I’m not sure how you’re going to justify “hats” as “home improvement expenses” to the trust officer.
Methinks some of you haven’t done any home building recently. We spend around $500K on our rennovation for a 3000sq ft. home, and I still didn’t have everything built to the quality level that I’d have done if I had more money. I probably could have sunk twice the money into a house that was no bigger at all and just had better materials, solar/wind power augment, more automation in the home…stuff like that.
As for my dream home, I’m pretty much living in it. I spent a lot of time and effort to get the exact house I wanted. I’m of two minds about outbuildings. On one hand having a detatched workshop/garage/exercise room with an in-law or guest suite above it is a nice idea, practially speaking anyone I’m inviting over is family and I’d want them to be close so we could all hang out. So I’d probably go with a concrete structure maybe 40’ x 40’ as the first floor/basement. This could be divided into the workshop/exercise room/ garage. Then above that 2 other floors. The concrete first floor would be buiried so that it in effect became the “basement”. Living where I do, you can’t really dig out a real basement, so this would be a way around that. The other two floors would be of similar size to what I have now. Maybe another 1000sq ft. That would add enough room for a small office, and to expand the guest room to have it’s own bathroom, and make the kids rooms the same size (right now one is markedly larger than the other). Most of the money would go to wiring the house as a digital house with good home automation hardware/software that was designed to be upgraded easily. A good stamped concrete driveway instead of the gravel would eat up a chunck, landscaping cost more than most people realize. Maybe an inground pool.
Just those small increases in size from what I have now would probably eat up $4mil easily. That’s not even getting into expensive materials like marble or real hardwood floors.
I’d have a 2500 sq. ft. house built with full solar energy. Every room would be fitted for Internet access. My living room would be designed around a home theater setup (digital projector, of course, because I can’t see myself ever going back to anything smaller). I’d have a largish gym (bigger than the spare bedroom I use now, but not extravagant). My kitchen would be state-of-the-art. Large master bathroom with steam shower, soaking tub, double sinks, toilet room separate from the shower/bath area. For my yard (only about an acre), I’d hire someone to create a low-maintenance, low-water wildflower garden that covers the vast majority of the yard. No mowing.
My house would not be exceptionally large, but it would be of the finest quality and with the most conveniences.