if you were building a house today , what features would you add?

[Spinneret]

for me

more than 1 bathroom
a double garage

 

[starry_solo]

Every bedroom would be an en-suite and there would be an extra half-bath for guests (for several half-baths). They would all have walk-in closets with built-in drawers and stuff so no need for a dresser.
Walk-in pantry
A library with built-in bookcases with ladder (so I can be like "Belle" from BATB)
Safe room
An office
A room for collectibles

I think that's it...for now...

 

[tvguy]

At least a three car garage.
A light in the center of the ceiling of every room on a switch. Our house was built with no lights in the Living Room and Family room, and the lights in the bedrooms are all offset in front of the closets. Actually, a ceiling fan with a light would be best.
All electric. But I live in an area where electricity rates are low, and natural gas rates are obscenely high . And of course there is the whole health and safety issue with gas appliances inside a home and natural gas's impact on global warming..
Never lived anywhere with less than 2 bathrooms, but I can see where having more than 1 would be almost a necessity.

 

[easyas123]

A tiled, walk in dog wash.
A library.
Butlers pantry.
Walk in closet in the master bedroom w/ a stackable washer/dryer.

 

[barkley]

(some of these we have or already added to our existing house that was a spec house so we had no say in features)-

whole house generator
plumbed water softner/filtration system (such that exterior water is not on softener) of area had well or hard water
walk in pantry
outlet inside medicine cabinets
insulated garage (and led lights that don't dim in the cold)
exterior spigots on all 4 sides of house
exterior outlets on all 4 sides house

 

[Lord Manhammer]

My wife wants a separate gallery off the master bedroom closet for her purses
A built in wine cellar
Heated driveway

 

[hertamaniac]

Tankless water heater(s)
Plywood floors in attic and not just exposed roof joists (I live in Florida and don't have a basement)
Solar array with battery load leveling/shedding system
Whole house water filtration system

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

A roof covered concrete patio with an outdoor kitchen.
And so much more, LOL

 

[MICKIMINI]

Well, we just built one and this is a shortened list:

Screened in porch (vintage NH lake style)
Buried propane tank 500 gal, generator hookup and 220 outlet in garage
900 sf 3 car garage with 900 sf attic/bonus room above
36" doors throughout craftsman style
Plank floor oak throughout (waterproof commercial grade 6" wide)
Separate pantry, laundry, mudroom and wood shelves custom closets
Lots and lots of ceiling lights
Ivory shaker cabinets with crown, quartz (marble look), 36" stainless sink and custom 2" thick barnwood work table (4 x 6) to replace island
We eliminated several doors and one long hallway and added windows
Guest suite (we converted that long hallway into a 13' x 8' sitting room with coffee bar)
NO gray paint anywhere!

We hired a well known NH architect whose style fit our taste to finesse the builder's blueprints and it was worth every penny. We paid her by the hour and ended up happy with all our color/material choices. I would definitely recommend hiring an architect to confirm paint colors, cabinet styles/colors, floor materials/colors and lighting at the very least. She saved us from a few bad mistakes! Cost $2500.

DH and I did the interior design/furniture choices ourselves as we are big into NH antique and vintage (my background). Much of our "new" furniture which we repurposed, artwork, lamps etc were bought at the Restore and Goodwill. Most big pieces are from the 1800's-early 1900's with the most expensive $295 for a 7' tall stepback cupboard and the least $25 for an Eastlake dresser. The thousands we saved on furniture/decor, we spent on permanent fixtures like flooring and the kitchen. Our "miss" was not enough electrical outlets!

We spent many years dreaming about this build so dream on as it CAN happen!

 

[NYCgrrl]

A terrace. It’s the only feature this apt is missing IMO but there are no studios w/ terraces in this building and I don’t like the views from the existing one B/Rs.
More b/r s would only invite long term guests and those days are over.
Oh dear it’s official. I’m becoming my mother

 

[HeatherC]

Sunroom and screened in porch!

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

 

[longboard55]

We did a bathroom model and add a huge amount of drawers and shelves, and by gosh, the mrs has filled them all

 

[Frozenn]

One thing I’d change is the layout of my mudroom—I'd add built-in storage with charging stations and better lighting. I've been pulling ideas from elbosquenosara.com lately; tons of practical layout tips and design ideas that actually make sense for day-to-day life.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

A roof covered patio and an outdoor kitchen of some sort!

 

[TCRAIG]

My house pretty much has everything I’d want (walk in attic, multiple walk in closets in each bedroom, great bathrooms, walk in cedar closet, oversized garage, etc) HOWEVER - I wish I had a secret closet off my dining room to hold all my dishes, serve ware, silver, stemware, etc. Even with a huge china cabinet and buffet in the dining room and china cabinets in each bedroom stuffed full, I have bin after bin in one of my secondary bedroom walk in closets that I’d love to be able to access easier…and I’d love a sunroom or screen porch.
Of course, a magic house that would cook and clean itself would be great as well!

 

[WDWEPCOT]

Fully finished heated and air-conditioned garage with electricity everywhere in the garage and of course it would be with high ceilings deeper three car garage

Outlets on your stairs landings for the love why don’t they do that???

No carpet absolutely none anywhere

This has been mentioned but I agree with that wholeheartedly walk-in closet with built in dressers

Walk in pantry wood shelves

Extra large laundry room with a place to fold laundry including a place to give your dog a bath

Mudroom in the garage before you come into the house

All the bedrooms come with bathroom Plus full size bathroom for guest

 

[Marionette]

A single story house (or at least a ground floor primary). I grew up in a single story and always wished we had two floors but now that I am older, I get it.

 

[bcla]

For the most part I've had to deal with older homes without grounded outlets and with no insulation in the walls. Any newer built home (or addition) is going to require more modern electrical systems and insulation, so it's not going to be anything that would necessarily need to be requested because it's going to be required for any new building permit.

I'd probably want a bigger electrical panel. Maybe prewire for an "electric vehicle supply equipment" (EVSE - or EV charging equipment) and perhaps have a separate heavy duty outlet for a plug in car charger in addition to a "wired-in" system. Also complete wiring throughout the house with CAT6 ethernet cable. I'd probably connect wirelessly, but it could give a bit of flexibility to have different access points in different parts of the house.

 

[barkley]

A single story house (or at least a ground floor primary). I grew up in a single story and always wished we had two floors but now that I am older, I get it.

we lived in a 2 story for 9 months in-between the sale of one house/purchase of another. it taught me I am not a 2 story person (even when I had good knees ). if I had any inclination to own one i learned I would have to ensure it had (1) separate heating and cooling systems and (2) a top floor laundry room.