What Is a Dream Home?
What is a dream home? Is a dream home a “perfect home”? The word, “perfect” is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “Having no mistake or flaw.” Is your dream home a perfect home or the home that only you “dream” of?
Let’s try to determine what your dream home really is. Is it a larger than life luxury home with loads of living area? Is it a cozy cottage on the sea? Maybe it’s a cabin on a mountaintop or possibly a breezy bungalow located on a private island?
Everyone’s Dream Home Is Different
When I recently asked some family members to briefly describe their dream home, their answers were varied and quite surprising to me! What I found from their answers was a dream home not only includes a home but a dream location, too!
The answers also indicate that the ideal dream home is not necessarily the lavish home you see in home magazines but appears to be a practical home that works well or fits for the individual(s) living in it. Here are a few of the answers I received.
- “My dream home is simply a home with plenty of space and a peaceful atmosphere,” said my 70ish aged sister.
- “An open concept home that would be able to seat all of our kids and their families for get-togethers without being too crowded. Also, Steve (husband) wants a basement, and no super close neighbors would be nice too,” said my niece just turning 50.
- “A home with a big garage and a large kitchen that is located near biking and hiking trails,” my 64-year-old hubby described.
- And my mother-in-law, who is in her early 80s, described her ideal home as “A home with a big kitchen, a glassed in sunroom and a small yard. Must be located close to town.”
My Own Dream Home Experience
I have had the unique opportunity to build four dream homes in the past 40 years. They consisted of a 1300 sq. ft. ranch home on a small lot, a 1500 sq. ft. ranch home with basement on a one acre lot, a 2100 sq. ft. ranch home with basement on two hundred acres and a 5500 sq. ft. two-story home with a large interior courtyard on five acres.
It’s funny how, now that I look back, the four homes listed would not be considered my ideal dream home today. Ideally, my dream home today would be a more simplified home with less than 2600 sq feet and a small yard.
So why is my dream home only my dream home for a certain period of time? Is it me or why did my “dream home” preferences change?
Life Changes Us
As we get older, our lifestyle changes and our needs change. The home you may dream of in your 20s is not necessarily the dream home you dream of in your 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond.
I consider the true “dream home” to be the home that fits you at the right time of your life. If your home just does not fit, then it may be time to look for another ideal dream home. And hey, it’s okay if you end up like me with multiple dream homes during your lifetime.
I think it is great if you happen to be one of the few that find their dream home early in life and that home fits you throughout the rest of your life.
I recently had the opportunity to read an obituary of my great-great-grandfather. The last sentence of his obit made me smile. It stated, “Alexander Blair Cathey, died 1916, 90 years old, born and died on the same tract of land.” I suppose he decided that the place he was born fit, and he saw no need for change.
Let’s Have a Conversation:
So, what is your ideal dream home or better yet, dream home(s) over the years? How many dream homes have your lived in? How has your taste in home styles changed over the years? Or are you one of the lucky few where your dream home has remained the same over the years?
Tags Finding Happiness
The dream home bit i believe is just that; a harmless little fantasy. Im 71 and had a complicated (& interesting 🙂) life.
Ive moved house 40 times plus in the same state (Aussie). Currently I moved with my partner to a slightly smaller house, with less garden maintenance, in a quieter area just out of town. I know a few people here already, volunteer at a place i enjoy that saves my sanity. The town gives me a few more service choices and I dont have to drive too far to get what i need.Its far from perfect, but it seems to be the best decision at my stage of life.
For years I used to describe in my big diary what my dream house looked like. Every few years id update my description of my dream house but the basics were always the same. A rustic cottage style house with natural building materials and a wood heater & access to wood nearby. Not too close to neighbours, but good neighbours close by. A verandah out the front where id sit (I imagined myself single), with a chair looking out to green hills. Id have my loyal little dog sitting next to me. A few chooks in the yard, a few herbs and veggies growing, a passionfruit plant etc. Very basic and peaceful.
But it never happened. Through the traumas my life shaped me into who I am now & thats ok. Im safe and I have a roof over my head so I figure im blessed.
My little rustic dream home will stay in my mind and soul & who knows, perhaps when I get to the pearly gates one day ill finally get to live in my dream home..Our creator knows our hearts..
You are so fortunate to have had the opportunity to build your dream houses, even if they did not remain so. I lived most of my life in suburbs of Los Angeles. I tried to ‘escape’, and bought a beautiful 9 1/2 acre parcel of land in foothills outside of Santa Fe, but found it difficult to make a living there, so I returned to the city. The property had a large, comfortable mobile home, which was perfect for what I wanted, since my dream was to design and build a house there. I rented out the place for over 25 years, hoping to at last build when I retired, but the difficult topography would have made it difficult in the coming years, since I had horses to live there, and could only locate them a steep downhill from the homesite. I am still fit, but had to be pragmatic about the future and reduced abilities.
It was a beautiful location, with privacy and views to forever. I can still walk around in that planned house in my mind, and still miss the beauty of living there. I relocated to Tucson, Arizona, north of the city, and am close to the magnificent Catalina mountains, so I am at least close to nature here.