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Ask HN: What cool things would you add to your home renovation?
Something that might not be a value move but is really amazing and is not something most people would think of? I'm planning a reno and I know there are so many cool things I could do. Looking for inspiration from similar but dissimilar minds.
- toomuchtodo 4y agoCan you share more detail about the reno? That’ll guide suggestions better imho.
- h2odragon 4y agoHidden room, with a subtle if not disguised door. Need not be that big; never know when it'll come in handy. Even a small cabinet sized space may be useful. Depending on how much work you want to put into things all sorts of things may be doable. Fancy stairwell with a fireman's pole is probably a bit ambitious. Stone altar / sacrifice pit with plumbing and chimney can make a wonderful center to a den / conversation area room. Cook hot dogs or heretics with the neighbors.
- chiefalchemist 4y agoA greenhouse, or at least bay windows where possible. That might not be cool to you but I've seen some pretty sexy greenhouses.
- boringg 4y agoHoping to put in a lot of windows on the back side. Agree i do think greenhouses look pretty good. Catch being managing the plants
- type0 4y agoMore the reason to use sensor automation and watering system
- chiefalchemist 4y agoAnd in comes some coolness. Well played. p.s. There are a couple of Greenhouse groups on FB. If you do FB they're worth looking for. I get struck by jealousy and envy at least once per week.
- hitpointdrew 4y agoA sauna, home gym, and an isolation tank.
- gus_massa 4y agoElectric outlets. Electric outlets everywhere. It's the less fancy recommendation here, but you will never regret having too many electric outlets.
- kenrose 4y agoRelated, network jacks. Not one or two, but any place you think you’ll ever need one. It’s much easier to wire these before you have drywall up. I did this in a basement reno at my old place. Square room, had one on each wall plus one in the extra bedroom. No wifi dead zones, Xbox and TV had no latency.
- boringg 4y agoFunny thing about electric outlets. I agree with you however the house we bought has a room with probably 20 outlets in it. Every three feet at bottom and top of room!
- moviewise 4y agoA home movie theater with a large screen, comfortable seating, and quality sound is very nice to have.
- kenrose 4y agoOther things: - tankless water heater - if you want motorized blinds, have wiring go right to the window frame. You can do a battery otherwise, but you’ll have to recharge it every month. - solar cells and battery pack - home automation system (if you’re into that kind of thing) - timer switches on bathroom fans - bathroom fan in your laundry room - hidden safe that’s built in (eg in wall or in floor)
- boringg 4y agoWired motorized sounds nice. Battery powered is a real turn off. Bathroom fan in laundry to get rid of humidity?? Interesting
- baldeagle 4y ago1) Properly diffused air ducting, so there is no 'cold draft' when the system kicks on. 2) Steam shower / wet sauna 3) Security system with home automation to warn of surprising movements before they reach your door 4) small aquaculture setup for fish and veggies 5) solar / battery backup 6) solar water heater 7) whole house fan - when it is hotter inside than outside (front comes through, some weird fall/spring days), it will cycle all the air in the house in 30 minutes 8) dedicated zoom studio with lighting, sound, sound deadening, mic 9) library with sliding ladder.... always seems like the epitome of cool 10) stretch rack in bathroom (https://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-stall-bar-3-0 https://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-stall-bar-3-0) 11) induction cooktop 12) plumbed coffee machine 13) kitchen appliance storage (rotational or other high density method) 14) we added cans through out the halls, kitchen, and dining areas - it made a world of difference and I wish I had done it earlier 15) through wall aquarium
- boringg 4y agoI like this list. Hadn't thought oof steam shower / wet sauna. I always thought about plumbed coffee machine though I figure that would just increase my coffee intake substantially. Though having friends come by for coffee might be nice. What do you mean about cans through the halls kitchen and dining areas?
- baldeagle 4y agohttps://www.homedepot.com/p/ETi-5-in-6-in-Selectable-CCT-Integrated-LED-Recessed-Light-Trim-800-Lumens-3000K-4000K-5000K-Dimmable-4-Pack-53186311-4PK/314504798 https://www.homedepot.com/p/ETi-5-in-6-in-Selectable-CCT-Int...
- hakfoo 4y agoEthernet in every wall imaginable. I want to be able to punch through any random spot of drywall and grab a fistful of Cat 6. If you're playing with dimensions for rooms, a secondary bedroom that's bigger than 3m x 3m is nice; even if you don't want a larger sleeping area, it's a good win as an office or hobby room with fewer compromises. I'd love to see what's the state-of-the-science in terms of insulation. I suspect when you shop for yourself, you can get stuff contractors may not be interested in because it's not lowest bid. Since the market went red-hot, I notice builders are no longer advertising aggressively on how efficient their houses are. I wonder if they switched back to cardboard walls and 7-SEER AC units when they realized they could sell the houses faster than they could build them and no longer had to make anything compelling.
- devilbunny 4y agoEthernet in ceilings, too. AP's in the ceiling would be marvelous. And conduit, conduit, conduit.
- skellyclock 4y agoNothing compares to the wealth of having 25,000 litres of rainwater in a tank in your backyard!
- kumarsw 4y ago1) Turn the basement into a granny flat if it has a separate door. If you live in any metropolitan area you can charge pretty good rent for it. 2) Probably it's starting to get common now, but 240V to the garage in case you want to add an EV charger. 3) 240V in the kitchen if you want to add an induction cooktop or wire in a UK-spec 2kW electric kettle 4) Echoing the people who say to put in wired Ethernet. WiFi sucks if you have a big house, especially one with courtyards meaning long halls and bad signal