1. "I own a 100-year-old house with original accordion-style radiators. My handyman volunteered to tear them out and install baseboard heating. That, to me, is utterly crazy. The vintage radiators add to the character. Why would I destroy a century-old home with baseboard heating? Ick!"
2. "Dining rooms that can seat a family for holiday meals. Today's dining rooms can accommodate four or, at most, six people. At least eight people should be able to sit comfortably, with enough space to move chairs back without hitting a wall or a china cabinet."
3. Bring back medicine cabinets in bathrooms! Newer homes no longer do this, so your bathroom counter becomes packed with everything you would normally keep stowed away."
4. "Sleeping porches! The perfect spot for an afternoon siesta while enjoying a lovely breeze and birdsong!"
5. "I just want homes designed to last again—back when roofs lasted more than 5-10 years, and everything wasn't cheap and had to be updated. Homes made of sturdy wood and masonry that could resist the elements.
6. "Mudrooms that have boot scrapers just outside the door, and boot driers to dry boots and gloves."
7. "Parlors." When I was a little boy, our neighbor had a room she called a parlor. She had her wonderful furnishings, as well as all of her particular belongings and pictures.
8. "A mail slot in the front door or adjacent to it."
9. "A partition separates the kitchen and living room! I despise eating while staring at the sink, dishes, and pans on that awkward dining shelf thing! I'd rather have additional kitchen cabinet space on that wall. You can also arrange living room furniture on the other side and display pictures/art on it."
10. "Big 'heart of the home' kitchens, especially with pantries, are extremely hard to find these days, save in very costly homes where they are unlikely to be used. Most residences built in recent decades have pitiful, cramped kitchens with no room to operate or store items. They are almost like an afterthought. Worst of all, there's the open-concept kitchen, which is just a little nook with appliances, a few cabinets, and possibly an island in the corner of a large space. I believe that the desire to be healthy, along with the high cost of living, is driving more people to cook at home, meal prep, and buy in bulk. The way dwellings are built is really difficult."
11. "Return all closets: linen, cleaning, coats, utility, laundry, bathroom, game/craft, office, etc. Every room should have a storage area."
12. "Homes used to have a reasonable-sized laundry room. Where am I supposed to keep a mop, broom, and vacuum when all I have is a 5'x5' mudroom that's already half-occupied by a washing and dryer?"
13. "Bread boards in the smaller kitchens. I had one before remodeling. Very handy!"
14. "Beds built into the wall."
15. "Large, covered backyard patios. They are lovely, shady areas in hot countries like where I reside (no screens required because there are no biting insects).
16. "Large, symmetrical windows. Homes now appear pixelated, with random windows of various sizes in odd locations — particularly when numerous roof pitches are layered — yet there is still a spacious, open floor layout inside. Like, what? I used to visit a website maintained by an architect who was simply blogging about this mayhem, and now I can't unsee it! It's like'status over function' for the exterior of the property. A home. It's intended to function."
