My Virtual Home, 2008

I have noticed that my tastes have changed since I started reading design blogs. Perhaps it is exposure to so many more beautiful pictures, so many great articles, so many great viewpoints. I wonder how my tastes will change this year? In order to capture this point in time, I've decided to build a virtual home at the beginning of every year, as a means of sorting through the many images on my computer, and in order to challenge myself and see if there is any kind of pattern to my inspiration.

In my dream house, you will walk through the front doors into a good sized entryway. I have not decided whether the stairs will be tucked to the side or prominent.

Entry:

I like how this entry works, but the stairs configuration might make the entry too long. I assumed that this picture was taken from the vantage point of the front door, but perhaps the stairs are immediately in front of the front door (which I do not want in my dream home). Phillip Sides design.


On the right will be the dining room.

Dining Room:

Mary McDonald design.

I have a very large dining room table, so I think these rooms would suit me quite well. I wonder which window is in the front? Is the dining room table parallel to the front of the house or the side of the house? I suppose the architecture of the house will determine the orientation of the dining table. In my dream home, the dining table would be parallel to the front of the home, so that it could be exanded into the hall if I were having a lot of guests (believe it or not, my dining table is 118" with no leaves, and I have four leaves for it! I inherited this table, and it is a bit too large for my current dining room). Picture from Cote de France.

On the left of the front door will be the library, which will have an opening to the entry, and on another wall, an opening to a small vestibule in front of the master bedroom (which will be on the main floor). So, it will serve as a sort of sitting area for the master bedroom, but will also be used as an elegant home office.

Library:

This library is from Amy Howard's home. My library will have more books than this, and will have a woodburning fireplace.


The living room will be along the back of the house; you can see it straight ahead when you enter the house. I know the classic floorplan is to have living room on one side, dining room on the other, center hall, but I like to walk in a home and look through to a lovely room in the back, either the living room or family room.

Living Room:
This living room is too big for me, although I do need a space that can accomodate a grand piano. Maybe the piano will have to go somewhere else. I like more of an intimate sized living room, but the main requirement is that the living room is not cut off from the rest of the house. It must be connected to the another room, preferably the family room. In this picture, I love all of the big windows, and I like that the living room and family room are open to each other, and also share a big fireplace. I would put a little mini-bar area in that far alcove between the living room and the family room. Design by John Umberger.

The scale of this living room might be a bit better. One of my favorite living rooms, decor wise. These look like slipcovers to me. Design by Kerry Joyce.

Ideally, the family room will be off of the kitchen. But, if this family room is connected to the living room, it seems like the architecture might get a bit complicated. Perhaps the house will be L or U shaped, with the extensions out of the back: one for the master on the left, and on the other side of the house, the family room.

Family Room:



I don't seem to collect too many pictures of family rooms, although arguably it is one of the rooms that I use most in my own home. I like the idea of a stone floor in the kitchen and the family room. I wonder if this would be too cold? These pictures are from Charleston Home Magazine.

Kitchen:

Ignore the pot rack for a moment (I do not like pot racks), and look at the functionality of this kitchen. Two subzeros, side by side (one fridge, one freezer). Double ovens and microwave, sink under a window (window needs to be a bit bigger), gas cooktop on a very large island. Simple cabinetry that goes all the way up to the ceiling. This is a great work set-up. A large walk-in pantry is off of the hall between the ovens and the fridge, and a large mudroom/back entry is at the end. I went to an open house at this home, and loved the kitchen most of all.

Here is the window that will go over my sink. When I saw this picture in this month's Traditional Home, I knew it was perfect.



Master bedroom:
I like a master bedroom with a large window, with two comfy chairs in front of the window, and a table in the middle. A fireplace would be nice, but is not a must. I have a fireplace now in my bedroom, and do not use it too much. This picture is from Century Furniture.

One of my all time favorite bedroom pictures. Interior design by Liz Williams. Windows on each side of the bed keep the room light and airy.

Master bathroom:
This is one of my all time favorite bathroom pictures, from Cote de Texas. It is not a huge master bath, but it is well laid out. It would take a certain kind of floor plan to have a bathroom in this configuration.

An even smaller bathroom, but beautiful details. Design by Grant Gibson.

So, that is my dream house, circa 1/1/08. Architecturally, I do not even know if it is possible (financially too)! Just reading through this post, I see a few architectural challenges. If I ever build a house, I pity the architect who takes this on! Although my choices were more inspired by architecture than design, I noticed that I picked more classic and traditional choices when forced to pick just one or two pictures.