I thought I’d catch up with you guys on things in the house by answering some of the most common questions that seem to pop up on blogs and through Instagram comments and DMs. I can also make a follow-up to this post if there’s a lot you’d like to see resolved. If I missed anything pressing, just let me know in the comments!
I also LOVE using this post as a way to get some advice from you all! We’re newbies to this whole process and while we’ve got the plans and framing done for our home, I’m a sponge right now and happy. Welcome your advice going forward! Please share if there’s something you love about your current home or something you did while building or renovating your home that took your breath away or, if anything, something you did that gave you a headache or was unnecessary in the end, i want to know about that too! The more you can share your thoughts, the more fun!
Quick House Q&A
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What decisions have you made that contribute to making this your “forever home?”
We’re making a lot of decisions around our stay in this house for a very long time. First, the property we bought ticked the main life goal boxes for us. It’s on the water (we’re BIG lake people) and flat land, ideal for lots of outside play for the kids. We are also looking at our home as a long-term investment from a financial perspective.
(I love that Sadie visited us so many times before she passed away. It looks like a part of her will be with us there, too.)
Regarding our floor plan, we chose to work with an architect, which we probably wouldn’t pay to do if this wasn’t the home we saw ourselves in. long time, because it is a significant upfront cost. With that said, we felt like every penny we paid our architect was worth ten times as much because we were obsessed with the layout of our house and put a lot of thought into it. it. (Talking to Troy from Smith-Slovik for being an all-around famous architect and turning our sketches and visions into something better… and actually buildable!) During this phase, we I have spent hours making sure every square inch of our home will meet the needs of our family now and for years to come.
For example, we are building a very large pantry with an additional fridge/freezer inside because we know we will consume a lot of food as the boys get older and hopefully have a a house that can comfortably host friends and family. , especially since our whole family, except for my father-in-law, live out of state. We also have space for our parents to stay when they visit without stairs to hope their visitation is comfortable as they get older and want to stay longer. That’s just the tip of the iceberg but it’s some of the things we’re looking at from a “forever home” perspective.
We’re also willing to spend a little more money on areas like high-quality cabinets that we can buy if we find ourselves selling this home within five years if that makes sense.
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Do the guys know and understand what’s going on?
Chase and Ryder are excited about their new home and have been “doing it all” from the start! (Rhett is too young to understand.) The older kids really love the first step of the construction process – clearing the ground, pouring the foundation, framing – it completely blows them away!
They also love to share their home ideas with us and we’ve done a lot of house fun with them, mostly focusing on storage and making use of awkward spaces for space. create enclosed “secret spaces” for them in their rooms where they can have small clubs etc. Above all, this is a family home and we wanted to build it to accommodate children and smart everyday life. However, Chase’s request for a water slide leading from his room to the lake was vetoed.
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Will Chase or Ryder have to transfer schools?
Ryan has really been keeping an eye on the property we’ve purchased for several years so we’re delighted and grateful that things seem to be settling in. The location was ideal for us and Chase and Ryder thankfully wouldn’t need to transfer schools. I know the whole school is HUGE and we certainly don’t want to move far from this area because we love and appreciate our boys’ school so much.
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What will you do in your new home that you don’t have in your current home?
First and foremost, know that I am well aware that all of the “problems” I mention below in our current home are not big problems. We really love our home and could have stayed here forever. We’re just grateful that we’re on the path we’re on with our new home but also have so much love for our first home.
Okay, now to answer the question…
We love our current home very much and although the size (square meter) is just right, the allocation of space has been an issue for a while.
We don’t have a “real” pantry outside of the kitchen cabinets and the lack of storage/storage areas has been my number one concern with our current home since having kids. We’ll now have a butler’s pantry (a whole new term for me before this process but it’s at the top of my “must” list for a new home) and a storage room. with lockers, drawers for shoes and a storage area for mail and school papers. Hallelujah! When people ask me what I’m most excited about in our new home, I say the outside space (the lake!) and the pantry/mud bathroom.
Our current laundry room is small and twice as large as where we leave our shoes even though there’s really no space for them in this area. There is a dedicated laundry room where I can dry my clothes in laundry room and not spreading them on our dining room chairs sounds pretty awesome. And on the list of things that feel unnecessary but are also really cool – we are adding a small dog tub in the laundry room. This was originally designed with Sadie in mind, so if you have any ideas on how we could subtly incorporate her memory into it, I’m all in. We see a dog (maybe more than one?) in our future, so we’re making a decision to make this home pet-friendly.
Our current home also generally has few closets for storage – everything was perfectly fine before we had kids but as we have more children in the family, we feel more and more overwhelmed. see this more. I want climate controlled storage that I can go into (not in the attic) because I constantly need to get to the storage items as we have done so many times for the boys about both pants. clothes and toys. Adequate cabinets and storage in the home are a must.
In terms of the yard at our current home, it is very steep and not suitable for outdoor playtime, something we feel is increasingly important for young children. For the new house, we prioritized a large yard/outside space for the boys.
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How did you choose your builder?
We met four builders before deciding to go with Luke’s King Farm Construction Corporation. (He’s basically a one-man show that we really like.) We actually partnered with another larger builder during the architect phase of the work and paid a sum of money. fee for that builder to accompany us on that journey. It was well worth it but we parted after we learned of some quality issues with other homes they had built in the area.
Luke was very suggestive to us and seemed to check a lot of our boxes. He is the most thorough in estimating his costs and works with us the most on our construction prices as most of his home constructions are closer to the city and he I want to add a lake to my house. He also received rave reviews from a local designer for the quality of his home and is the builder that we put together the best from a personality standpoint. We’ve received a lot of advice from friends involved in this process and the number one piece of advice we get is to take your time choosing a builder and make sure they’re the one you have. You may find yourself regularly communicating in a positive way.
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Are you using an interior designer?
Is not. I have never had more respect for interior designers than I do now that we have been involved in this process for over a year. We don’t currently employ an interior designer due to budget constraints and for reasons of complete honesty, this can sometimes make the process feel very overwhelming. There’s a LOT to designing a home beyond just choosing beautiful lighting, lovely fixtures and plumbing, and floors. There’s a huge learning curve involved in making the right choices, and it involves a lot of measurements, googling things like the right lighting sizes for certain spaces, etc
Our builders set up with us great suppliers, but if they don’t have exactly what we want (such as certain Anthropologie lighting fixtures), it’s our own responsibility. Place an order and are then also responsible for making sure everything arrives on time and comes with everything it needs to be installed in our home. It’s the kind of job that I feel very inexperienced in handling but luckily the internet is full of information… It’s just a matter of finding the time to delve into it!
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What were your priorities during the design process? From a visual point of view?
Windows! We’ve allotted a lot of our budget to windows because natural light is huge for us. We also wanted to make the most of our lake view, and there is no substitute for natural sunlight indoors.
I also spent a TONS of time choosing the design elements for our stairs. I don’t claim the staircase as a focal point in my home but I also really appreciate a subtle yet beautiful staircase. I’m very pleased with the staircase design we finished and can’t wait to show you guys what it looks like once it’s in our home.
Question of the day
Please share any of your thoughts on the things you love about your current home and the decisions you may have made when renovating or building a home that is worth all of the time and effort. strength. Please also share things you wish you had done during home remodeling/construction that you might have overlooked at first or that you ended up doing something not worth it.
I’m listening to all the information and advice I can right now!
