House Week: Stefany

You'd think I would be pretty happy with my current housing situation. After all, we have 2500 finished square feet of house (plus 300 not finished), including four bedrooms, four bathrooms, and a very large kitchen. That sounds like a nice amount, but there are nine of us living in it, and the bedrooms aren't laid out in a way that works very well for putting multiple bunk beds in them. As it doesn't have an office space for Aaron, and he really needs his own space to study and work, he uses one of the upstairs bedrooms. That leaves three bedrooms. Two boys live in one of them, and Katie gets one to herself (I just don't like babies sharing rooms, as it cuts down on my sleep, and after that, she'll get her own room forever anyway, as Aaron and I don't think girls and boys should share rooms, after a certain age). Aaron and I have the master bedroom, and that leaves four of the boys with the basement family room.

Unfortunately, that means that everyone makes their noise on the main floor of the house. The living room is a place of noise and chaos. The music room is right next to it, and open, and so more noise is produced as they practice the piano, drums, sax, trumpet, etc. The kitchen is open right off the other side of the living room, and so is exposed to all of the noise. When we want a quiet place to work on homework, I normally end up bringing a child to my bedroom to get away from distractions. It isn't ideal.

But, this isn't supposed to be about how much I dislike my house. This is supposed to be about my dream house. Ahh...let's think...yeah, that didn't take me long.

My ideal house has a sitting room in the front with enough room for a couple of couches, lounges, and two grand pianos (at least baby grand). Yes, the part about the two pianos is for my husband, more so than for me. I would be able to use the room for family home evenings, visiting teaching and home teaching visits, as well as piano lessons. Just opposite the sitting room would be an office for Aaron to work and study.

Beyond that room, there would be a kitchen that is hidden from initial view when entering the house. I don't require a dining room, but a large area just off the kitchen that would hold an enormous dining table would suffice. There would also be a living room that would be large enough for extended family to gather with us, as well as a small play room, just off the kitchen, where my kids could make a mess and not have it seen by any unexpected visitors. The pantry would have to be quite large, and I'd like my deep freezer to fit in it.

If my main floor was that large, I'd like the upstairs to have five bedrooms. The master suite would have two walk-in closets, one of which would be off the bathroom, and in the bathroom there would be a jetted tub that I can actually lay down in (my current jetted tub is not built for tall people). There would also be enough room for me to have a sewing table and a nook where I could put a desk. The boys' bedrooms would have Jack and Jill bathrooms. Katie's bedroom would have her own bathroom. They would all have walk-in closets. A little spoiled, I know, but this is a dream, right? The other nice part of my upstairs would be the laundry room. It would have plenty of space for folding and hanging clothes.

My basement would have a few nice features. First, it would have a workout room with mirrors and weights and treadmills and mats - you get the idea. It would have a family room with room for the pool table that Aaron dreams of, a music room, and a large storage area. The music room would have Aaron's dream keyboard, the drum set, shelves and racks for all of our other musical instruments, and plenty of chairs and music stands.

I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'll probably never have my dream house. In all likelihood, we'll still be in this house when the kids start moving out, and it will seem bigger to those of us who remain here. There are only 4 1/2 years left until they start leaving home, after all. But wouldn't it be nice if our dreams came true so they could all enjoy the space with us?