While some “must-have” home features and amenities can boost the sale price of a home and increase livability for homeowners, others simply take up space and end up unused. Eliminating extraneous spaces and creating more practical floor plans can save money and square footage, ensuring that every home feature serves a necessary function.
According to Housing Design Matters, that could mean removing details like spacious jacuzzi tubs or neglected breakfast nooks to create more convenient and functional living areas for everyday use.
I started off this inquiry listing the things in my last two houses that I thought would be important when designing our homes. The first house was a custom home built in the 1990. Our second home was a production home that Housing Design Matters designed for one of our clients. My list of non-important features included:
• The bat wing peninsula in the kitchen with the raised 42” bar top.
• The formal dining and living room
• Jacuzzi tub in our bath
• Laundry tub
• Granite counter tops
The bat wing created a U-shaped kitchen – making circulation in and out very limited. It got crowded during meal prep. The 42” bar broke up the usable counter space and required cumbersome bar stools.
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