Extras
- SITTING-IN INTERVIEWS
- WHAT DOES "HOME" MEAN TO YOU?
- THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE YOU BUILD
Sitting-In Interviews
On a beautiful sunny afternoon, five women sat down with Linda
Reimer, publisher of Her Home and president of Design Basics, to
talk about their memories of home, what home means to them, what
they want their home to embody and how they want it to function.
As you’ll see, the women come from different life stages,
have diverse family situations and hold different perspectives.
In addition to providing interesting reading, we’ve also included
a practical list of principles to consider when building a home
which we gleaned from the groups’ comments.
 |
JONI,
a supervisor of her company’s operations department,
is married with a 15-year-old son, a 17-year-old daughter
and a son attending college and living at home. She likes
their tri-level home because of the privacy provided with
the bedrooms on the upper level. Joni comments, “With
the kids’ friends coming and going, the upstairs
can be noisy, hectic and messy while the main floor is
still pretty tidy and calm.” |
 |
MARY
is an empty-nester, looking forward to retirement as she
winds down a 10-year management career with a national
clothing company. She and her husband both have offices
in their home. “The nicest part about that,”
Mary grins, “is that our offices are on different
floors. That’s really important – believe
me!” |
 |
A.J.
and her husband live in a tri-level on an acreage with
two boys and two girls, aged four to nine. She ran a real
estate appraisal business out of her home for seven years
and recently went to work part-time in marketing. “Because
we’re outdoors a lot – gardening, playing
or swimming in our pool, I like the way our kitchen views
the backyard,” says A.J. |
 |
LISA
is a single woman with no children who lives in a 3-bedroom
condo on a resort lake. “My job in print sales involves
considerable traveling, so I love coming home,”
Lisa remarks. “The great room has huge windows with
a view that makes me feel like I’m on vacation.” |
 |
DONNA
is a singer, actress and waitress. She and her husband
run a business that rents inflatable bouncing gyms, are
the parents of a 12-year-old daughter and live in an older
raised ranch home. Donna says the thing that makes their
home fit them “is a wealth of plants — inside
and out.” |
|
Want to read the rest of this
article?Click
here to download "Sitting-In"!
What does "home" mean to you?
ARLENE (from Georgia):
To me, "home" is the sound of my grandchildren's laughter
as they come through my door. As a new widow, the word "home"
is spelled Erin, Erik, Brian and Ian.
JEAN (from Ohio):
Our calendar is always full. We travel, shop, eat out and entertain,
so we don't want to spend a lot of time maintaining the exterior or
interior of our home.
We added a sunroom on the back of our great room separated by French
doors, which brings in a lot of light and allows us to watch the ducks
in the pond.
Our study, which can be used as a second bedroom, doubles as an at-home
office and accommodates a computer area since we're on the Internet
and e-mailing many hours each day.
SANDI (from California):
Every member of the family needs to have a special place of their own.
My daughter, Faith, enjoys her bedroom and playroom areas. My favorite
space is the kitchen, which opens into the family room. And my husband,
Jason, loves to spend time in his home office, which also serves as
a bedroom and bath for guests.
...And from FAITH, her daughter:
I like my windows because they're shiny clean, and I like my bedroom
because it's pink and pretty.
AMY (from Nebraska):
Since I am a chef, the kitchen is the most important room of
the house. I want a big kitchen open to the great room so my guests
can hang out while I cook. A double oven and an industrial-style stove
are important.
I am also a wine connoisseur, so I would like a wine cellar with a
winekeeper in my kitchen.
Peg (from Indiana):
"Home used to mean a place where I watched our children grow and
play. The kids have grown and have their own lives. Now, it is the two
of us. Now, Home is our haven that is slowly becoming a place for US
to grow and play. We are having fun discovering a new side of our home,
and decorating it to reflect who we, as a couple are. Life is good...."
Brady (from Maryland):
"Home to me means opportunity. It is a place for peace and quiet
celebration. You can build your life story here through marriage, having
chidren, changing jobs - home is a reflection of you."
Adrienne (from Illinois):
"Home is wherever my family is, regardless of geography. My husband
and I are both active duty Air Force, and our 5- and 8-yr olds know
that if we get orders to go to another base, 'home' will change. We
try to make each one special by making memories that we take with us
to the next."
Sherri (fromTexas):
"Home to me is my family. Living in the country gives us quiet
solitude until the boys get on their 4-wheelers and dirt bikes and ride
the trail on our land. In the city that can't be done! Family is home!"
Linda (fromFlorida):
"Happiness, family, laughter, bright welcoming and security."
Ashley (from Texas):
"My home is small, but cozy. It's the place where I can
sit with my thoughts in silence. After a trying day, going home is like
heaven, knowing I can be in solitude or laugh about what's on TV, or
sit down with a book. Coming home to my fiancé makes my house
into a home!"
Helen (from North Carolina):
"Home is a place where you can retreat from the world...with just
your family around you. At home I can just sit down and relax. It's
wonderful!"
Audrea (from New York):
"Home is a sanctuary for me. It needs to be quiet, open,
roomy, and subdued. As a junior high school teacher, I am constantly
surrounded by noise, bustling children, and a deluge of colors. When
I come home, all I want is silence and monotones."
Pam (from Florida):
"Home is family, supporting and loving together, giving each other
the strength to survive when the physical place we call home, our safe
haven, disappears. As the flames consumed our home I held my girls and
my husband and knew the only things I couldn't replace were standing
with me. As long as we had each other, we had a home."
Leslie (from Massachusetts):
Home means freedom; comfort; safety; solitude; control; nurturing;
silence; drama; warm evenings filled with laughter; good friends; gardens
filled with veggies/flowers/herbs; a place for family; a place for me
and my dogs. My first home - on my own - it's a good thing.
Amanda (from Tennessee):
Home is where I enjoy my kids and peace from work.
Nannette (from Indiana):Home to me is a place where I can hear and see my children
playing happily together on good days and even seeing them argue and
not getting along or listening to me. Home is a special place I know
that we all are safe and a place that is myself and my husband's haven
to live our lives to our fulfillment and God's. The good Lord provided
us with more than a house, he provided us with a home and a big family
for our home.
Glenda (from Illinois):
Home is my refuge, my comfort. It may not bring me quiet solitude, but
it offers me the opportunity to slow down and listen for a quiet moment,
realizing that one day I will want to recall all the noise. My home
has been blessed and blesses me every minute of every day.
Rebekah (from Pennsylvania):
Home is my sanctuary. It is the place that my husband
and I have created as uniquely ours. It is where we escape from the
pressures of our busy work life.
Linda (from Arkansas):I have yet to find my true home. Perhaps that is not possible
in this present earthly incarnation; but, it would sure be nice to find
a place where I could feel at least some measure of peace and comfort.
I am sure that wherever my dream home is located, it will have all the
modern conveniences, energy efficiency, and thoughtfully designed floorplan
of a modern home; but, with the charm, details, and timeless appeal
of a hundred year old country or coastal cottage. (And, of course, it
must have views of majestic mountains, evergreen trees, and wildflower
covered meadows.) I want my home to be a timeless, restful escape from
the "real" world. I want my home to be designed so efficiently
and so in tune with the needs and wishes of my life and the lives of
my family, that I barely notice the structure itself and simply FEEL,
finally, at home. I have spent the better part of the past 30 years
taking the best house plans that I could find from books, magazines,
and off websites, and have altered them, with my computer and by hand,
trying to make them MORE perfect. (Clearly most people who design homes
do not live in them as much as I live in mine, or more plans would have
a well-designed mudroom near every garage/family entry; they would put
a lot more windows in the kitchen; they would turn closets into naturally-lit
dressing rooms and eliminate the need for dressers and other furniture
cluttering up the bedroom; they would arrange appliances so you could
still see the tv in the family room while you cook but where the dishwasher
noise doesn't interfere with conversations; and they would keep laundry
facilities close enough to the bedrooms and baths that you don't spend
your days dragging clothes, sheets, towels, etc. across your house.)
So, I push a wall out here, add some windows there, re-arrange appliance
locations, turn laundry rooms into mudrooms and upstairs closets into
laundry rooms, and bathrooms into spa retreats and so on, and so on,
until I feel like a home is more livable, just a little closer to perfect
- at least to me. Then, because I do not have the money to build a dream
home for myself, I move on to another plan - another exercise that allows
me to, at least briefly and in two dimensions, live out what it might
be like to live in a more perfect home. My husband has learned to tolerate
my odd hobby, but it also makes him uncomfortable because he feels like
he should be able to provide a dream home for me and he cannot. It would
be nice to have one of these homes that I have refined, but I doubt
even having the home of my dreams would end this pass-time of mine.
I am just weird I guess.
Things to consider before
you build:
| ELEVATIONS
- Check your subdivision’s covenants regarding paint colors
and shingle requirements.
- A general design rule is to use no more than three colors –
one for siding, one for trim and a third for accents.
- A dark-colored exterior can absorb 70% to 90% of the radiant
energy from the sun, while light colored surfaces reflect most
of the heat away from the home.
- Make sure to have ample outlets for your deck or patio, barbeque,
weed trimmer and Christmas tree lights.
- Most homes should have a minimum of two spigots on the exterior.
Choose spots which will be most convenient for washing the car
and watering flowers and bushes.
|
FOUNDATIONS
- Check with the EPA to see if your home will be built in a high
radon area. If so, make sure radon-resistant construction techniques
are incorporated.
- If you plan to finish your basement, select floor systems that
will eliminate columns. Make sure foundations are well-insulated
and water-proofed, and incorporate large windows (which may require
window wells, depending upon the way the lot slopes).
- Ideally, the ground around a house should slope at least one
inch per foot for the first 6 feet closest to the home.
|
| 1st
AND 2nd LEVEL FLOORS
- Before you start decorating, create an overall plan for the
entire home– so it will all coordinate, even if it isn’t
decorated all at once.
- In open floor plans, make sure flooring materials coordinate
from room to room. Because flooring is a costly item, it may be
wise to choose neutral materials such as wood (to allow you to
redecorate without replacing the floor).
- Because different colors in equal amounts will seem to fight
for attention, choose one color to dominate your decorating scheme
and use smaller amounts of your supporting colors.
- For healthier air, choose a fireplace that draws outside air
into the combustion chamber and has sealed glass doors.
- For baths with showers and tubs, make sure to choose a fan
that is strong enough to remove moisture from the air. Bathroom
fans are often under-sized.
- Depending upon your area, it may be helpful for resale to have
the laundry room equipped for either a gas or electric dryer.
|
ELECTRICAL
- Consider what type of wall switches you want (flip, rocker
or dimmer switches) and where you want them (so they’re
not behind headboards, sofas or dressers).
- Because it’s much easier and economical to wire during
construction, it’s also important to consider possible locations
for television sets and computers.
- For the same reason, make sure to provide wiring for all the
lights you’ll need in every room. Don’t forget task
lighting under kitchen counters, a light over the washer (so you
can see inside), adequate lighting over bathroom and kitchen sinks
and a well-lit garage. If you’re selecting a pendant fixture
in the dining room, weigh whether you want it in the
center of the room or centered over where the table will be.
- Make sure smoke alarms powered by the home’s electrical
system have backup batteries. It’s also a good idea to havethem
all interconnected so all alarms sound if one does.
|
|
