Housing Life Cycle

Housing Life Cycle

This week in Interior Design we talked about the Housing Life Cycle.  We also talked about the different physical and psychological needs a house must have for people to remain in it.  The 5 physical needs a house must satisfy are food, safety, place to sleep, storage, and shelter.  The 4 psychological needs a house must meet are Love & belonging, privacy, identity, creativity, and fun/relaxation/comfort.  Lack of any of these needs would be inadequate housing.  The life cycle is a progression through a series of  different stages of development.  At these different stages, housing is very important.  Obviously when you're young you don't really realize how housing applies to the life cycle.  When you get older, you realize that there are certain kinds of houses that would need to fit your lifestyle at the time.  For example, when you get married and have kids you're going to need enough rooms for your kids to live in, and enough space for them to play around.  On the other hand, when you become a grandparent/senior citizen, you might want to downsize because it will just be you and your spouse living in the home.

My first house is actually a condo, located in Duluth, MN.  I'm thinking about going to college at UMD, so if I could find a job in that area after college, I could live here.  I'm guessing I will either be living by myself, or with one other person.  This condo has 2 bedrooms and 2 baths so it would be just the right size.  My budget for my first house is $200,000, and this condo would come out to be $199,000.  Although this is cutting it close, it is a very nice condo and has a great view of Lake Superior.

My second house is located in Annandale, MN.  It's located on Sylvia lake, and that is a big selling point for me because I've always wanted to live on a lake.  It has 3 beds and 2 baths, in case I was thinking about starting a family.  My budget for this house is 525,000, and this house costs 519,000.  The kitchen in this house is very outdated, but that can always be fixed.  The house itself is a little outdated, but it is very spacious which I really liked.  There is also lots of natural light in the bedrooms and living rooms.

My third house is located in Rogers, MN.  It will fit my personal needs at this age because it has 4 beds and 3 baths for my family, and it is very spacious.  I liked this house because it seemed big enough for my family and I, and it also seems like not much has to updated.  I love the kitchen in this house, and I like how there's lots of room in the basement to add furniture and decorations.  This house is only $434,500, and my budget was $631,999.  Although the overall cost of my house was a lot lower than my budget, I like it this way so I will be able to update anything in this house that needs to be updated.  I could also finish the basement, and add furniture.

Overall I think all of these houses would fit just fine to my lifestyle at these designated ages, and it was interesting to go house hunting for the first time.

Blog Review

By: Taylor Boraas

      This week in Interior design we were viewing different types of Interior design Blogs.  We picked out three different blogs that stuck out to us for a few reasons.  I think Interior Designers would choose to have a blog because employers prefer to hire people with a positive online influence.  A regularly updated site can get many people hooked on your new posts, and what you're up to.  It's also a way to get all of your projects/things out there.  A blog is also a cool thing to have because you can get feedback from others.  Usually they're listening to what you have to say, but occasionally someone will be trying to help you.
 The first blog I visited was  Houzz.  I enjoyed this site because there were pictures that truly amazed me.  There were outdoor pools, stone paths with beautiful bonfire pits, and patio sets to match that I thought were really cool.  I loved the modern feel to most of the rooms, but it still wasn't to edgy or over the top.  I just loved the way that these rooms were set up, and the colors that were used in these designs.  Adi and Alon created this site, as a place to browse and save beautiful home photos.  A place to find the right design and construction professionals.  Houzz started as a side project, but has become a community of more than 35 million homeowners, designers, and home improvement professionals across the world.

The second blog I visited was Desire to Inspire.  On this sight they had very modern looking houses.  I like the "clean" feel to these houses because I don't like clutter everywhere.  There's also a lot of natural light to all of the living room spaces which I really like.  I think there should be lots of natural light all throughout the home.  Some of the wallpaper and decorations they use in the photos on this website aren't exactly my style, but I think the way the designers placed them looks
great.  On this sight designers comment below their own pictures describing the meaning of their set up.



The final blog I visited was iCreatived.  I liked this website because it portrayed lots of new ideas people wouldn't really think of at first.  Some of them are a little weird, but I think it's cool to see all these pictures of new ideas people have.  The pictures of different houses all have weird, warped shapes, and the different rooms sometimes combine something old with something new.  The art and decorations on the walls are all very different and "out there" which is interesting to me.




Out of these three sites, my favorite has to be Houzz.  (If I ever had enough money to afford these things) I could definitely see my self wanting the rooms in my house to look similar to some of the pictures on this site.  I loved the furniture and different colors that were used on these model homes.
A trend I noticed between Desire to Inspire and iCreatived was the push to always have the most new and improved look.  They wanted people to have things that are different, and original.

                                       

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