It’s been a few weeks since we officially signed the contract to start building our next home!
Things have been such a whirlwind! Our projected closing date is mid-May/Early June and we have been sooo busy filling out mortgage paperwork and picking all of the finishes in the house!
Since we signed our contract only a week before the construction broke ground, we had to quickly head to the design studio if we wanted a say in what the new house looked like!
The Exterior
The first design element we got to choose was the exterior brick and siding, and front door color. Because we were building a townhouse and there are multiple units, we were a little late to the game picking colors. No two units could have the same exterior colors so our options were limited. I don’t know much about brick colors, but I did know that I wanted a green or red front door. Here was my first choice.
Unfortunately, this color package was already selected by another buyer.
I will say I wasn’t super impressed with the color packages. I wish I could have selected things individually. In some packages, I would like the brick color, but then hate the door color. For example, who would want a white front door? That sounds miserable to keep clean… Anyways, here is the color package we selected for the exterior of our new home.
I didn’t get my red or green front door, but hopefully I will have the chance to paint it in the future!
Structural Changes
The other elements we had to choose right away were if we wanted any structural changes. For our model, we didn’t really have any floor plan options to selection from but we did add a few structural elements. First, we decided for both sets of stairs to be hardwood. This was a structural change because stairs are built differently based on whether they will be carpeted or hardwood.
We also added spindles to the stairs versus having them closed in with drywall.
I just think the spindles look way better than having the wall come all the way down to the bottom of the stairs. Definitely not a must-have, but it was a nice upgrade we decided to go for.
The last structural change we opted for was to add a seat in the master shower.
Again, not a necessity, but this will be so nice for when I shave my legs! We won’t have a tub in our master so I wanted a shower I knew I would love!
The only other structural options that were offered to us was a tray ceiling in the master and a deck. We said no to both. I like tray ceilings, but I didn’t think it would help with resale. Kevin and I want a deck, but we thought we could get more bang for our buck if we added it later. Ideally we want a deck that is partially screened-in and has a privacy wall between us and the neighbors on our one side (we got an end unit). The builder deck was not customizable. Hopefully we will have a deck by summer 2021!
There are definitely lots of elements you get to pick and customize when building a house! I will be sharing more about our selections for flooring, the kitchen and bathrooms in my next house update!
XOXO, Kaitlyn
