulip table
deck/garden/outdoor space
A sauna
A huge vegetable garden
A large library with really big cozy chairs and a huge fireplace
A view of the ocean (rocky cliff-type view), or a short walk to a clear pond with nice swimming
A Pat Keck sculpture - Hell, since this is fantasy spending, I'm gonna make it one of the big ones
I kind of like Clancy's list. Here's mine:
1. Geo-thermal heating/cooling
2. Huge windows for passive solar gain in winter
3. Wall to wall built-in bookshelves
4. My dream kitchen
5. Ocean-front view (rocky coast of Maine or Oregon would work)
These are the most modest billion dollar fantasies I've ever read, which is sort of a good thing, I guess. Everyone should just do it!
1) Roof deck with solarium/greenhouse with indoor/outdoor extra deep organically shaped infinity pool
2) Wood fired sauna suspended at end of private dock over the cold ocean
3) huge passive solar/convective cooling/heating building core
4) unobstructed view of big city
5) induction stove with gazillion btu adjacent salamander
An apt in Manhattan big enough to have:
A walk in closet(or one of many)
A guest bedroom AND an office
A terrace with space for a grill and outdoor seating w/an awning
A laundry ROOM
In house gym
I agree, for a billion dollars, people are not thinking very big.
I'd like
- rooftop overlooking the boston/back bay skyline from the Cambridge side (maybe a bedroom/bathroom with the same view on the topfloor as well)
- a gallery space with Beuys' 20 foot 'Blitzschlag mit Lichtschein auf Hirsch' ensemble
- living room with a nice collection of modern Italian furniture (Pesche, Aulenti, Mollino)
- and a full width, floor-to-ceiling glass wall, leading to a full width deck, leading to a Japanese garden
- open kitchen dining/area with a large kitchen island with cooktop, grill, a large counter and a full kife collection. So I can cook for my wife while she sits at the counter telling me how her day was ;-)
- a super freezer (-90deg C), such that I can have a never ending supply of the best food flown in and stored for all occasions
well i'd need the rest of the dough for decent health insurance and a retirement fund!
I'd adopt a child and build a great kid's room with windowseats and secret passages and ladders and tunnels and trunksful of costumes and walls ready to paint/draw/write on and -- most importantly -- tons of the great children's book I teethed on, especially the ones with amazing pictures of the sea and its creatures and of children living in faraway lands. Then I'd spend time everyday sitting in the reading nook reading novels and poetry and just being nearby so my kid could explore with me close at hand. Other times I'd jump in and play. And other times we'd go for rides on horses or bicycles or planes or in limousines or buses or boats or convertibles to explore the world that the books are about.
That's my dream.