bkshopr said:
This is what I would recommend for my client in the case of a IHO type of buyer. Save money on the aesthetic detailing and product floor plan development but cheapen the architecture to a box but provide large rooms, double doors, and spacious room inside. Since the frontal garage conceal a majority of the elevation so less work is needed to dress up the front of the homes.
Downsize the rear yard and push the house to the rear and make room for a huge driveway at the front.
Close... but floorplan design is huge to me... moreso than the outside aesthetics or a 3-car garage because if it's not a functional place for me to live (most people do live on the INSIDE of a house)... it's not going to work.
I don't really want the house pushed to the back... a large front yard is more useless to me than a rear yard. That's why that porte cochere style is okay to me... you get a huge driveway but you get more footage out of your house than wasting it with a front yard.
It doesn't necessarily need to be box... but I do prefer it to not be closed in... that would mean high ceilings, large windows and open areas. I would like the kitchen/nook/family room to be one huge space since that's where my family hangs out a most of the time.
I would like flex room on the first floor to provide a place for either a toy room, guest room, office or 2nd TV room. Two bathrooms on the first floor would be great too... when you have a family... an extra toilet is always helpful.
I want an entrance foyer... I prefer that when guests step through the front door... they have a "landing area" rather than being smack dab in the middle of the living room.
The stairs should be open... not boxed into some u-turn narrow elevator shaft... I want to be able to see the handrails all the way to the second floor and be able to have a conversation with someone who is on the second floor from the the first floor.
If the garage isn't going to be a 3-car wide garage it should either be big enough or have a tandem so I can store stuff in. I don't want to pay Mini-Storage money every month so I can drive there to lug my Christmas decorations out. I want a place to do stuff that I can't do inside the house.
My back yard should be usable. It doesn't need to be football field but I should be able to extend the living space out so I can have friends over for a BBQ or my little ones can blow bubbles and run after them. It should have a patio that can double as a deck for the master.
The master should be large... a retreat would be nice... and the master bath should be opulent... two walk-in closets please, one for her and one for... her again.
No pink stucco. If I had my druthers... no stucco at all. But I'm reasonable... function over form but it should look decent too.
There... you can put that in your 'IHO File'.
