What's new

What is the one thing in your house you can't live without?

AlliJ2008

AlliJ2008

Downsizing!
Joined
Aug 30, 2009
Messages
1,001
What is the one thing in your house you can't live without?

What is the one thing in your house you can't live without? Since we are looking at houses & I have spent more time than I would like looking online I started wondering what are those things people can't live without?

House hunting isn't nearly as fun as HGTV makes it seem. :giggle

I am thinking a nice kitchen is more important to me than I thought.
 
If I were to look for a house...a mud room would be at the top of my list! :)
 
I have an upgraded kitchen, but not a "nice" kitchen. Certainly not my dream kitchen! I upgraded my bathroom too to a custom bathroom. Again, not my dream bathroom, but I love it. I love showering and getting ready in there. No need for mud rooms here...we don't have mud (I think you need rain or snow to have mud...LOL)

Ok, so really? If I were looking and I needed one area to be perfect (and I could overlook the others if they weren't), it would be the kitchen/dining/great room. I have a very small family/dining/kitchen area and I would LOVE it to be different. It's the one area I feel people gather (guests or family) and I would love it to be big and easy to move around in with a good flow to it!
 
Last edited:
Oh, yeah, I should have said that we can't get our dream house right now but I really want an updated kitchen. Southern Cali housing prices are CRAZY. It is so different than TX. We would have gotten our dream house for the price we are paying for a house that has a dishwasher. I think that is one reason why it is so hard for me. I can't stop thinking about what we could have gotten in TX for the same price...
 
hmm.. Well we just got done pitting out our house and completely remodeling everything. I'm trying to think of what I just had to have.. I love, love, love my kitchen but I have to say the new porch was an absolute must! We live on a farm in the Minnesota so mud, cow poop, snow, etc would be drug into my kitchen multiple times a day with the porch.
 
Two bathrooms...I cook and bake a lot and a can deal with a smallish kitchen, but we've lived life with one bathroom (thankfully that time is over) and it's no fun.
 
I tend to want a good flowing kitchen, dont like when i have to walk back n forth to get things. I rather have a really good kitchen more than anything, other things i can deal with.

I guess if you are in the living room then you would want a good feel to the living room, or if your in the kitchen alot you want that to work for you too.
Good luck with the house hunting ;)
 
A dishwasher and a large kitchen. I love our open concept kitchen/dining/living room area. Great place for the family to gather, do their own thing, but still be together.

And big windows to let in lots of natural light!
 
Well, we're planning on moving in a few years and have already made up a list of wants and needs (though some of the needs should be on the wants lol, it's just things we're looking for in a house that we won't compromise on)

needs
kitchen that opens to living room with eating room in kitchen
dining room (will be used as crafts/work out room)
fenced in backyard
mature trees(!!!)
either a covered back or front porch
actual windows in living room

wants
a counter/bar to eat at
a 1/2 bath not near bedrooms
have at least 2 rooms on bottom floor
a pantry
mailbox on same side of road as house (lol)
screen doors
garbage disposals

When we were looking at houses 3 years ago (when we bought the one we're in now) our realtor told us to make up a list of wants and needs. That we should agree on the needs, and each make a list of 3-5 wants, that way we could both try to get at least 1-2 things we separately wanted.
 
Big windows, a porch, and screen door. Those aren't the only things but I love lots of light, and as often as I can have fresh air coming in through the screen door!
 
Where in SoCal will you be?

Prices in my area are about 1/2 of what they were a few years ago. At least property tax here is a lot less than in Texas. My son pays about the same for his tiny little house as we do and ours is at least twice as big.
 
A decent yard for the kids to play in and a nice kitchen with plenty of cabinet space!
 
4noisyboys said:
Where in SoCal will you be?

Prices in my area are about 1/2 of what they were a few years ago. At least property tax here is a lot less than in Texas. My son pays about the same for his tiny little house as we do and ours is at least twice as big.
Click to expand...

We are moving to Orange County. Not exactly sure yet which city in Orange County though. We have it narrowed down but not much.
 
AlliJ2008 said:
We are moving to Orange County. Not exactly sure yet which city in Orange County though. We have it narrowed down but not much.
Click to expand...

oh yeah...definitely expensive over there. We're in Temecula so you can still get a gorgeous home here for about $300,000, which used to cost $700,000 here a few years ago and is easily that much or more in OC. My sister was just looking at homes in Los Angeles if her work brought her out here, and everything in the $600,000 - $700,000 range was just awful and OLD out there! She's had million dollar homes in Scottsdale before though, so she's a bit on the picky side!! lol
 
4noisyboys said:
oh yeah...definitely expensive over there. We're in Temecula so you can still get a gorgeous home here for about $300,000, which used to cost $700,000 here a few years ago and is easily that much or more in OC. My sister was just looking at homes in Los Angeles if her work brought her out here, and everything in the $600,000 - $700,000 range was just awful and OLD out there! She's had million dollar homes in Scottsdale before though, so she's a bit on the picky side!! lol
Click to expand...

Small world....we are in Temecula right now! We moved here last August from TX. We chose Temecula b/c my husband was going to LA, OC, and San Diego for work so it was sort of in the middle and cheaper than the other places. I have loved it here. Our house here is 1000 sg ft smaller than the one we had in TX for about 3x the price. The houses we are looking at in OC comparable in size to the one here are again significantly more in price. Sigh. I have had to really lower my expectations for what I need vs what I want in a house here in CA. Good thing the weather is great and the beaches are close by. :)
 
AlliJ2008 said:
Small world....we are in Temecula right now! We moved here last August from TX. We chose Temecula b/c my husband was going to LA, OC, and San Diego for work so it was sort of in the middle and cheaper than the other places. I have loved it here. Our house here is 1000 sg ft smaller than the one we had in TX for about 3x the price. The houses we are looking at in OC comparable in size to the one here are again significantly more in price. Sigh. I have had to really lower my expectations for what I need vs what I want in a house here in CA. Good thing the weather is great and the beaches are close by. :)
Click to expand...

You should stay here in Temecula!! My dh has to commute too when he's here in the state. Right now, he's working up in Alaska for most of the summer!
My son was just here visiting from Texas, and even on our hottest days, he was saying how glorious the weather is here compared to Texas. He got off the plane (in Austin) and thought he was going to die. 105 and humid!
Well, before you move, we need to plan a get together! How fun!!
 
Hhhhhmmmm... since we just moved into a new home, from the city to the country, this thread has got me thinking of what I left behind and what I've gained.... I miss our swimming pool and hot tub already, but we didn't have a mudroom or pantry at our old house and have them at our new home and I'm lovin' it! We soooo must put a pool in here though(I don't forsee that happening this year any more... :-( ) Another thing we gained is heated floors through out the entire house, now that is gonna be sweet this winter! But honestly, life would suck without an air conditioner, especially with the 100+ heat index days!
 
Back
Top