Please help me out by designing your ideal home!

Post Reply New Topic

I would love to be able to keep smells from getting into the house from outside or from other apartments in the house. I'm tired of getting nauseous and gagging inside my own home whenever some neighbour decides to have a smoke outside. There still needs to be good ventilation though.

I would like indirect lighting, for example lights pointed to the ceiling and reflecting from there. It needs to be possible to adjust the brightness of the lights in each room. No fluorescent lights. There also need to be good blinds on the windows, so that light can be blocked out when wanted.

I would like each room to be as sound proof as possible and I would want the apartment/house to be sound proof for noises from outside or from other apartments in the house. Electric appliances should be as quiet or well sound insulated as possible. Loud appliances like a washing machine should be in a separate, soundproof room, like a laundry room or a storage room.

Hardwood floors would be desirable, as they don't smell and are easy to clean, but they shouldn't be too cold.

Easy to clean surfaces, especially the floor, kitchen and bathroom.

No thresholds and no sharp edges.

Privacy is important. The windows should preferrably be located somewhere where other people won't easily see in through them, or else they should have a film or something that prevents people from seeing in from the outside without blocking the view from inside or blocking out daylight. The garden should also offer a lot of privacy, for example with a tall wood fence and/or trees.

It needs to be possible and allowed to keep animals in the home.

There should be a bathroom for each bedroom, only accessible from within that bedroom. There should be an extra toilet or bathroom somewhere else, accessible for guests without them entering the bedrooms.

I'd like a room that could serve as a workshop. It wouldn't have to be big. It would be fun to have its location or shape unusual in some way, for example L shape or located above/below/behind another room, maybe even kind of a secret room.

As for colors, I find light blue walls very soothing and comfortable, as well as furniture in light wood colors. Each wall should have only one color. No colorful wallpaper or stripes and no yellow. It would be great if the bed was closed in some small space, for example with walls on 3 sides of it (including both of the long sides) or with a curtain that could be pulled all around the bed, or if it was a bunk bed high up above the floor (but not too close to the ceiling). Sometimes I put up a small tent inside my home and sleep in it because I love being in small, closed, private and fun spaces like that, so anything that could serve as such a space without me needing to go camping indoors would be cool.

Lots of closed storage spaces, like closets.

I would like an internet connection in every room (excluding the bathroom or laundry room, where it wouldn't be needed), but it should not be a wireless connection (wireless internet causes me sleeping problems and headaches), just a place to plug in an ADSL cable without having to drag a long cable between rooms all the time.

Ok, I'll stop now.

No, you're not the only one. My reaction was much the same. I've been designing my ideal home since I was 7 and whenever I come into somebody else's house/apartment I start redesigning it in my mind as if it was my home.

Noisy neighbors are a concern for everyone. I don’t know why new apartments and condos don’t have to meet some kind of standard for sound suppression. In general, I’m not in favor of more regulation. However, in light of all the silly building codes that exist, having a requirement to provide a reasonable amount of sound proofing would appear to make a lot of sense. But then again, maybe that‘s the problem.

Of course buildings wouldn’t need sound proofing if everyone had neighbors like the OP. Nice, quiet, intelligent, thoughtful, writer types, that like to cook chicken. Oh well - maybe some day we will live in a perfect world

Many of my suggestions have already been mentioned. These would include, privacy (both indoors and outdoors) sound proofing, indirect and controllable lighting, quiet appliances, hypoallergenic floor coverings - paint - wall coverings and furniture. And a security system with surveillance cameras.

A whole house filtration system would be nice. It would eliminate most odors, allergens and dust. I don’t have any odor sensitivities myself, though someone once pointed out that my feet smell. It turns out that they were wrong, because I don’t recall ever smelling anything with my feet.

I would also suggest a built- in central vacuum system, vacuum cleaners can be very noisy and irritating. I like natural light, so large windows , sky lights and high ceilings and I might as well include heated floors through out the house. In the bathroom - heated toilet seats and towel racks, fireplace, Jacuzzi tub, and self lowering toilet seats.

An atrium would be nice, as would an outdoor wood burning pizza oven, indoor and outdoor fireplace, raised vegetable garden, fruit trees and chickens. And because I’m on a roll - a large saltwater swimming pool with a waterfall , grotto, sand beach and mermaids. And a phone with a button that would give telemarketers a mild electrical shock, and diarrhea.

And last but not least , someone to share it with.

Someday .........I’ll find her and my life will be complete. She’ll probably be a disagreeable woman, with bad table manners , a surly demeanor, halitosis , webbed toes, and a penchant for petty larceny, but, that’s all I deserve really. So I’d gladly give her my heart- if she would have me.

If I had to engage in an overall design process (rather than pick my own details), the main criteria would be...

1. Overall house layout that has maximum private space ie. multiple occupants can remove themselves from one another. Conventional house layout prioritises communal spaces such as lounge and dining, over personal spaces.

2. Acoustically pleasing. Soundproofing in walls is one aspect, but room shape and lining materials also have a significant impact on acoustic characteristics. Noise from appliances and lighting should also be reduced.

3. Windows with sliding shutters to adjust overall size could be interesting. Definitely lighting options.

4. The height of ceilings could be adjustable in some rooms, using a fake ceiling and simple pulley system, allowing the occupant to set the feel of the room via height.

5. Water! Bathroom as large as possible.

6. Storage. Lots of it. Reduce visual clutter.

7. Doors with a slight delay in the latch, requiring maybe two seconds of pressure before opening. Then, the occupant of a room has more notification that someone else is entering, which feels better. Because people don't always knock!

Basically more personal space, less "peopled" feel, and some features that allow the occupant to customise the dimensions a little. Aspects like colour and decoration are easily changed.


AND wow DigitalDesperado, your fantasy house sounds like my fantasy house!
I also fit most of your criteria for desirable female house-sharer: disagreeable, bad table manners, surly demeanor check. Sorry that I can't manage halitosis or webbed toes. And I will not admit petty larceny, in public. Still, 4 out of 6 ain't bad. Pity, I'm already housed!

I just realized who you are!! Your thread got hijacked by daspie!! It's YOU!!

Ahhhh....If only all my neighbors were hypersensitive Aspies who wanted to throw their TV's out in the yard and who prefer peace, quiet, and solitude to making all kinds of noise and insisting upon stomping through their apartments at all times of day....sigh

Yes!!

No bathroom sharing!! The bathroom is an extension of my sanctuary (bedroom), and it must remain private and unsullied by outsiders

I can share a bathroom with first-degree relatives that I've been close to since forever. But multiple bathrooms are good anyway. I mean, that way more than one person can go at once.

The same number of bathrooms as occupants works for me. Though I've noticed a tendency for certain people to favor certain ones, and having a bathroom adjoin your bedroom makes other people less likely to opt for it as a first choice even if you're open and public with your bedroom.

Oh, and I can't have an apartment unless it's on the ground floor or in the basement. I pace. Loudly. All the time.

It's kinda sad that is my big claim to fame.

I'd love GOOD soundproving. I mean, I lived with my family and the house has very thin walls. I want silence, even if my parents downstairs are shouting at each other.

Adjustable light from the windows is also a good thing. OTOH, for nocturnal Aspies good lighting is important (another thing my parents fouled up).

And please no pink. My parents assumed that I liked that color. NO!! !! !

While I was researching this subject a little, I found a link to this article on design principles for school environments for autistic children. I found it interesting, since I've always wanted to do a study or see a study done on the effects of a physical environment on learning and behaviors of autistic students.

Public schools must meet ADA code, which basically means they must be wheelchair accessible, but there is currently nothing in ADA code regarding issues relating to autism. So, autistic students are expected to learn and behave with flickering lights and noise bombarding them. I have a hunch autistic kids would need far fewer 'behavioral interventions,' if schools were more accomodating environments.

http://www.designshare.com/index.php/ar ... om_autism/

Here are the things I have done to my home, after choosing it:

Removed all the carpets and soft furnishings, so there are fewer odour traps. Odour and lingering smells are a big issue in many properties. Curtains where necessary to keep in heat, Persian rugs to soften the flooring, some decorative wall hangings and cushions etc, all of which can be washed (including the rugs). There is enough fabric to condition the room sounds, and for a cosy feeling.

All floors are polished wood or tile. All walls are painted plaster (no wall papers). Wherever possible, every touchable surface is a natural material - porcelain, metal or wood handles, no plastic boxes, no vinyl, no synthetic fabric.

All walls are strong, confident colours. The ceilings, doors and skirting are off-white - all the exact same shade, for easy repainting. Lighting is adjustable and controllable - actually we use multiple table and standard lamps in addition to switchable ceiling lights, and had to remove all the dimmers to use low energy bulbs. Windows are 8 foot high sliding sashes in the main living areas, so there is a lot of light for a long time every day in these rooms.

Some doors (bedrooms and bathrooms) open "the wrong way", so the handle is near the room corner and the hinge towards the middle of the room. If the door is left slightly open, then there is no view into the room, and the door has to be opened at least 90 degrees to see in. Even then, the spot behind the door is still out of sight. The sense of privacy is much greater and sound intrusion is less.

Gas hob and electric convection oven, for controllable, predictable cooking. Excellent and quiet extractor fan to remove food odour.

Some rooms have small windows and low noise levels, but there is occasionally too much noise from the neighbours and street.

There are no "multipurpose" areas - the study is for studying, bedroom for sleeping etc. A current project in the workshop does not need to be put away every evening, because the workshop is not a kitchen / living area or anything else. There is a lot of space, and every room has a lot of storage, mostly wooden drawers.

Here are some things my house has (I helped design a major renovation and expansion of this older house several years ago):

*no windows facing the east (sunrise---morning sun) on the second floor (bedroom floor)---sunlight hurts my eyes.

*no windows facing the west (sunset---evening sun) anywhere in the house except a small octagonal one in the family room---but I have a cardboard mask to close it off if needed.

*areas far away from the noise of the rest of the family that I can use when I need it. The bedrooms offer this quiteness away from the main living area. In fact, from the bedrooms, one could not hear a scream from anyone in the main living area (but that could be a bad thing too if someone needed help). Multiple levels of living can help mask out sound---if climbing steps isn't a problem this can be good. My house has four levels of living space stretched out over a length of 70 feet. On the first floor is the Kitchen, Dining Room, Home Theater/Living Room, Music Room, Library, and a Bathroom. On the second floor are three Bedrooms and a large Bathroom. On a lower lever between the main house and a Family Room (main living area) is a cathedral ceiling Sitting Room. The main living area/Family Room is on another level off of the Sitting Room away from the main first floor area. This type of floor/room arrangement offers plenty of secluded spaces, quiteness, and privacy.

*double insulated walls that make traffic noise barely audible.

*areas for me to keep my special intense interests (musical instruments, HO scale trains, etc.)

*plenty of storage area (since I am a packrat)---full size basement, two attics, and a large outbuilding.

One of the most important things to me is the need for privacy when feeling overwhelmed. Though not part of the house, I have a 1961 Airstream camper that I keep under a carport down in the yard. I have it fixed it up nice and cozy. It is my special retreat when I need it.

I hope some of these things I have done helps with the house designing. A lot of times things just need to be adapted as time goes by. But I feel the shielding off of bright sunlight and noise is good to take care of during the design of a residence.

I am not aware of a special school here that does not have a snoozealon room. But then again parents get total choice as to where they want their child educated and can choose to have in different envirnoments for different parts of the week. Ie. 4.5 days mainstream, .5 day per week specail school so they get the specail facilities offered.

Snoozelan rooms are great and from what I hear the children gain a lot from them. I know parents who choose those schools purely for those reasons!!

As for making all schools design accessible for those on the spectrum, that means that we would have to acknowledge that these children cannot be fixed or cured and that we need to accommodate them as they are, not something that many people want to do, they are still busy telling us that we need to be in mainstream schools just so we can learn the social skills needed to participate in the NT world!! Yes people on the spectrum need to learn social skills, but they need help and support to do that, it will not happen by them just being there, and most of the social experiences many of them currently have are in the form of intense bullying, how that helps anyone is beyond me???

In an ideal world NT would accept us for who we are and allow us to be educated in the best setting for us and not expect us to fit to some artifical norm. The best environment may be the mainstream one, which at times those on the spectrum are refused access to and/or it could be a specialised one, which again many on the spectrum are denied access to. It could in many cases allow us to be educated at home as well, with the support of fully trained and qualified teachers!! ! It would also allow us to live in places that are ideal for us and purpose built for us. If people with other types of disabilities have those rights, why are we not offered the same rights.

Oooh this should be fun, my ideal home would be in a small-medium village but still only a few miles from town. I like the idea of living in a village setting because there are less people and all those people know each other so there's a more friendly atmosphere. I prefer that to the inner city atmosphere where it's just masses of strangers that barely care about or know of the other's existence. The home itself would be brightly decorated with different patterns and I'll have my ornaments and toys and books displayed, I'd also want the decoration to have quite an ethnic theme with all African stuff everywhere because I love that sort of thing. But I want the kitchen to not be cluttered so it's easy to clean and keep on top of. I'd want there to be lots of room upstairs but downstairs I want it to be more cosy and closed in, because big open plan living rooms feel quite cold and show home-ish. I want a medium to large garden with grass in the middle but lots of tall plants around it, I like the overgrown look in gardens and not those gravely ones with little shrubs here and there.
I want more than one bathroom so people aren't queuing up to use just one.

this from my parents; "a garbage skip outside the window"

I second those that say sound-proof.
Also; not facing onto the street (or at least with a peephole) so that unexpected visitors can be ignored

For existing accomodation;
blackout-blinds at night
small ornamental fountain (some people hate these though)
labelled boxes for dumping stuff in
cat flap (lots of people here seem to keep cats)

I find that really interesting, so thanks for sharing.



Yes, exactly!!

I am actually in the process of moving to a new place that is not nearly as nice as my current apartment and I would not have to do this, if the building had been required to be insulated properly and the noise from neighbors had not nearly driven me crazy. Meanwhile, on a daily basis at work, I am assisting persons with physical disabilities to receive accomodations so they can remain living in the homes of their choice.

I really enjoy what I do for a living, but helping other people in this area of their lives while people on the Spectrum are essentially out-of-luck frustrates me to no end. Something needs to change in this regard.