Trends: what women want in a condo

I know the article didn't say it was the same; it's just the fact that there's more dogs than children that I commented on. It's something, that is hard for me to understand, that so many people have dogs. Hey, at least I don't jump up on a table if a dog comes into a room I am in, as did my grandmother, but that might give you a hint as to how I was socialized regarding animals.
I grew up in a walkable community, with sidewalks and several villages where kids could walk to. I walked to school and rode my bike to stores. I now live in a town with 2 walkable centers, but I am just far enough away that it's a stretch for me to walk for errands, etc (3.8 miles). In fact, I do most of my errands in the next town, which is actually closer. Both of these areas are easily biked to, though. This is why, when we downsize, it will be in walking distance of one of these areas. I do like the small town atmosphere of the store people knowing me, after so many years of living in the horrible suburbs of the southwest and south.

I find this sentence from the article puzzling:

"To target the female market, one condo project under way in Mississauga has designed suites with a washroom that is accessible through the walk-in closet, Skicki says."

I cannot fathom why anyone, male or female, would want this.

Ha!!! I missed that. The weirdest of several very weird things about my house is that the walk-in closet is accessed through the master bathroom. We deal with it, but it's frankly gross, never mind exposing the clothes to humidity from showers.

My next door neighbors' house is nearly identical to ours, but one of the few differences is that the door to their walk-in closet is in the wall it shares with the master bedroom, next to the bathroom door. So we have more wall space in the master bedroom for a large painting, but they have the sensible arrangement.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Ha!!! I missed that. The weirdest of several very weird things about my house is that the walk-in closet is accessed through the master bathroom. We deal with it, but it's frankly gross, never mind exposing the clothes to humidity from showers.

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Our house in FL had this too. And the top was open both to the bathroom and to the bedroom (high vaulted ceilings but only 9 ft walls) so not only did steam go everywhere, but getting ready quietly while the other person slept was totally impossible! I really disliked it.

Why would anyone choose that set up?

That's...strange. Never lived anywhere where that was the set-up, but that doesn't sound appealing at all.

Or maybe we're all overly practical.

I've seen a lot of houses with that design, and our house in Miami had that in my parents' bedroom. It does seem silly and with the humidity in Florida, not too practical.

My parents' house has that configuration as well. (Monster house out in the burbs) But the bathroom is large enough that you would have to be in the shower for a very long time for steam to build up enough to make it to the closet. I think if you have the space it can make a certain amount of sense ... clothes are right there after coming out of the bath.

I've also heard about people starting to put W/D in their master suites as well. Other than the noise, if you can deal with drainage and venting properly, this probably makes a certain amount of sense too. Totally eliminates the need to haul laundry up and down the stairs.

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Originally Posted by NbyNW

I've also heard about people starting to put W/D in their master suites as well. Other than the noise, if you can deal with drainage and venting properly, this probably makes a certain amount of sense too. Totally eliminates the need to haul laundry up and down the stairs.

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I have friends who have houses set up like that, and I sometimes really wish I had it as my laundry maybe wouldn't pile up in one location or another if those locations were closer. :) Then I remember 3 yrs ago when the hose to my washer ruptured while I was sleeping, and I'm glad that only one of the 3 floors were ruined by it. Pros and cons I suppose. I'd definitely do what my sister in law does if I had the W/D on the top floor, I'd shut the water off to the washer after every use. :)

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Originally Posted by Possegal

laundry maybe wouldn't pile up in one location or another

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I do <3 my laundry chute. It still piles up until the next sunny day, but it piles up in "another" location. ;)

Oh yeah, I miss that! We had one in the house I was raised in. Who realized then that it would be something I missed so much. But then our clean laundry had a tendency to pile up on our pool table. So it seems perhaps my only real solution - teach the cats to do laundry. And honestly, my big male cat is always bringing dirty laundry up a flight of stairs from the laundry room to the living room or kitchen. Why can't he wash it first, then bring it up 2 flights to the bedroom? That isn't too much to ask, right? :)

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Originally Posted by Possegal

I have friends who have houses set up like that, and I sometimes really wish I had it as my laundry maybe wouldn't pile up in one location or another if those locations were closer. :) Then I remember 3 yrs ago when the hose to my washer ruptured while I was sleeping, and I'm glad that only one of the 3 floors were ruined by it. Pros and cons I suppose. I'd definitely do what my sister in law does if I had the W/D on the top floor, I'd shut the water off to the washer after every use. :)

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We put the laundry closet upstairs at our summer house. The floor is tiled, and up 6" on the walls. There is a slight slope to the floor leading to a drain. It's sort like setting the washer and dryer in a small bathtub. So if there is ever a leak, the water is contained and directed to a drain into the whole house drains.

On the other hand, if you have to service the washer or dryer and be able to pull it out, well you do have to lift it up over the curb to access the back panels. It's not easy but it's do-able.

I've never lived in a place with the bathroom walkthrough into a walk-in closet (then into bedroom and vice versa). Better to have bathroom and washer-dryer outside of the bedroom without any walkthrough.

Having a walk-in closet is nice ...except for mine the ceiling filters have to be changed, which means hauling 90% of clothing out to make sure dust doesn't fall... :( A tarp isn't going to protect this completely.

What seems to becoming more precious is a straightforward, walk-in storage closet in the newer condo buildings. The big thing now seems to high end, steel finish fridge, stove and dishwasher, etc. Though not an absolute necessity for me, having a dishwasher is nice. I lived in an apartment for 5 months where I had to do the dishes by hand....which got awful boring and made cooking (to me) more of a chore. I normally like cooking.

I have a dishwasher. I never use it, because it's old and does a terrible job of cleaning anything. By the time I've "pre-washed" everything, I may as well just wash it by hand and save the extra electricity. What I would give for a nicer (preferably gas) stove (but electric oven) though...

I don't want a walk-in closet. What I find more useful is to have a large storage closet/pantry for things like groceries, mops etc. I had one in the apartment condo that I lived in for more than 20 years, but at first it wasn't that useful because it was long and narrow with a narrow door at one end. We remodelled it to have a large door in the center, shelves from floor to ceiling either end, and hooks for hanging things in the middle. Then we remodelled the kitchen to make it more useable... and then moved out not long after that.
That place was on the ground floor - actually about 18" below ground. I designed a set of removable steps leading up to the patio door and my husband built them. I actually kind of miss the place, although the condo board drove me up the wall at times and I wanted more space to garden. One advantage of a ground floor condo is that you often have a little space to put a few flowers in if you are inclined that way.

If I live by myself, I don't want to be living at a ground level. Not in a big city. But then, I don't want to way high up in the clouds, which we are in Vancouver....33 floors up. A fire drill is kind of drag....all that walking. And I take fire a real possibility because it did happen in Toronto when I lived on 4th floor and there was a fire above me. Smoke was coming through the air vents...believe me, it's a scary feeling. Thankfully I booted down the stairs.