Designing a "Catholic" House

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DebChris said:
…A four bedroom house can fit the needs of most families. What size should the bedrooms be? You will want enough room for two beds in each room. It can be difficult to make beds if they are pushed against the wall. Leave enough space between the bed and the wall for a nightstand plus a dresser between beds…
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A standard twin bed is 75 inches long. Therefore, a room ten feet wide does not allow enough room at the foot of the bed for a dresser on the wall opposite the foot of the bed. Add just one foot to the room, and you add the capacity for much more storage space. (Add a little extra length (about 6 inches) if you know from your family tree that your teenage boys will need extra-long beds by the time they hit high school.)

It is also worth noticing how the placement of windows and doors limits the furniture a room can take. Room height and the presence of ceiling fans will limit whether or not you can have bunk beds. If you take into account that children grow to adult size several years before they move out, it all makes a big difference in your choices about how many siblings you have share a particular room.
 
If I could build my own home, there would be several important elements:

1-four bedrooms. 1 for us, 1 large one for boys, 1 large one for girls, and 1 for a nursery. I agree about making the master bedroom big enough for some sitting space and a crib if possible, but if that is too much, room for a bassinet and a rocker would suffice (it’s what we have in ours). But as long as you are not committed to the family bed, a dedicated nursery would be a wonderful thing. We don’t have one, and we spent many many nights, tiptoeing in our own bedroom for fear of waking our sleeping baby (who had outgrown the bassinet but had nowhere to go but in the crib at the foot of our bed). Our oldest son has had to stay out of his bedroom during naptimes for the last 2.5 years of his life, and night wakings are much more stressful for parents when there is an older child sleeping just a few feet away from the baby/toddler. We have managed without a 4th bedroom, but it is my biggest regret in choosing a house that we didn’t buy one with 4 bedrooms. Also, the idea of putting kids in the basement might become less attractive in the future - dealing with sick or scared kids, keeping them safe from fires, having them better supervised at night, the potential for basement allergies (like mold), are all reasons why I am not willing to move my oldest to the basement, even though he is stuck rooming with his 3yo sister. So the answer really is 4 bedrooms, with 2 of them big enough to hold a bunch of kids. If you end up not needing them for your own kids, you have a guest room, or a play room, or an office/library…
  1. A family room and a living room. I would use one as more of a playroom, and the other as a more neatly kept living room. I would keep the tv in the main area of the house, so that I could supervise the television watching. There are times when the kids want to watch something, but I need to have my hand on the remote for the terrible commercials. This is easier to do if I can still be in the main floor of my home.
  2. A bathroom on the main floor of the house that is not right next to the bedrooms (if you are planning bedrooms on the main floor). It would make it much easier to have guests over at naptime if they could go to the bathroom without me wondering if them slamming the door would wake the napping baby… And again, if this is a ranch, the nursery should not be very close to the front door, for the same reason.
  3. Space for a kitchen table, even if it isn’t a large one - good for rolling pie dough, having a cup of coffee, having a snack etc… I wouldn’t want a “formal” dining room that only got used for special occasions. I like eating in the dining room, but I would want it to have easy access to the kitchen, so we would choose to eat there regularly.
  4. Definitely a Master Bath! It doesn’t have to be huge, just not in the hallway. Also being accessible is really great, especially since you’d like to live there for a long time. We bought our house with the expectation that we would live here forever, and honestly, 10 years later, I still expect that to be true.
  5. “EXTRA”: As a homeschooler, I need a room that can be used as a school room. Our books and supplies take up a lot of space. I also would LOVE a 1st floor laundry - I did not predict how much I would appreciate one when I only had one child, lived in an apartment, and had to go to the laundromat. As my kids get older, I am reminded of how much I liked the homes of my friends who had nice basements. Dh and I keep thinking that we’d like to redo a room in our basement and make it into a more cozy family-room, in large part so that our kids will WANT to hang out at home with their friends, even with younger siblings playing nearby. I am always mindful of supervision though, and would not turn a socializing space into a hidden cave - it would be right at the bottom of the basement stairs…
Have fun planning!
 
I saw this touched on in passing. Consider that you may have disabled family members in the future, either brought to you by accident of birth, age or just plain accident, who cannot handle stairs. That doesn’t necessarily mean only single-story homes, just nothing vital upstairs. (The last house we lived in had one bathroom… upstairs! A bad scene, IMO.) If you go with two story, be sure to have at least one room that can serve as a bedroom downstairs, with a closet. It can be a home office or a study if you don’t need it as a bedroom.
 
No formal dining room is necessary. Make the kitchen bigger and add LOTS of storage. Attached garage should be extra wide and possibly even a 3 or 4 car width adding extra storage space. A deck is a necessity for my house. Master bath. Walk in closets. Multiple sinks in the bathrooms. Big closets. Put heating vents up so you are not hindered by them when placing furniture. Add more outlets than you think you will need. Central vacuum. Bigger water heater than you think. Washing machine near bedrooms. Don’t put washer/dryer in basement.
 
Catholic90 said:
No formal dining room is necessary. Make the kitchen bigger and add LOTS of storage. Attached garage should be extra wide and possibly even a 3 or 4 car width adding extra storage space. A deck is a necessity for my house. Master bath. Walk in closets. Multiple sinks in the bathrooms. Big closets. Put heating vents up so you are not hindered by them when placing furniture. Add more outlets than you think you will need. Central vacuum. Bigger water heater than you think. Washing machine near bedrooms. Don’t put washer/dryer in basement.
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A laundry room on the main floor is at the very top of my list of must-haves when we build a new house in the next few years. We are planning to sell here and move back to the area where we both grew up to live out our senior years. Right now I’m leaning towards a house with a main floor master bedroom and laundry room. We will have a basement in which we plan to put two large bedrooms for when our children and grandchildren visit.
 
EasterJoy said:
A standard twin bed is 75 inches long. Therefore, a room ten feet wide does not allow enough room at the foot of the bed for a dresser on the wall opposite the foot of the bed. Add just one foot to the room, and you add the capacity for much more storage space. (Add a little extra length (about 6 inches) if you know from your family tree that your teenage boys will need extra-long beds by the time they hit high school.)

It is also worth noticing how the placement of windows and doors limits the furniture a room can take. Room height and the presence of ceiling fans will limit whether or not you can have bunk beds. If you take into account that children grow to adult size several years before they move out, it all makes a big difference in your choices about how many siblings you have share a particular room.
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My 4 brothers were in high school at about the same time. Each of them was about 6 ft. tall upon graduation and weighed over 200 lbs. Yes, they were football players and I remember 3 of them sharing a room. For a short period of time I shared my room with both of my younger sisters.
inthekitchen said:
I saw this touched on in passing. Consider that you may have disabled family members in the future, either brought to you by accident of birth, age or just plain accident, who cannot handle stairs. That doesn’t necessarily mean only single-story homes, just nothing vital upstairs. (The last house we lived in had one bathroom… upstairs! A bad scene, IMO.) If you go with two story, be sure to have at least one room that can serve as a bedroom downstairs, with a closet. It can be a home office or a study if you don’t need it as a bedroom.
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While I like a two story house, I agree that possible disability needs to be considered. The downstairs bedroom can serve as an office/library as well as the guest room. It can be where grandparents stay or family members who have grown up and returned.
An interesting concept in the South is the mother-in-law house, a small cottage attached to the main house.
Privacy can be a concern. Monasteries and convents have an area that is off limits to visits. A home will also generally have areas, such as upstairs bedrooms which are for family members only (of course a babysitter would have access).
I like a formal dining area that is separated from the kitchen by at least a bar or wall with pass through. I don’t necessarily want others to see any mess that might be in the kitchen. A dining table can also be a good place to conduct business.
I agree with those who suggest a ground floor, rather than basement, laundry area. It was my mother who reminded me how important this can be. Stairs can be dangerous when carrying clothes up and down, especially when they are wet. Our washer/dryer, except when we lived in double quarters, were in the kitchen. With the double quarters, they were in the second kitchen. I have seen designs for spacious laundry rooms that include a sewing area and ironing board. Laundry, whether folding clothes or ironing is one chore I admit I prefer to do while watching television.
Both of my parents commented on lawn size. You will want the largest part of your lawn behind the house where children can play, rather than the front. The backyard is also where you want the garden if you have one. I remember our house having a small backyard. We also had a side yard that was concealed from the street by a brick wall. Don’t plant trees and shrubs too close to the house where they don’t have room to grow and can cause future root problems.
 
maryjk said:
It is beautiful.

I am guessing that some are reading “home altar” and thinking “altar at home.” You know big, marble, elevated… :eek:

A home altar is like a prayer corner. I don’t know that there needs to be much planning when building a house to include a home altar.
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LOL. That made me laugh. xD
 
I’m always telling my husband I want a house with a quiet room to pray 🙂 I think that would be a GREAT start 🙂
 
I love the idea of a room with a door so it can be quiet in there. Lots of light, a stained glass window, seating, perhaps some shelving for books…
 
camerong said:
I had hoped of having three bedrooms (including the master) on the main floor, and if God blesses us with enough children, we can finish the basement and add several more down there for the older kids.
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Just keep in mind your local building and safety codes. Many of them require two forms of egress from bedrooms in case of fire, and when they’re in a basement, you don’t always have the option of a window.
 
Kerry77 said:
I love the idea of a room with a door so it can be quiet in there. Lots of light, a stained glass window, seating, perhaps some shelving for books…
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a simple stereo system for inspirational music, a nice area rug…
 
Not that this would help with building a home… I have always dreamed of converting a small church into a home.

Growing up we had an old church pew in our living room.
 
ChildofGod2091 said:
I’m always telling my husband I want a house with a quiet room to pray 🙂 I think that would be a GREAT start 🙂
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Kerry77 said:
I love the idea of a room with a door so it can be quiet in there. Lots of light, a stained glass window, seating, perhaps some shelving for books…
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Where would you put your chapel if you included it in your plans?
I currently live in an apartment where the first room off the entry is my bedroom. Instead of putting my holy water font inside my room to use as I exit, I placed it just outside my room. I really like it there. It can be used as I enter my apartment, or as I leave.
I was thinking how this could work for a home chapel. The chapel could be placed in a small room just off the entry. Like a sitting room, it need not be much larger than a walk-in closet. There would be two doors so that a person could walk through the chapel to the rest of the house, perhaps inviting one to prayer as he/she walks by the altar. With its easy access, the chapel could become a place of family prayer.
I see how a person could walk through the chapel to the dining area, or even the home office. Walk through the office/dining area and around into the kitchen which opens to the living area. I would still place a wall between the living area and kitchen, leaving room for a pass through.
Just a passing thought.
 
Practical suggestion that your contractor will probably recommend anyway:

On-demand water heater(s). They provide unlimited hot water without the storage requirement. Have been in use in Europe for decades, we are just now getting up to speed on them. For a larger family I think they would be indispensable.

This is a wonderful thread!

👍
 
I can’t believe no one has recommended this blog:

eccdom.blogspot.com/

You might have to go thru their archives, since the house is already built, but it was built for a Catholic family in mind. I really love their thoughtfulness and design ideas.
 
triumphguy said:
It sounds like a great project, and it’s sure making you think about faith, spirituality and the family.

I agree with the big kitchen - maybe include a pantry so you keep your home canned food! (this would combine frugality, home grown fruit/veggies, and working together as a family in the growing and canning process!)

So I would make sure I could have a fruit and veg garden, and also an area for chickens and a chicken coop - the more food you can grow and produce at home the better in my mind!

No phone, internet or cable hook-ups in bedrooms!👍
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I would take issue with the “no phone” in bedrooms. For reasons of safety - calling 911 if needed in the middle of the night, for example - it is imperative to have a phone handy. At the very least, keep a cell phone close by.
 
Holy water fonts beside the outside doors, statues of Jesus and the Saints, crucifixes above all the doors, holy pictures on the walls.
 
mamaharper said:
Holy water fonts beside the outside doors, statues of Jesus and the Saints, crucifixes above all the doors, holy pictures on the walls.
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As a military family that moved often, the way my youngest brother knew we were home is when my mother hung the Last Supper in the living room with The Angelus.
The advantage of hanging crucifixes above doors, rather than above beds is their visibility. Doors don’t move, while furniture may be rearranged.
The holy water font by a child’s bedroom door can be of the Saint the child was named after. Of course, that might not be such a good idea if rooms are shared. In any case every child should have a statue of his/her namesake.
 
I’m curious to know if you’ve finished building your home yet? How’d it turn out?

D.
 
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