What would your dream house look like?

[Cheswick2.0]

This is mine.

[leftofthedial]

1. clean

[Cheswick2.0]

12. yes

maybe I should be trying that. A clean house would certainly be different.

[KamaAina]

2. Like Al Gore's house (the one that Bush* is squatting in)

It's payback time! George, say Hi to your cellmate, Bubba... hope you've got some cigarettes...

Edit: That's Al Gore's house, not "hopuse". One would've thought that his hop use would've come up during the campaign... :-)

[Cheswick2.0]

10. now that reminds me of my dream job

singing at a Gore Inaugural...right there on the dias with the Pres and Tipper. The national anthem

[Ivory_Tower]

3. No fair, that's MY house!

Except the ocean would have to be a little closer.

I usually tell people that I want to live in an underground Victorian log home, somewhere in the desert mountains by the sea, with a vibrant urban scene next door.

I'm still looking.

[Cheswick2.0]

4. yes it is hard to chose isn't it?

I would like a rustic lake with loons and tall snow covered mountains in the distance..... but this house is in Pa.

[Ivory_Tower]

7. Well, Fallingwater does get snow in the winter

But it's not the same as having the Rockies outside your window. Of course, where I'm at now (D.C. area) there isn't much in the way of ANY scenery outside my window, so it's not like I have room to talk.

Fallingwater's beautiful, though. First time I toured it was as a child (the day the Pirates won the World Series in 1971, in fact), and I wanted to become an architect for years after that.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

5. Huh? You want to move in with me?

Okay.
Just you, me, and the menagerie of pets baby.

[gully]

6. aaaahhh...here's mine

[Cheswick2.0]

9. that's beautiful

that is the kind of place I always imagine having a bedroom with floor to ceiling screens on two sides so that in the summer you can pretend you are sleeping in a really comfortable tent and wake up at 4 am to look at mist and listen to the creature neighbors.
Put a couple of canoes and a lake at the bottom of the hill and I am there.

[Cheswick2.0]

8. if you live there I'm game

:7

[Dirk39]

11. I hate houses...

I like big cities, and in big cities, people should live in apartments, not in houses. I hate suburbs. The ugliest place I've seen in my live are the suburbs of Los Angeles. All these single houses, one after the other, all are looking the same, all have swimming-pools, but too small to swim and enjoy. And all are driving to work every morning to LA, poluting the air, sitting there alone in their cars for maybe hours, listening to the same stupid radio-programms. I somehow wish that modernism would be reinvented, not these beton-made cheap dreams of lowbrowers. In other regions of the world, houses might be o.k.
Uncompromised greetings from Germany,
Dirk

[Cheswick2.0]

14. I know what you mean

all those neighborhoods with tiny little boxes. I am not a fan of city living because I am a country girl. But the kind of suburb which is surrounded by country with expensive houses isn't too bad.
However my perfect life is in a house on a lake with my nearest neighbor at least a 1/4 mile away.

[cosmicdot]

13. can't quite decide

it's fun dreaming ...

something with this technology - only much much smaller

... much smaller ... scale



preferably on the beach - something unique - fun - casual - relaxing

http://www.zpub.com/un/bill/ecology.html

[Cheswick2.0]

17. and that house will cost you only 97 million!

I kind of like that 2nd house. I wonder what the inside looks like.

[cosmicdot]

21. the 2nd one ... the sketch one? or another one?

i'd like the house to have some cool eco/enviro devices borrowing ideas from Gates

the 2nd house is The Gamble House by Arts & Craft architects Charles Sumner Green & Henry Mather Green



http://www.citycent.com/CCC/Pasadena/gamble.htm

[Cheswick2.0]

26. the other one, the one that is kind of creamy yellow

It is kind of funky beachy looking

[cosmicdot]

29. link to property

http://www.brooksclark.com/Pages/flieganspan.htm

[DemoTex]

15. I've waited a long time. Close two weeks from today.

[Cheswick2.0]

16. that is a really great house

what does the back look like?

[DemoTex]

19. The back is not as dramatic because of the slope.

The house is build of 8" logs. It is extremely energy efficient. At some point we will be installing a passive-solar system.

The basement is unfinished. A narrow strip of yard separates the back from the woods. The backyard is at the main house level. There are two creeks and a waterfall on the land. There are fruit trees, blueberries, a grape arbor, and a vegetable and herb garden fenced from the deer.

It is really a small house (2400 sq ft heated). Perfect for the two of us and our dogs. It is in western Transylvania County, NC.

[SOteric]

25. Now THAT!!!! Is one awesome house!

[Shrek]

18. Something fairly simple

[Cheswick2.0]

28. does it have a heater?

If so, at least the toilet would be handy at all times.

[midnight armadillo]

20. Natural Building...

My dream house: semi-rural with plenty of forest, lots of room for permaculture gardening. A house built of natural, earth-friendly materials, powered by the sun & wind - yup, off the grid (or nearly so). Building technique: something like strawbales or cordwood masonry. A pair of biodiesel powered cars and some bikes in the driveway. Of course, I'd largely build it myself with the help of friends & family. I am a total earthy-crunchy geek!

An example (www.cordwoodmasonry.com) of cordwood although I don't think I'd do the living roof or follow the same design:




This guy, incidentally, lives in NY next to the Montreal border and pays $100 per winter for hardwood to keep the place heated. No AC in the summer either - it's mid 70's inside year-round.

[midnight armadillo]

22. Oh, and MORTGAGE FREE

Yes, mortgage-free is the ultimate dream, but I'll get that with the above house... I've been living in the city for 10 years, I'm ready for something slower. Maybe in 5 years I'll be able to head sorta to the country.

[cosmicdot]

23. cool! n/t

[Cheswick2.0]

27. neat idea

now you know what a geek I am using words like "neat". I don't think I would use the living roof idea either but I love the idea of how energy friendly it is.

[GOPisEvil]

24. Nooooooo....I saw it first! I have the calendars!

You can't have Fallingwater!!! It's mine, mine, MINE do you hear me?!?!?

:7

Actually, my dream house is one of those '40s bungalows or an old Craftsman House. :-)

[Cheswick2.0]

31. those are great too

the craftsman houses are beautiful. I saw a special on TV about that style. Very sophisticated and yet warm and homey.

[GOPisEvil]

34. You could buy them directly from Sears!

Hence the name...I love all the built-ins in houses like that. I like the natural wood throughout, too. I'm a sucker for the Craftsman, or Art and Crafts style.

[MiltonLeBerle]

30. Your dream house is in disrepair...to the tune of $11.5million-

http://www.ariadne.org/studio/michelli/browserpagefw.html

BEAR RUN, Pa. — It is every homeowner's nightmare. Years ago, the architect, one of those visionary types, got into a fight with the engineer over whether the design skimped on structural materials. The engineer wanted to make the floors stronger, but the architect said extra steel would make them unsupportably heavy.

Now, both are long dead, and it turns out that the engineer was right. The beams in the house are cracking so badly that the floors are sagging and the house is in danger of falling down. The estimated cost of repairs is so high that the work has been put off for years.

What to do?

If the architect was Frank Lloyd Wright, the owner installs a glass porthole in the floor so paying visitors can see how badly the beams are cracking, and raises the admission price for the privilege of watching the repairs.

The work will start in November after a two-year delay to raise the $11.5 million needed for structural support and other improvements...

[Cheswick2.0]

32. interesting

thanks for sharing that. I didn't realize that the place was in that bad shape.

But the picture looks nice and it is worth the price of repair, IMO.

[SOteric]

33. Mine would look a little more like this

[caribmon]

35. I spent ten years in the Caribbean

And owned a few boats... but what I want is one of these! A catamaran, about 50 feet should do fine!

[Alenne]

36. A Victorian house

I love older homes. They have more character than homes built today.

[Marlie]

37. Hey DemoTex

Congratulations and lots of love and happiness in your
beautiful new home. My husband and I built a log home 18
years ago and have enjoyed every minute - Unfortunately we
live in Illinois so our view can't compare, but we do
have five acres, a creek, pond and big old trees on half the
land. Also been perfect for all our pets over the years,
including swans, geese, ducks, chickens, Maggie my horse and
many, many dogs. I think we loved the idea of space because
we always loved animals and this was the only way we could
have them. I also love gardening so for us country life is
perfect. When we get home from work, believe me, we welcome
the peace and quiet. Hmmm....with all our animal buddies
don't know if quiet actually applies!

The insulation factor on these homes is unbelievable and the
solar panels will be great. Very, very energy efficient!

I wish we could live the past eighteen years over - we can't
so I wish them to you and yours.