If you’ve ever built a house, you know there will always(no matter how much thought you put into it) be some things you wish you did differently when it is all said and done.
I’ll share what we did "right" first and follow up with another post later on “what we did wrong” or what we wished we did differently. Many of these are personal preferences and don’t apply if you are building a home on a very LARGE budget :). Many of our choices were limited to price, so we focused on things that would be easy to change in the future vs. things that wouldn't be easy to change.
THE SPACE
We wanted to put a lot of our budget into the square footage of our home. We were in the process of growing our family and knew that we needed SPACE for all the kiddos we were going to have. It is pretty expensive to add a room or two down the road, so we started with the space we knew we would need and spent less on the interior finish-out (flooring, crown molding, built-ins, etc.). It is very easy to upgrade finishes later on down the road. For instance you can easily add a ship-lap accent wall or change out a light fixture WAY easier than you can add an entire room to your home. For that reason, we chose to focus on the space first.
THE BUDGET
Our builder used a fixed-price budget. That means, once we sat down and discussed every little detail of the house, he gave us a price and that price could not change unless WE made any changes. We added a small handful of things once given the price, but were able to stay right on budget. There were no surprises or sudden changes by the builder. That is NOT always the case to be mindful of that and ask for a fixed-price contract
TANK-LESS HOT WATER HEATER
This is something our builder suggested and we thought sounded amazing! We ended up doing the tank-less hot water heater and have LOVED it for almost 3 years now. This means, you basically never run out of hot water. Everyone can take a shower at the same time while also washing clothes or doing laundry and you do not run out of hot water! How did we ever live without this!?!?!?
CLOSETS
In EVERY free space we had in our plans, we added another closet. This has been amazing!! We have 10 closets that are NOT for clothes! It has been a lifesaver with so many kids and alllll the things. We store linens, toys, crafts, cleaning supplies, board games, coats, outdoor toys, etc. in all those extra spaces! When in doubt, add a closet!
THREE CAR GARAGE
We really wanted an extra space in our garage for lawn equipment and kid toys, but it was very difficult to get an answer on the price of a 2 vs. 3 car garage. None of the builders we met with could break it down for us??? Finally, the builder we chose was able to give us pricing and it was not much AT ALL to add the extra garage space! I am SO glad we did because we use EVERY bit of that additional space. It currently holds 230948209374 children’s riding toys. :)
SPRAY FOAM INSULATION
This costs a bit more than your traditional insulation, but our builder highly recommended it for the size of our house. We researched and agreed it would be worth it, and we were right! We have about 3700 sq ft of living space and our electricity bills are SO LOW! Even in the worst months of the year they are low. Everything is insulated so well with the spray foam! Highly recommend!
CONCRETE FLOORS
This was something we chose mainly because we wanted to stay in our budget. We priced flooring for such a large space and it was a LOT. We decided to just use our bare concrete and pay to put something down later on when we saved up for it (rather than rolling it into the mortgage). SO so glad we did! We absolutely love our floors and don't plan to change them anytime soon. We get the most compliments on the floors (shockingly)! We always have the option in the future to put tile, carpet, wood, etc. down very easily!
LOW GRADE CARPET
We chose a very cheap in-stock carpet from Lowe’s for the upstairs flooring since we could not (obviously) do concrete. We chose a mid-range pad, but one of the very lowest carpet choices. We have been more than happy with the carpet and are glad is was super inexpensive due to the current stage of life we are in. With a dog and three very small children, we have had many accidents already and I know many more to come. When they are all older we plan to replace the carpet with something “fancier” like hardwood. Our bathrooms upstairs have in-stock tile from Lowe's also and still look super trendy (IMO)!
BLACK DOORS
When I asked our builder how much it would be if we wanted BLACK doors instead of white doors, he looked at me like I was a little crazy! Hahah! He laughed and said it didn’t cost any extra for black paint vs. white paint so he would do whatever we wanted. Our budget didn’t allow for anything but the basic looking interior doors since there were so many, SO I decided we could add some character with black paint. I really love them and think they do add a lot of character to our home! May not be for everyone, but it is a great option if you want to add character with no additional cost! One day we will replace the doors with “fancier” doors, but for now I love the black!
BIG PANTRY
If you have a large family, you need a large walk-in pantry! We put two outlets in the pantry and have a small deep-freeze and a microwave inside. It is nothing fancy (I promise), but it is SO functional!
ELECTRIC FIREPLACE
We opted for a built-in electric fireplace instead of a traditional fireplace mainly for the cost. It is very expensive to add a chimney and to add tile or rock around a fireplace, chimney, and hearth. We thought the sleek fireplace went well with our style and liked that having it in the wall saved a lot of space in the living room. No need to worry about the kids climbing on it or burning themselves with the electric fireplace. It heats the entire room, adds a good ambiance, and looks super modern. Not for everyone, but something to consider if you want to save a good chunk of money!
KITCHEN DRAWERS
Our kitchen is nothing fancy, but we were able to add certain drawers and cabinets to our layout when planning it out. We chose to do a pull-out drawer for a large trash can right by the sink and do lots of storage drawers vs. cabinets. The drawers are super functional and I am glad we thought to add those. It didn’t really change the cost, just the look and function of the kitchen.
MUDROOM
This is the first house we have ever had a mudroom in and it has been awesome!!! We don’t have fancy lockers or anything in there, but we do have LOTS of hooks for jackets and bags, a bench, and TWO closets!
What are some things you did that you are SO glad you did???
