Heading to Santa Fe for a visit! Any tips?
Maine. But it seems to be the latest trendy layout. There are some developments here in CT with a similar floor plan. My friend in SC has something very similar also.
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Iâd be worried about the cold in a northern state with a slab foundation. I had a first floor office once in a building that had a slab foundation. That floor was really cold, even with carpeting. I canât imagine a house with a slab foundation unless it had heated floors.
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@me29034 yesâŠradiant heat floors âŠor geothermal. Itâs very popular in new construction where itâs cold.
And if new flooring is being added to an old house, radiant heat can be put in.
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Iâve thought about moving the furniture in my house to do away with formal living and dining and having a great room and then a huge kitchen with an eat in area. Problem is the fireplace would then be in the eat in area of the kitchen and the tv would be near the front door, which I find odd. I like the idea of not having formal spaces, but my current house might not work for that.
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I love the idea of having a fireplace in the kitchen! Our neighbor has that in their newly remodeled kitchen and it is great!!!
We have an old century house - very compartmentalized. The previous owners used the formal dining room as a family room since it is right off the kitchen and combined a living/dining room in the formal living room because itâs so large. We are back to using everything as separate rooms which works great for us but I can see where it wouldnât work for young family.
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Interesting that describes the layout of the retirement house I designed for my parents. They realized if they wanted to entertain they could just set up tables in the very large living room/great room.
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DINING ROOMS: Weâve enjoyed having dining rooms in both of our house (and actually since Covid / retirement have started using it most nights for the two of us - itâs a bit closer to the cooking area). But I would never want a dining room that has full 4 walls. Ours have had big opening to living room. It makes things more spacious, and there is room to expand with 2nd table for huge group. In the first small house (before getting the big furniture from my mom), we used dining room corners for piano and computer desk.
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When If I right size, all of the furniture in my formal dining room and my living room will be given awayâŠfree. Including the piano. I donât need the extra space or this more formal furniture anymore. Iâd be perfectly happy with a great room open floor plan to the kitchen eating area.
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@thumper1, my advice would be to start early on getting rid of that piano. I gave mine away last year, but spent a month+ trying to find someone to take it. I thought I would get rid of all of my formal furniture, but turns out that my condo has high ceilings, crown moulding in all rooms, etc., so I instead got rid of breakfast room table & hutch and now use traditional dining room table every day.
Your attitude about giving the formal stuff away sounds like a good one since I originally thought I would be getting rid of formal dining room stuff and local antique dealer gave me a low estimate of what I could realize in selling high quality, good condition traditional table, chairs & sideboard. I treated that furniture with kid gloves for over 30 years, but knowing my kids & most of their generation donât want âbrown furnitureâ these days has released me to use/enjoy it without fear of scratches now.
Sometimes reading this thread gives me flashbacks/nightmares to last summerâs downsizing move, but other times it gives me joy to know I am on the other side and thoroughly enjoying my new home.
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@thumper1 we did exactly that when we downsized. Current house has no formal dining room (itâs a 99 y.o. house but was extensively remodeled about 15 years ago). We donât miss it.
Our screen porch served as our âdining roomâ May-October.
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Iâm another one who doesnât have any need for a dining room and would prefer a kitchen that allows for a table of at 6. Anymore than that and we can just eat with a plate on our lap in a common room, lol.
I DO however like some separateness to rooms. As we are looking I am WEARY of seeing the open concept high vaulted ceiling homes. Itâs just not for us. Some openness, ok - but really not into the high ceilings, mile high windows in most cases.
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Iâm conflicted on high ceilings. Our current house had 18 ft ceilings in the formal living and dining room. We actually did an addition 15 years ago to extend the upstairs and cover that over. Now my entire downstairs has 9 ft ceilings. The 18 ft ceilings made that room uncomfortable. It couldnât be cooled, heated, or lighted properly and the furniture felt adrift. If I was going to build a house Iâd probably want 10-12 ft ceilings. I think that would be ideal.
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I like our house, combination of high and low ceilings. Two story family room, open to upstairs hallway. (Actually there is a corner where we might be able to someday add a make-shift elevator, but no short term need⊠especially since we have a downstairs den/guestroom with attached bathroom with shower, albeit tiny shower).
Per downsizing and stuff, Iâve suggested to my Dad and his wife that they could pick a new apartment, have overlap a while with keeping house. (That works better if you donât go to another house, rely on equity from old house.). Then move stuff over til apartment is full. Then we could help get rid of the rest.
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DH is starting to talk about down-sizing once kids are out of college and settled somehwere. So weâve been chatting about that. Thanks to the OP for starting this thread!
We live in the Phoenix area. Current home is 1 story, a tad under 2000 sq ft. No pool, which is great because pool maintenance is a serious pain in the neck (and besides, the HOA has a pool we can use if we want to). Iâd be fine w/living here for a really long time, especially since my backyard is finally to my liking and it looks fantastic.
DH has talked forever and a day about buying a tiny house at some point and sticking it on âsome land somewhereâ and living out of that. Ok, Iâm up for that. Way cheaper cost of living (lower utilities, no mortgage, etc.).
But tell me, dear husband, are you willing to seriously downsize your posessions? Like the 15 board games in the guest bedroom closet that we never play? Or how about the gigantic 1980s Dig Dug video game cabinet in the family room? Or how about the ugly china that your dad bought in the late 80s from Broadway department store (the china that we never use because itâs hideous)?
Are you willing to give up the COVID wood thatâs sat in our garage since you bought it at the start of the pandemic (you knowâŠthe wood that you were going to use to make all of this outdoor furniture)? Are you willing to get rid of the table saw? The snow skis that you havenât used in 20 years? Or how about the floor steam cleaner thatâs been broken in the garage for 5 years? And if weâre going to live in a tiny house, there wonât be anywhere to store the huge person-sized tool chest/cabinet.
My DH thinks that all of this can be solved by: (a) building a barn to store it all in; or (b) paying for a storage unit. Well, if weâre going to do that, whatâs the point of downsizing?!
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And good luck arranging land with electric/sewer/water. People often get excited about the price of modular homes. Tiny home is of course cheaper, but still lots of other costs.
Exactly! One would need land thatâs zoned to allow for a tiny house. Also would need to have electric & water available. We could have a septic system installed. Especially in the southwest, you could find land, but there may or may not be water available. Wells often have to be drilled down to 200+ feet. To be honest, it all sounds like a huge hassle to me. Iâd much rather park it in a tiny house village, so when Iâm old and gray and 80 yr old, Iâll have neighbors nearby to check up on me (and me checking up on them).
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I like the idea of a tiny-ish house in a park, with lots of travel while health permits. Of course weâd need to get in a different mindset about âstuffâ, hobbies/gardening etc to do that ourselves.
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Bring a hat and sunscreen. Itâs pretty hot right now but still pleasant in the shade. Hit the farmerâs market on Saturday. Check out this Lensic 360 - Concerts and events across New Mexico for free music happenings. Take the high road to Taos for a day. Take a hike, maybe on the Rail Trail. Walk Canyon Road to browse the galleries and eat outside at the Teahouse. Eat African at Jambo. Go to Meow Wolf but make reservations and go early in the day. Visit a pueblo (weâve only been to Taos Pueblo). Visit living history at Rancho de los Golondrinas - early in the day to beat the heat. Try to avoid the popular touristy spots for New Mexican food. There are plenty of other places. Drive Cerillos Rd and choose one at random. Red is the milder chili (still hot!) and green the hotter - ask for Christmas style and youâll get both. Try Harryâs Roadhouse to sit outside and enjoy a drink with your meal.
Do you have any specific interests?