Unusual House Features

audi02

Hi All,
Were in the middle of drawing up plans for a new house and was just wondering has anyone and ideas of different of unusual features or designs. Want something different in it that'll stand out just donno what. Something with a "wow" factor. Any ideas greatly appreciated.
Thanks..

paddy147

audi02 wrote: »

Hi All,
Were in the middle of drawing up plans for a new house and was just wondering has anyone and ideas of different of unusual features or designs. Want something different in it that'll stand out just donno what. Something with a "wow" factor. Any ideas greatly appreciated.
Thanks..

Build a large fish tank into a wall that divides the likes of the dinning area and the living area.

I nearly did that myself,but ended up opting for 2 large free standing fish tanks and building recessed sliding doors into the wall instead.:)


For your hallway,go full height from ground up to roof level and install a large rooflight.

audi02

The fish tank is a good idea but donno about the cleaning of it for the rest of my life!!! But with regards to the hallway that would be a great idea and it has entered my head but some people think its awful hard to heat the hallway then?!?

paddy147

audi02 wrote: »

The fish tank is a good idea but donno about the cleaning of it for the rest of my life!!! But with regards to the hallway that would be a great idea and it has entered my head but some people think its awful hard to heat the hallway then?!?

Large fish tanks are easy to keep.As they actually kind of keep themselves.The larger the better.

A 20% water change evert 2-3 weeks or so,and you will be grand.


As for heating the house and hallway......Not if the house is well insualted at build stage.:)

audi02

Well was doing a bit of routing through boards this evening and found some ideas from other threads from years ago, I know there not wow things or anything but even things like this will help us with the design and stuff:

A larder/pantry in Kitchen: would anyone who has put one in recommend it??
Wall hanging toilets and sinks: I think these are a great idea, anyone have them and what do they think? Is there a weight restriction as to who can sit on it??Dont want it falling off the wall!
Laundry chute: Again another very good idea, wouldnt have been something to enter my head but was discussing it with the other half and it could work very good for us in our house.
Pull out ironing board: Would be very handy in the utility. Again does anyone have these? Are they handy?
Killswitch at front/back door: Didnt even know such a thing existed as were always going around turning off switches. Any thoughts on these?
Surround sound systems: would anyone recommend them?
Working the heating and lighting from our mobiles: Anyone with any info on this would be greatly appreciated as we work away from home alot this would be extremely handy.
Alcove on the landing: someone had a pic up of an alcove built into the wall on the landing, this could be a really nice feature if done properly.
@ Paddy147 the fishtank idea: The more I think about it and discussed it with OH it sounds like a brilliant idea, and I'm sure ya wouldnt have to keep fish in it if ya didnt want it'd still be a lovely feature.
Big Utility: Alot of people we talk to recommend having a good big utility, especially if its a place for separating rubbish etc aswell.
Attic of sunroom: A cousin of mine recommended using the attic of the sunroom as storage. They've done it in their house, as the attic of the sunroom is level with their bedroom upstairs they made a small enterance to it in through there walk in wardrobe. So handy for stoage,its amazing the amount of room in there.
Velux windows in Kitchen: Gives great light into a kitchen, but again I know someone who done it and the sun shone straight down on the island in the kitchen, under this island was there bin so this resulting in bad smells from the heat! Only a simple thing to adjust i know but its handy to know these things!!
Another simple thing that was pointed out ot us was having a letterbox on a front door, can cause draughts, gets broken etc.
Geothermal heating/ wood pellet burners: Anyone have any info on these? Havent heard much good reviews on geo thermal?? Is solar power the best way to go?
Again as paddy147 said about the enterance hall, love the idea of this also and with plenty of insulation I dont think it should be hard heat it? Anyone have hallways to that effect that they'd change?
Glass blocks: Has anyone any ideas how we could incorporate them?? I was thinking maybe a curved shower wall in the en suite or something?
Walk in wardrobes: In the master bedroom we would like our design to have it so that there could be a little corridor which would lead you to the walk in wardrobe first and then threw to the en suite. Would this result in our clothes getting damp from the steam? Or would it be good to reduce the noise from the shower?
Finally, Stone fireplaces: again I think there a nice feature, anone else have thoughts?

Anyone else eith any other info/ideas/tips?? Or any pics available as I love seeing other peoples ideas and designs.
Would greatly appreciate every bit we get, we're completely new to this building craic so we've alot to learn.

Thanks.
audi02.

L1979

I have a wall hung loo and handbasin, in my main bathroom. Makes for very easy cleaning. Didnt read anything about weight restrictions when i installed the loo, but you will probably reverse very slowly on your your first couple of approachs! The loo ends up a little more expensive because you need to build in a mounting frame, approx €200, but the concealed cistern is more aesthetically pleasing.

You could also consider wall mounted tapes, above basin. Ideal Standard do a pretty extensive range and are quite reasonable and very good quality, for all.

antoinolachtnai

One thing I would do is putting in a pretty big wet room shower beside a big window (mostly frosted if you are shy)! It could be an outside menu, or indoors. If you do this right, you can actually save money, because you don't need a glass shower screen.

I would not use glass blocks myself? Why would you when you can get a pvc double-glazed window for a couple of hundred euros? Just my view.

Now, if you are putting one of these on the first floor, you have to be sure it is really done right.

audi02

L1979 wrote: »

I have a wall hung loo and handbasin, in my main bathroom. Makes for very easy cleaning. Didnt read anything about weight restrictions when i installed the loo, but you will probably reverse very slowly on your your first couple of approachs! The loo ends up a little more expensive because you need to build in a mounting frame, approx €200, but the concealed cistern is more aesthetically pleasing.

You could also consider wall mounted tapes, above basin. Ideal Standard do a pretty extensive range and are quite reasonable and very good quality, for all.

Thanks for your help..these are all things were really gonna have to start considering now. Would love to have them in every bathroom which would mean 4 bathrooms, and the fact that it makes cleaning alot easier nearly sells them to me straight away but at the end of the day its our budget that will decide!

audi02

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

One thing I would do is putting in a pretty big wet room shower beside a big window (mostly frosted if you are shy)! It could be an outside menu, or indoors. If you do this right, you can actually save money, because you don't need a glass shower screen.

I would not use glass blocks myself? Why would you when you can get a pvc double-glazed window for a couple of hundred euros? Just my view.

Now, if you are putting one of these on the first floor, you have to be sure it is really done right.

Where we want these glass blocks we wont have the option of having it beside a window..good idea though! But with regards to the glass blocks vs pvc door, if glass blocks are done correctly they can come out really well, if you google images of them it'll give a better idea. But as you stated,will be on a first floor so extra caution will be taken!!!

R0C

I've always fancied the idea of a big fish tank as a partian between rooms also or building one into the wall of a master bedroom but having priced large fishtanks previously, I've been frightened off the idea for now.

I saw the most amazing pyramid shaped light box/glass-roof above the kitchen in a friend's house a few years ago, he was an architect and designed it himself. It really looked spectacular in what would've otherwise been a fairly dark kitchen due to large trees all around his site.

I know of an Irish company that do heating control via an iPhone or Android app so you can control the temperature of your home when you are away from it, I am not in any way affiliated with them and haven't used their product (yet) so can't tell you if it's good/bad but I'll pm you a link to their website as I'm not sure if I'm allowed to link here.

paddy147

Regarding the fish tank or tanks......heres what we did.

500 litre Discuss tank and 350 litre marine tank (custom made to our measurements).

Lots and lots on indoor palm plants too,these add a great feel to a house and also make a nice feature in their own unique way.

Insulate the feck out of the house and you wont have to worry about heating bills.I got the house completely internaly insulated with 80mm thermal board and had both attic spaces spray foamed with bio-foam 800 open cell and the heat retention is unreal.:D

Get a solid fuel stove installed.

If you are getting velux windows fitted then also invest in thermal blackout blinds as these will keep heat in at night (these really do work).

Solar powered or motorised are the way to go,if the velus windows are out of easy reach.:)

Also go for a solar hot water install if the budget allows for it.
Our solar syatem works day and night and gives us instant hot water (55 degrees C) throughout the house.Huge big rainfall shower in the ensuite,and its bliss.

Trust me on these things.I did it and its the best thing that I ever did with the house (bar the fish tanks).




Dont be afraid to mix and match colours in the house and the rooms.Again,thats what we did and it worked out very well.We did the painting ourselves.Every rom in the house has at least 2 different colours in it,kitchen has 3...... (my girlfriend did 99% of the painting if Im honest).

One thing that my friends and my girlfriend seem to really like is the front porch.When the builder was building it,my mate (who is a stained glass expert) came up with a rather nice and unique stained glass design for the front and side porch windows.

The window frames were custom made to suit the porch size and design.
Then the stained glass units were hand made with lots of hand cut stained glass pieces,and they are also A -Rated tripple glazed units too.A nice and unique feature.




If anyone wants any more pics,or wants to ask any questions then just ask away.:)

paddy147

Oh and dont forget the front garden,as thats the 1st thing you will see (and other people will see) as they come up to your house.

My girlfriend designed and built our garden on her own from scratch and she did a cracking job of it.Really suits the house and our style.

Remember,a garden is also part of a house,and a house can be part of a garden too.

Mollyd90

+1 on the solar panels... best thing we installed
+1 on a solid fuel stove, we have stonefireplace with a beam mantlepiece and everyone comments on it

a friend has a a conservatory with timber panelling on the ceiling up into the arch - (hope that makes sense) with a ceiling fan. it looks very well

another friend has a long kitchen with a dining area to the left and at the end of the kitchen they have a granite framed arch with two steps down into their living room, they have a big high ceiling with beams. they have a big solid fuel stove and it heats to whole area. looks fantastic.

make sure your ensuite is big enough, whats the point of having a tiny room that you have to tip toe around that you use every day.

also on a practial side of things, a house with loads of rooms jutting out of it is a lot more expensive to build and also harder to heat. a builder friend told me before that just a bay window on a house adds 5k to the cost of building it- not sure how accurate that is though.

We also have black windows and doors on the outside and they are white on the inside

audi02

Thanks for all ye're suggestions and thanks paddy147 for the pictures. They def give me a better idea of what you mean now. Were def going for solid fuel stoves as the heat out of the one we currently have is great, and solar panels are drawn into our plans at the min. We were undecided about geo thermal but heard bad things on it over the weekend and was told to stay away from it?! Velux windows are also included in our plans so will def keep them blinds in mind. My parents have velux windows aswell and are very happy with them. But another couple told us they have them in upstairs rooms and with a baby in a room with a velux window resulted in them moving downstairs as the child couldnt sleep with the noise! Ye're house looks fab paddy147, garden came out really well too! Thats the least of my worries at the moment though!!!