Speaking Of Houses

I've been thinking a lot lately about houses. Well, to be more precise, I've been thinking about what it is I want in a house, what's important, what's required and (when I get bored) what I'd want in a dream house.
I've always had a list of things I'm looking for in a home - and I do mean home, I have no intention of making a life for myself in a "house". But over the years that list has grown and shrunk again, changed and changed again.
Part of the trouble is, I'm a huge design whore. I love interior design (now there's a career I really should look in to) and I love things that make a place special. So, unfortunately, what I can afford and what my dream home looks like are not just miles apart, they're on different planets. (Slowly, I am working my way closer to the dream but for now I'm here.)
Where am I at now?
Right now I'm day dreaming. So here are a few things I would look for if my lotto numbers came through.

A closed front porch - I love them. A lot. I'm the kind of person who enjoys sitting outside without actually sitting outside. It's some kind of personality flaw, I'm sure, but it's true.

A second floor/loft - I don't know why I have a fascination with having an upstairs, but I do. I think it comes along with my love of old houses, wooden steps and heavy banisters. I also love spiral staircases for some unknown reason.

A claw foot tub - I am not someone who enjoys taking baths. I'm a shower person. So I know it's absolutely ridiculous for me to want a claw foot tub as badly as I do. But something about the look of them... I absolutely adore them.

A finished basement - I am, for the most part, much happier hanging out in the basement than I am upstairs. It's my retreat from the summer, especially when I don't have A/C.

A really nicely done kitchen - I cook and bake a lot. If the kitchen I have now has taught me anything it's that having a shitty kitchen is torture. Not having enough counter space, too few cupboards, bad layout, shitty lighting - it all makes doing something I love more like a chore and that's just unacceptable. Also, if I had my way, every kitchen would come with a dishwasher (whether that be a machine or someone, I don't care as long I don't have to ever wash them again).

A private library - We are talking dream home, after all. Mine would definitely have a private library. I don't even require a big room, just one room entirely devoted to my books (of which there are hundreds) with an enormous chair and a reading lamp.

A pool - Again, we're talking about my dream home here. Fun fact: I love to swim. I could happily swim every day. I just hate public pools and beaches are so damned crowded. A private pool would make me happier than I can say.

Enough room to keep a horse - This is the most cliche girl thing I will ever be caught admitting to, but I love horses. I always have. I've long said that one of my biggest goals in life is to be able to own a horse. Much like I could swim every day, horseback riding is something I would kill to be able to do every day.

And finally (for the purposes of this post anyway, I could keep going forever)

A really amazing entertainment room - Movies aren't something I just enjoy. They aren't something I watch "once and a while". They are a huge part of my life. I went to film school for a reason. Not having a good place to sit and watch movies would ruin an otherwise ideal home. Have you seen pictures of entertainment rooms people have dumped thousands of dollars in to? Yes. Like that. Maybe even a guest house converted in to one big home theatre.