8
During my remod I wired all of the rooms in the house with 2x Cat6 and 2x coax. Also used ABS pipes in the wall to allow my receiver/amps to be located in the corner while the cables come out behind the wall mounted TV.
7
Philips Hue bulbs in all the lamps that don’t have easily accessible switches. Combined with motion sensors, remote switches, scheduling and app and voice control for convenience.
Front door smart lock. Never have to remember house keys again.
A gas lift bed. You can never have too much storage.
A self-emptying robovac.
Wall mounted TVs and wall mounted entertainment unit below them with conduit in the walls to hide cables.
6
I’ve worked large hidden storage locations into every area of the house. All are in plain sight and easily accessible, but nobody has ever found one. Every remodeling project I undertake includes at least one new clever hiding place.
5
A friend has sensor lights at foot level in hallways so you have enough light to move about without needing brighter overheads. I also stayed at a place that has tiny sensor LEDs set into the entryway and bathroom floors, so you had some light when you enter the apartment and enough light for a middle of the night loo visit. I so want something similar on my staircases.
4
I made a layered photoshop file of everything i knew about my house. Background layer was property lines & layout of house. Followed by this(each on its own layer):
Location of all switches, plugs & circuit breaker to cut them off. HVAC ducts routing & vent locations. Plumbing lines, sewer lines. Ethernet. Irrigation. Etc etc
It was my master document for the house. I was there15 years old, this saved me HOURS of frustration around every corner.
3
When we first bought our house, a bunch of the lights that had dual switches weren’t synced – so “off” was one switch up, one down. I changed all of them to be in sync – my partner couldn’t care less and doesn’t even notice, but it drove me crazy.
I also moved a bunch of switches around within the switch boxes, so all our bathrooms (which have three switches, for vanity lights, overhead lights, and fan) have their switches in the same order. Other multi-switch boxes now have the switches closest to the lights they control so it’s a little easier to remember which switch controls which lights.
Finally, I bought a kit with a remote and outlet plugs, so I can turn all the living room lights on and off at once (not smart outlets, because I want guests and pet sitters to be able to control them too). Cost like $50 for a set with five outlets and I use it at least once a day – much better than going around to five lamps to turn them on and off
2
I replaced strategic ally placed electric wall outlets with the ones that have a USB charging port built into them. The kitchen, bedrooms, and the den so that you can plug your cell phone into charge wherever the hell you want to. Anything that charges on a USB port can simply be plugged into the wall outlet now.
1
I have lived in three homes where I ran the wires through the walls from the wall mounted TV to the entertainment stand underneath it. I’ve done it three different ways now.
I saw where someone ran a piece of downspout (for the rain gutters on the outside of a house) from their heater vent in the basement up through the floor and under the tub to make it warm in the winter months.
