Dream House: Craft Room

I like all things crafty.  I scrapbook and (attempt to) sew.  I DIY household stuff.  Unfortunately, in our current house, my crafty stuff has been banished to a closet in Philip's Star Wars room.  In my dream house, I would have a room dedicated to all my DIY/crafty stuff.  Like these:

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Aren't they beautiful?  I love the white cabinets.  I want my craft room to be bright.  I'd prefer a pale green color but I think all of these look great.  I just want LOTS of storage space!  And preferably a big window to bring in lots of natural light!  :)

Dream House: The Dog Room

Philip and I have four dogs:

Jack

Cody

Jippy

and Daly.

At this point, they are our children.  Obviously we won't always have these four dogs.  I wish they would live forever, but they won't.  However, we will always have dogs.  I love dogs too much to be without them.  In fact, we will always have at least 2 dogs (they will always need a partner in crime!). 

Right now, they spend almost no time alone.  I work during the day and Philip works at night.  Usually the only time they're alone is when we go out on Saturdays.  When they are alone, they are in their crates in the basement.  It's usually just for a few hours, but I still don't like it.  

What if they suddenly have to tinkle?  What if they just want to walk around for a while (not likely -- we have the laziest dogs ever).  What if something happens to Philip and I -- who is going to let the dogs out (seriously, a truck pulled out in front of us a few weeks ago and my first thought in the split second I thought we were goners was, "if we die, who is going to let the dogs out and feed them?"  I know that's nuts, but we live a thousand miles away from my family.  How long would it take for them or one of our friends to find out and take care of the dogs?)? 

So, in my dream house, there will be a dog room.  This room will have tile floors and be tiled at least half-way up the wall (like a bathroom). It doesn't need to be enormous.  It just needs to be big enough to fit their crates (even if they aren't going to be locked in their crates, they still like to be in their crates... it's like their bedroom... their safe place), with a little room to roam around in.

It should also have an area to store their food and treats and leashes, etc.  And maybe even a doggie shower.  Most importantly, it needs to have a doggie door.  I don't really think it needs to have a full sized door, but they definitely need to be able to get outside.  And outside there will be a kennel/run for them to be able to do their business.  It doesn't need to be enormous; just big enough for them to walk around a bit and go potty in. 

Okay, enough chit chat.  On to the inspiration photos!

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This one just has sealed and glazed cement floors and aluminum paneling.  It's not really my cup of tea, but it's the same kind of idea for my tile floors/walls -- easy clean up!

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This one has the tile floors and walls, but since we have multiple dogs, I'd like it to be a little bigger... and less like a jail.  ha!  But I do think that might be a doggie door on the right side of the photo. 

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Did you know that dog doors don't have to be put into doors?  This one can be put right into the wall of the house!  They can also be put into any kind of door, even sliding glass doors!

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This is what I think of when I say kennel/run.  It doesn't need to be enormous.  Preferably just something to fit against the wall of the house for them to go outside if they need to.  

And that's about all I've got for this room.  It's next to impossible to find dog room inspiration.  Apparently I'm more nuts than I thought.  ;) 

Dream House: The Laundry Room

Yeah, I know.  I probably shouldn't care about a laundry room.  However, all of the laundry rooms that I've had in recent years have been incredibly inconvenient.  So, in my dream house, the laundry room will be everything I need it to be.  

When I lived with Joe, the laundry room was in the garage.  Totally not convenient.  It was cramped and if something accidentally fell out of the dryer or the basket, it could get garage grossness on it.  Not cool.  

The apartment I shared with Philip in Charlotte was basically just a closet.  It was really cramped.  It only had room for the dryer door to swing open.  It did have a rack over the washer and dryer for the soap and such but it was so high up that I couldn't reach it without climbing on top of the washer and dryer!  Not ideal.  

The washer and dryer we have now are in the middle of the basement.  They aren't enclosed.  They have a bunch of space in front of and behind them so they're really weird.  You can't use the basement for anything really because the washer and dryer are right smack dab in the middle of it.  And there isn't any storage around it.  On top of that, our bedroom is on the second floor.  So, dirty laundry has to be taken down two flights of stairs and the clean laundry has to be brought up two flights of stairs to be folded.  It's inconvenient.

So what does my dream laundry room include?  It needs to be a room in the house.  It can't be in the garage.  It can't be a closet.  It needs to be enclosed but not cramped.  It also needs to have storage/cabinets.  Reachable ones.  I'm only 5'3"... I don't want cabinets that are 7' up on the wall!  It also needs to have a table for folding laundry.  And a sink.  Also, if the house is more than one level, there needs to be a laundry chute!  You laugh, but this is my dream!  Anywho, let's get to the inspiration photos!  

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This one is just beautiful.  It's got so much natural light.  It looks clean.  It doesn't have a folding table, but it does have large countertops.  It also plenty of storage space (at my level!).  However, I don't want there to be an exit to the yard from the laundry room.  Also, I'm not seeing my sink.  

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This one isn't as visually appealing to me, but it does have a lot of the things I want.  It has lots of cabinets and counter space as well as a sink.  I still wish it had a table for folding clothes, especially since there isn't a lot of space between the countertop and the bottoms of the cabinets.   

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This one is pretty.  It's bright.  It has lots of cabinet/counter space.  However, the room seems narrow and I'm not seeing a sink (or table).  

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This one doesn't have the table, but if I just removed the right side of cabinets, I could put a table in its place.  After all, it does already have a lot of cabinet space.  And a sink!  I also like the natural light (hey... I've been stuck in a closet, a basement, and a garage!  Some natural light would be nice!).  

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This one is really pretty and unique.  I can't see the whole room, but it looks like there is probably more cabinet space not completely shown.  There isn't a table, but it looks like there would be room to put one in the room.  And it has a sink. 

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This one is really neat looking.  The photo was taken at night, but it does have a big window, so it would have natural light.  It has a ton of cabinets and countertops.  It even has a wrapping paper station built in.  However, it's missing a sink!

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This one has my table!  However, it's a lacking in cabinet space that I can reach.  Also, I hope I don't ever need more than one washer and dryer!  And, where's my sink??  Despite the things it lacks, it's still very pretty.   

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This one has plenty of cabinet space and a sink.  It seems dark though.  And it definitely needs a table for folding laundry!

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This one is pretty perfect.  It has lots of cabinet and counter space.  It has my table.  It has a sink.  It doesn't have natural light, but it's bright anyway.  I think the only thing I would change would be to add a little bit of color.  I like the whites, but it's a little overpowering.  Maybe add some grays or aqua blues (they are still light and clean feeling -- yep, still crazy).  

There you have it.  Laundry rooms don't have to be soul-sucking!  ;)

Dream House: The Pantry

A huge part of my dream kitchen is my dream pantry.  I already told you about the breakfast nook that I dream of.  Well, right next to that built in dream nook is my dream pantry.  

Do you see that door there next to the nook?  That's where my dream pantry will go.  Yeah, I know that I've put too much thought into something like a pantry.  Some people dream of walk in closets.  I dream of walk in pantries.  ;)  (Seriously, Philip uses WAY more closet space than I do!  And he even has a lot more shoes than I do!)  

I love organization.  It will become apparent through all of these dream house posts.  The pantry is no different.  In my current pantry, everything has a place (hence, Philip isn't allowed to put away groceries -- he puts them in the wrong places!  Don't worry... he doesn't mind!).  However, my current pantry is tiny and doesn't have nearly enough room in it (Philip and I have a lot of gadgets that we don't want on the counter 24/7.  Right now they're all cramped into a bottom cabinet.  I'd really like to be able to get to them easily without having to dig out a dozen other items to get to them!  Plus, I love to stock up on food so that I don't have to run to the grocery store if I suddenly have the urge to cook something!).  My dream pantry won't have that problem!  

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I love the door on this pantry.  I like the fact that you can see into the pantry.  I love the organization.  I just wish it were a little bit bigger (yeah, I'm aware that I'm nuts).   

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This one doesn't really appeal to me visually.  It's very bland.  However, I love that it's enormous and so organized.  I'd have to add a little pizazz to it.

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This pantry is beautiful.  It's so open and huge!  Our pantry would definitely have a lot more stuff in it though!   

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This one is not deep enough, but I do love the doors to this one.  I like that you can see into the pantry.  It's appealing.  My pantry would need more light though.   

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This one is so pretty.  I love the dark shelves.  However, I don't want to pantry to be open to the kitchen.  It needs a door... just a door that can be seen through.  Again, yes, I know I'm crazy.  ;)

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This one is just very pretty.  This one really would be a dream.  It's huge and beautiful and the organization is appealing.  I love the wine rack.  The basket drawers for fruits and veggies and whatnot are a great touch.  

So, basically, I want a huge, walk-in pantry with nifty organization that looks beautiful.  Oh, and it must have a door that can be seen into.  And it needs to fit next to the breakfast nook in the kitchen.  Yep, I think that about covers it.  ;)