Please help me out by designing your ideal home!

Page 2 of 4 [ 53 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4  Next

Megz
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 2 Dec 2010
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,028

03 Jan 2011, 11:53 pm

I like all the ideas above too. I want a soundproofed windowless bedroom with an attached bathroom. I want one of the lighting options in the bathroom to be red lights, like in photo processing dark rooms. It would let you see to not trip into the toilet, but is less offensive to the eyes in the early morning hours than regular white light. I want my house to be really unique and have lots of rooms for my different hobbies, and some secret rooms, just big enough to curl up and take a nap or read a book, preferably hidden behind a secret door :wink:



quesonrias
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 30 Dec 2010
Age: 49
Gender: Female
Posts: 309

04 Jan 2011, 12:13 am

Megz wrote:
I like all the ideas above too. I want a soundproofed windowless bedroom with an attached bathroom. I want one of the lighting options in the bathroom to be red lights, like in photo processing dark rooms. It would let you see to not trip into the toilet, but is less offensive to the eyes in the early morning hours than regular white light. I want my house to be really unique and have lots of rooms for my different hobbies, and some secret rooms, just big enough to curl up and take a nap or read a book, preferably hidden behind a secret door :wink:



Ooooo...lighting options in the bathroom...I love that. Right now I use electronic candles...it's just enough light to not be offensive, but sometimes not enough to see where I'm going.


_________________
If I tell you I'm unique, and you say, "Yeah, we all are," you've missed the whole point.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
RAADS-R: 187.0
Language: 15.0 • Social Relatedness: 81.0 • Sensory/Motor: 52.0 • Circumscribed Interests: 40.0

Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 165 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 47 of 200
You are very likely neurodiverse (Aspie)


wavefreak58
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Sep 2010
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 4,419
Location: Western New York

04 Jan 2011, 12:35 am

So sound proofing is really popular.

I'm surprised how many want no windows and low light. I guess I shouldn't be surprised since we are a diverse crowd. I can't stand cramped rooms and low light. It feels very confining, like I can feel the weight of the building. I guess that's sort of a sensory thing, just along a different vein.


_________________
When God made me He didn't use a mold. I'm FREEHAND baby!
The road to my hell is paved with your good intentions.


sillycat
Velociraptor
Velociraptor

User avatar

Joined: 13 Jun 2010
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Posts: 423

04 Jan 2011, 12:47 am

I'm going to have to say no florescent halogen enviromental lights, those things and their humming, messes with my head. And some windows to let seasonal light in, For instance a room on the roof with Sun glass, Where people can just relax and chill out when things get wacky.

Sound proofing. I live in an Apartment in shanghai, I can hear the family next doors, both of them the people upstairs, eventhough the barriers are cement! It's like having a party in my head, and I'm not invited.



DandelionFireworks
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 16 May 2010
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,011

04 Jan 2011, 12:53 am

THERE HAS TO BE SOME WAY TO HAVE ROOMS WITHOUT WINDOWS. Seriously, call them closets if you have to! Huge, sound-proof, windowless closets. (That lock from the INSIDE and have at least one secret exit that also locks from the INSIDE and lets out someplace you wouldn't guess. I say this because I suddenly thought "...in which no one can hear you scream.") Actually, a peephole (through which you can see OUT but not in) in the official door would be a good idea.

I have nothing against some open rooms. I definitely want some windows from which I can see the street. (And no direct lines of sight between them and the back of the house.) I could live with a room next to the backyard that's done that neat way with a bunch of windows so it practically just blends into the outdoors. But only if I also have my little hidey-hole.

And a big basement or two. And somehow the heat has to not be uniform for the whole house. So, like, heating that can be adjusted independently for different rooms or areas.

I can't believe all of this is actually an Aspie thing and not just a specific quirk of mine! :D Wow!


_________________
I'm using a non-verbal right now. I wish you could see it. --dyingofpoetry

NOT A DOCTOR


bjcirceleb
Pileated woodpecker
Pileated woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 25 Dec 2010
Gender: Female
Posts: 198
Location: Australia

04 Jan 2011, 2:38 am

Ovens and stoves that have all the latest safety stuff on them, so they are not hot to touch, have an automatic turn off, so if I forget to turn them off the whole place will not blow up, and so if I acidently touch something it will not hurt me.

Windows must be double glazed, to help with noise, and my need for sound proofing, but also to help with heat and cold, etc.



anbuend
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 5 Jul 2004
Age: 44
Gender: Female
Posts: 5,039

04 Jan 2011, 2:54 am

I honestly wish I knew more of what to say because often I only notice something is more accessible for me after I experience or hear of it.  But here is what I can come up with. 

Unusually large amount of storage space. This way, rooms can be arranged with minimal visual clutter. 

Kitchen cabinets and, if it's even possible, refrigerator, should have see-through doors.  I once literally starved for months on end in my first apartment.  One large part of the reason was that for me, I only have object permanence when my brain has enough space to remember that things that are not directly seen/sensed even exist. The cupboards and fridge were shut. I didn't know there was food inside. 

There should be no changes throughout the house in the tiles on the floor, and no changes from tile to carpet and other obvious changes that create a break in the floor texture. Some autistic people have trouble stepping over boundary lines.  This is something else that has prevented kitchen and bathroom access in a different apartment.  

Some sort of track on the ceiling for curtains to be pulled around a bed. This can create both a sense of privacy, and a way to block out visual stimul and relax when overloaded. And that way people don't have to buy one of those expensive canopy-curtain-bed things. (Something I couldn't have anyway because I'm in a hospital bed so I could really use those ceiling tracks.)

Built-in places for a person to get into a small space away from others -- large recessed areas in the walls above ground. Extremely wide windowsills that a person could sit or lie on behind curtains. These should be large enough for a tall, wide person to get into so that virtually anyone could lie down or curl up in there. 

Indirect lighting where not only can you not see the light source, but you also can't see this disruptively bright area of the wall or ceiling that contrasts with everything else. 

Also, while this makes many irritating assumptions about how autistic people ought to live, you might want to read through this:

Advancing Full Spectrum Housing (PDF)

Just be aware that it doesn't question enough assumptions (like that "residential facilities" are somehow ideal for most of us or would be if they were just planned just right). Read it only for the information on how to make homes accessible for us. There's a difference between a design feature made for accessibility purposes (like avoiding loud primary color striped wallpaper) and a design feature designed to paternalistically push us towards doing what it thinks is best for us (something like "a garden to facilitate social interaction among residents" -- I lived at a place like that and features planned that way are ideal for professionals who want to push us towards what do-gooder types think is best for us, not necessarily so ideal for disabled people). 


_________________
"In my world it's a place of patterns and feel. In my world it's a haven for what is real. It's my world, nobody can steal it, but people like me, we live in the shadows." -Donna Williams


Ariela
Sea Gull
Sea Gull

User avatar

Joined: 10 Jul 2010
Gender: Female
Posts: 225

04 Jan 2011, 5:05 am

I would love an apartment in Manhattan in which I could filter out the noise and bright lights of the city.



Ariela
Sea Gull
Sea Gull

User avatar

Joined: 10 Jul 2010
Gender: Female
Posts: 225

04 Jan 2011, 8:37 am

I would also like to find a way to block out sound from my apartment, as I like to listen to loud music, it gives me inspiration and I don't want to bother the neighbors.



blueroses
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 10 Feb 2007
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,183
Location: United States

04 Jan 2011, 9:56 am

bjcirceleb wrote:
SOUNDPROOFING, SOUNDPROOFING, SOUNDPROOFING!! !! !

To me that is the most important need, anything else is simly icing on the cake, so to speak!!


+ 1

I'm also curious, is anyone familiar with Snoezelen-style sensory rooms? What are your thoughts on these? To me, they sound very cool, but I have never been in one or even seen one myself.

If you aren't familiar with them, please see here:

http://snoezeleninfo.com/whatIsSnoezelen.asp



wavefreak58
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Sep 2010
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 4,419
Location: Western New York

04 Jan 2011, 10:40 am

blueroses wrote:
I'm also curious, is anyone familiar with Snoezelen-style sensory rooms? What are your thoughts on these? To me, they sound very cool, but I have never been in one or even seen one myself.

If you aren't familiar with them, please see here:

http://snoezeleninfo.com/whatIsSnoezelen.asp


Holy crap that stuff is expensive. 8O 8O 8O


_________________
When God made me He didn't use a mold. I'm FREEHAND baby!
The road to my hell is paved with your good intentions.


blueroses
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 10 Feb 2007
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,183
Location: United States

04 Jan 2011, 10:50 am

Yeah, I know, it is expensive, especially for someone's private residence.

Someday, I would really like to be able to create a public one at the center where I work using funds from a grant program I manage. The idea would be that people from the general public could sign up to use it for one-hour blocks of time or something, in order to have access to this type of therapy even if they cannot afford one of their own.



wavefreak58
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Sep 2010
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 4,419
Location: Western New York

04 Jan 2011, 11:08 am

blueroses wrote:
Yeah, I know, it is expensive, especially for someone's private residence.

Someday, I would really like to be able to create a public one at the center where I work using funds from a grant program I manage. The idea would be that people from the general public could sign up to use it for one-hour blocks of time or something, in order to have access to this type of therapy even if they cannot afford one of their own.


Too bad you weren't closer. I've played around with fiber optics. I know a place where you can get 30,000 feet of unclad fiber for $285. I'd love to do something like this if I had the time and money.

LED lighting is something you should look at as well.


_________________
When God made me He didn't use a mold. I'm FREEHAND baby!
The road to my hell is paved with your good intentions.


matt28
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

User avatar

Joined: 31 Dec 2010
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Posts: 41

04 Jan 2011, 12:19 pm

My ideal home would have triple-glazed windows (common in Sweden and Finland) to keep sound out better. The windows would have dark green louver shutters to their sides on the outside to look inviting to visitors and to present my home with a beautiful face. The front door would have a porch in front of it with a swinging seat for sitting and reading and pondering. The garden would be mostly a neat lawn of grass with a few trees and beds of flowers here and there. It would have a white picket fence in the garden to brighten my day. If there was a garage it would be located behind the house, out of sight, because I think garages detract from the elegance of a home.

The windows would be taller than they would be wide. They would be sliding sash windows so they could easily be opened and leaned out of if someone needed to shout someone. The house would be built of bricks which would be covered on the outside by a layer of clapboard planks painted white or pale green or yellow. There would be a basement and an attic for plenty of storage space. There would be a staircase that would be positioned in the center of the room to emphasise space and freedom of movement. Upstairs if someone was learning on the staircase they would be visible to the people in the hall below to encourage easy communication.



another_1
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 17 Jun 2010
Age: 64
Gender: Male
Posts: 528
Location: Columbia, SC

04 Jan 2011, 12:55 pm

"Please help me out by designing your ideal home!" 8O 8O 8O

Am I the only one whose first reaction went something like:

OHMYGOD!! ! OHMYGOD!! !! *rummages excitedly though stacks of papers* I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS SINCE I WAS, LIKE, 12!! ! *frantically boots up computers with floor plans* OHMYGOD!! ! OHMYGOD!! !! WAITWAITWAIT . . . JUST ONE? OHMYGOD!! ! OHMYGOD!! !! SOMEONE FINALLY ASKED ME ABOUT IT! OHMYGOD!! ! OHMYGOD!! !!

:lmao:

ok, seriously. General rules?

BIG windows in at least one or two rooms, but use the triple glazed ones already mentioned, for sound deadening, and make sure there are really good blinds and drapes, so light can be fully blocked out. Thicker exterior walls with extra insulation, and insulation in all interior walls for soundproofing (better energy efficiency, too!). Include a "family game room" with access from each of the bedrooms - since it has multiple entrances, this room could be built without windows and still meet code. One wall should be padded (actually a high end, designer thing to do, as well as practical!), one should be a whiteboard, and one should be cork. Each bedroom should have a walk in closet, which can also function as an individual safe haven. Dimmable, indirect lighting in all rooms, and an abundance of electrical outlets. Use hard flooring throughout - easier to clean, and rugs can always be added to make the surface "just right" for comfort. Put the kitchen and "keeping room" at the opposite end of the house from the bedrooms - that way cooking and tv sounds/smells are less likely to bother others.

I'm sure there's more I could say (TRUST ME - I could say a LOT more! :lol: ), but I'll stop now. many other great ideas already mentioned, but I don't want to repeat all of them - or go off on a dissertation describing every detail of what I would want in a house. :roll: Unless you want me to - just be prepared to read (or scroll past) a lot if I get started! :wink:



blueroses
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 10 Feb 2007
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,183
Location: United States

04 Jan 2011, 1:59 pm

another_1 wrote:
"Please help me out by designing your ideal home!" 8O 8O 8O

Am I the only one whose first reaction went something like:

OHMYGOD!! ! OHMYGOD!! !! *rummages excitedly though stacks of papers* I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS SINCE I WAS, LIKE, 12!! ! *frantically boots up computers with floor plans* OHMYGOD!! ! OHMYGOD!! !! WAITWAITWAIT . . . JUST ONE? OHMYGOD!! ! OHMYGOD!! !! SOMEONE FINALLY ASKED ME ABOUT IT! OHMYGOD!! ! OHMYGOD!! !!


Lol ... that made my day. And, dissertations are completely welcome!