Creating a friendly house community - how should we go about it? Any advice for flat sharing? ...

I am looking into moving into a rented house with some people who range in ages, some I know, some I dont. We are wanting to move in to a large place and create a really nice community sort of feel. We are going to set firm house rules about certain things so that we can really get a nice place to live. Probably about 7 bedrooms. We have all lived with others before and some of us have also lived alone. We just want to create a funky ‘utopia’ (clearly that isnt going to happen – but its good to aim high!) where we feel part of a community type house but with respect for each others space and stuff also.

What advice would you give us for this plan? What are your experiences of living with others? Did you share meals? Chores? How did you divide stuff up like that? What did you find worked and didnt work?

Thanks :)