Do you remember the excitement surrounding the Sears Christmas Wishbook? For many growing up in Canada, the arrival of this catalogue meant it was time to sit down with some hot chocolate, peruse the pages and make your Christmas wish list. There were other stores, of course, but this particular catalog always seemed to have the best new items. Flipping through the pages, it was so exciting to discover the most popular toys - making your wish list something to look forward to all year.

But who says wish lists are just for kids? Just because you’ve traded in your playhouse for a real house, doesn't mean you can’t dream about all the things you want. So, if you’ve been considering a custom home, we’ve put together a different sort of catalogue, just for you. While it may not be as iconic as the Sears Wishbook, we’re confident a few of these ideas will make your Christmas wish list this year.

1. Recreation Room

This one may sound obvious, but we’ve seen some pretty creative in-home recreation rooms. Ideal for a walkout basement, design your space for bowling, billiards, fooseball, and ping pong. If you’re into darts, consider carving out some space for a dartboard in a corner of the room. Incorporate a chalkboard on a wall for scorekeeping and you have a complete gaming room in your own home.

2. Atrium

Do you have a green thumb? If the rear or side of your home faces west or south, consider adding an indoor home atrium. Designed like a sunroom, this largely windowed space allows you to grow your favourite flowers, plants, and herbs right inside your home while eliminating the volatile outdoor elements. Your plants will receive plenty of natural light in this space, allowing you to grow your favourite green things all year long. Design this room to have a concrete or tile floor and a drain for easy watering and clean up.

3. Wet Bar

A wet bar is a fun addition to any recreation room. Who wants to go all the way upstairs to get a drink or snacks? Get creative and incorporate wine racks as well as a cooler and shelving for glasses. You could even include a wine chiller built right into your countertop next to your bar sink. Fill with ice, add your wine or champagne, and when you’re all finished drain like any other sink.

4. Arts and Crafts Studio

Endless drawers of paper, paints, embellishments, and other related supplies need their own organized places too. Design your own art studio so that everything is easy to access. When you’re looking for that special tool, you won’t lose your creative mojo if it’s in a quick place and you can grab it as you need.

Placing your craft table in the centre of the room will also allow you to be near everything you need no matter where in the room it is. Maximizing the usable space in your studio creates an inspiring flow uninterrupted by chaotic supply hoarding. You can really own the room by decorating it in your own personal artistic style.

5. Custom Library

If you love to read, chances are you have so many books you don’t know what to do with them all. Are they currently tucked in drawers and on every available shelf space? Perhaps a custom library should be considered for your next home.

Built-in shelving provides beautiful, organized space for your books, and is a safer option to regular stand-alone bookshelves that can topple over if not filled properly. Design your library to have just the right space for your books, and don’t forget to plan for the ultimate lounging furniture for comfortable reading sessions. Add a reading lamp in a sconce style next to a soft, cushy chaise, a small table on which to set your coffee or tea, and you’re set for tranquil reading sessions.

6. Specialty Shed

A trend gaining momentum is a custom oversized shed in your yard used as a secluded hobby space. Often these are being built as craft or art studios, but they can also be used as a workshop for the wood or metal hobbyist in your family. If you don’t want to take up space in your garage for a woodshop, this is a wonderful alternative. If your teenagers have a garage band, offer them a unique space in which to practice, and use soundproofing in the construction.

These “sheds” are designed with architectural features that make them look more like a miniature house than where you’d store your lawnmower. Building one is relatively cost effective, and if you plan for it at the same time as your new home build, it is far easier to rough-in the plumbing and electrical (if required) while your main home is being built.

We hope this list helps give you some ideas for your own new home wish list. Of course, this is just a small sampling of all the “wishes” you can incorporate into your home when you choose a custom builder. Remember, almost anything is possible with home customization, so dream big!