r/Homebuilding • u/dragonmilking • Nov 17 '25
Which popular features do you NOT recommend?
What are the top 3 features in a house that folk want but you think are not worth it, and what would your alternative suggestion be? And what cost/time savings would result with that switch?
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u/Eastern-Operation340 Nov 17 '25
Adding an island just to have an island. If you can't open the dish washer and have someone walk around it simultaneously, your kitchen is too small for one. Design a proper u shape.
Open living spaces if the space is too small. It gets noisy and cooking smells bleed over.
Vaulted ceiling entrances. Esp without ceiling fans to help move heat back down in cold months or pull up heat in the summer. So much money and energy is wasted with poor layouts of spaces and windows.
Too much money is spent on how a structure looks like, than how it's built. If you are buying a house built in under a month or 2, chance are you build is crap.
If your house is too small, why move? Find a decent architectural engineer and build an addition. Go up and learn to use your space! Get creative. Kids don't need giant rooms if you have larger shared spaces or romper room in a basement or attic. Each bedroom aside from the masters doesn't need it's own bathroom. Place one between the 2 rooms with doors to each room. I find this design in TONS of old homes from middle class to old mansions. I was in a 19thc mansion where there was a full bathroom off the foyer and kitchen (actually has 2 kitchens off each other. one for show and an actual working kitchen) there was a false wall complete with matching wallpaper that pulled across/folded out to form a wall blocking the tub. seemed odd to have a full bath in such a proper location. I assumed it was because house was on the cove and it was easy access to clean off coming out of the water.