Rant: PSA to builders, housewives, and general complaint

When we moved from NY to Texas, our original goal was a minimalist modern design- did not exist without a custom build that would have cost big money. A lot of expensive "modern" houses in town are just boxes that are cheaply made, with IKEA like finishes for a few mill plus. We wound up in a Victorian Queen Anne that had been restored by a preservationist over the course of 20 years- the quality of construction is unparalleled --

Though the house is "historic" downstairs- upstairs it is more like a modern loft and that’s where I put the main system. We put a small "home theatre" (flat screen) in the downstairs front parlor. On the TV mounting, my wife found an old heavy artist's easel- thing weighs about 200 lbs- made of oak. It required only minor repair- and the TV got mounted to the easel using a standard mount. It looks good, and is very sturdy. 

I guess my experience, wherever you are house shopping, is to get the feeds from the multilist from your broker (good to have a buy side broker) and do your due diligence- many of the houses in Austin had unpermitted additions from back in the day. These don’t show up on the tax rolls, either. But the first time you need an inspection for, say a kitchen upgrade, they might flag you for that unpermitted garage/guest house/whatever. Our broker would pull the permit file on any house we were serious about.

FWIW, it is hotter than hell here right now--I don’t run the big system when the grid is under strain. You might use a furnace two or three months a year and most of the time, it’s not very cold in the winter. Summers, though, place heavy demands on your air-conditioning.

Where in Texas are you house shopping?

@whart  currently in the Dallas area. Considering moving to Atlanta or maybe Nashville but it's really the same story there.  Same cookie cutter style that my wife loves.  We have young kids so we don't have the luxury of living just anywhere based on finding the perfect house.. It has to be in the right schools, in the right neighborhood, and all that.. that equals cookie cutter for the most part.  And for whatever reasons, housewives have demanded this open-concept fire place where my system should go look.  I swear it was by design by housewives everywhere.

I agree that when staging a house to sell, a lovely family portrait above fire place sells better than massive speakers a half mile of cables expertly hidden in the nooks and crannies..

Speaking of....  are you amazed at how many men come into your home and don't comment or even look twice at the system you're so proud of?

If I went into someones home and they had a pair of speakers as tall as me and a system with cool lights, I'd at least be attracted and give kudos!  Makes it easy cull friends at least.   

We had the exact same issue the last time we bought 22 years ago. A big factor in the house we bought was that it did not have this "forced" TV location.

A few years ago we decided we were ready to go and looked for a new house for a full year and never found anything we both liked, so I talked my wife into buying a nice, big, 5-acre lot and I got to work designing the house to go on it. Great room has the fireplace right in the middle of one of the long walls, flanked by double french doors on both sides that lead to a screened porch. I also don't like the TV being in a prominent location, i.e., it's the first thing you see when you enter a room, so I left one of the short walls (but only 4' shorter than the long ones) as a "blank canvas", meaning no doors or other interruptions and you have to be pretty much in the room to even see the TV. Pretty unique for an open concept (which we do still like after living in one all these years). I also have a dedicated media room (16'6" x 22'), designed just to my liking.

Covid, of course, made building nigh impossible for a while but we're within a couple weeks of getting started now, just in time to pay sky-high interest (comparatively)! We're just gonna have to suck it up and get this place built.

Another advantage of building is that you have control over how your house is built. The builder doesn't dictate to me, it's the other way around. I'm the customer. I'm doing lots of non-standard things including 2x6 exterior walls (virtually unheard of in the south) and geothermal HVAC. Yes, building can be quite an undertaking but it's the best way of getting what you want.

I agree with @larry5729. I have never understood why anyone would want to put a TV up so high that you have to crane your neck to see it. Not exactly comfortable for watching a movie or anything else. Good luck to you. In only a half jest, I'd say cover up the d*$#@ fireplace by putting the TV down in front of it. Especially if you live in Texas and wouldn't even think of using it in January. 

Seems builders (and many people) like the "spaciousness" of an "open floor" home where there are no walls between the den/living room and kitchen.  Ugh. 

@dtximages--best of luck on your move. Nashville was not booming like it is now when we were initially looking- we wanted no winter, a university where I could teach part time (I'm retired) and a good rowing culture-- my wife is into competitive rowing. Since we never had kids, we had a little flexibility but if you are patient and have access to the multi-list, targeted by zip code and price, you can exclude a lot of houses and maybe luck out. I was up in Dallas the other day to visit one of the known audiophiles here- it was 10 degrees cooler than Austin, but was told it was just an anomaly - they had a break in the weather. The hardest part of Texas for me is the summer heat- I like the people, I like getting out into Deep Texas and exploring.