All my research on container gardens and gardening in general has really made me crave a real garden--probably a raised bed garden, so I don't have to stoop to work in it, but a garden with lots of space in a real yard. And then I started thinking about the other stuff I want in a dream house someday, so I figured I should catalog it:
A library with floor to ceiling built-in bookshelves with sliding ladders, like in Beauty and the Beast. Thick carpet (like the kind that comes up to your ankles...not shag, just thick and velvety), and on the outside wall, wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling windows, preferably looking out on the garden/orchard(/stables? :) )/lush, rolling hills and distant tree line. A secret passageway behind a bookcase leading to a secret room...maybe the turret I always wanted :p
A laundry room with lots of cupboards and room for a sewing table. I don't want a whole room for sewing stuff/crafts, because I'll just fill it up with crap I'll swear I'll use "someday."
A garage to store bikes and strollers (and cars, of course). It sucks having to carry a giant stroller downstairs to take Ezra for a walk, so I don't do it much, but I should. Room for tool storage. Lots of organization solutions (closets, bins, shelves, etc) and no useless clutter. I want the garage to be clean and nice.
A raised bed garden :) Lots of room for all the stuff I want to grow (tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, peppers, carrots, strawberries, etc), but not too big to make maintenance a hassle.
An orchard with apples, lemon, and orange trees (no, I have no idea where we'll live, but my fantasy allows everything I want without regard to climate). A small vineyard for growing grapes.
Nice outdoor space out back for eating outside, or whatever. Just clean, cute, inviting.
A pool, if we can afford to pay someone to keep it up :p
A clothesline so I can line dry the laundry. Utility savings!
I think it would be fun to have chickens for the fresh eggs, but they're mean and messy, so maybe not.
A biiiiig pantry. Maybe a walk-in. Room for all of our food and a year of food storage. (I also want to actively rotate food storage so that we know how to use it and it stays fresh, no keeping rusty cans for years that would do no good in an emergency. I also need a good system for inventory and use.)
An island in the kitchen. Lots of cupboards, but not too high, because I'm short and it's wasted space because I hate dragging around stools and chairs.
No tiles in the showers :( I hate trying to clean the grout. No separate, closed off dining room.
Probably an office for Jason.
LOTS OF WINDOWS.
Dishwasher, central heating and air. :)
And then when we've raised all of our kids and it's just me and Jason, maybe we'll live on a boat :p
OH, a few things I forgot earlier:
1. Windows in the bathrooms and kitchen. I want lots of natural light. That all-caps statement wasn't an overstatement. I'm thinking I want more glass than wall for the outer walls.
2. A room to use for a gym. It could be the house proper or the basement, but I want room for the standard machine, bench/dumbbells, and, most importantly, a punching bag and a dummy, because I intend to live out my dream of taking up kickboxing to feel like Buffy the Vampire Slayer one day, when I'm not pregnant/nursing all the time.
