Playroom Refresh

A few weekends ago we did a green accent wall in our 2-year old's room.  We had a ton of paint leftover that I didn't want to go to waste so I decided to do a mini playroom makeover and add a green accent wall.

I love home projects, but I'm also very "cheap" (for lack of a better word) so this $40 gallon of paint wasn't going to go to waste!  I ordered a new rug from Boutique Rugs for around $60 with the plan to move the old playroom rug to the patio for some additional use this summer. 

Due to the current situation with COVID-19, we are sticking to a strict budget since there is so much uncertainty.  That being said, we are putting off all big home projects and just focusing on some small projects to keep us entertained here at the house!

If you are also wanting to do some home projects, just an FYI you can order all  your supplies online and pick them up curbside from Lowes!  Also, we did curbside pickup from Sherwin Williams for the paint.  Quarantine projects even with social distancing. Yes!!!

Our playroom is not a very large room, but it is in a very good location for small kids!  I wanted to be able to see the kids in the playroom while standing in the kitchen doing dishes. (Every Mom's dream, Haha!)

For that reason, the room didn't end up being very spacious due to the location in the house and our house design.  Since it is a small space, we have to be pretty picky about what toys go in there.

My biggest issue with the the playroom now is being able to organize it in a way that works for 3 kids who are all different ages and need age-appropriate toys for their age.  We have a 4(almost 5) year old, 2.5 year old, and a 9 month old.  Our oldest loves Hatchimals, LOL dolls, and all those things that come with a million tiny pieces.😆  However, I don't put those things in the playroom because I don't want to have to worry about the baby choking on something when I have my back turned.  (She is currently putting EVERYTHING in her mouth!)  We keep anything that needs supervision (like crayons and markers) in a closet for times we can watch them in use.

Right now, it is pretty impossible to have my eye on all three kids at the same time ALL the time.  So, for that reason I like to know that I have a space in the house that is SAFE for them to be. You know...for times when I need to run to the bathroom or sneak a minute alone in the pantry to eat a cookie :)

Here are some things I love for a playroom:

1. IKEA TROFAST- These are the BEST things I've found for toy storage!  They are SUPER sturdy and low to the ground, so you don't have to worry about them tipping over on top of a kid.  They are inexpensive and very good quality.  We've had ours for 3 years and they still look brand new!  They come in SO many color combinations, which makes it easy to match pretty much any space.  The drawers are KID-FRIENDLY.  Meaning, they can't smash their fingers in them accidentally like normal drawers.  Also, they are customizable so you can pick the drawer sizes based on your needs. The top of the TROFAST is kid-height so it gives them a space to play with toys on top of it.  The TROFAST drawers are easy to use for kids which helps us with clean up.  They know how to open and put toys in all the bins at the end of the day. I could go on and on about the TROFAST!  You won't regret making this purchase!

2. LESS IS MORE- Have you ever noticed that your kids don't play well when the playroom is a disaster?  We noticed this a couple of years ago and have since started picking it up more frequently.  We also keep the clutter to a minimal.  I often go through the drawers and toss or donate anything that isn't being used.  Kids change so much so fast, so this is necessary to make sure old toys aren't just sitting around taking up space.  On top of the TROFAST units we keep a few select toys and rotate them out.  They always do better with LESS options.

3. TOY ROTATION- I read from a brilliant Mom somewhere that she did a toy rotation every few months.  It wasn't until I had 2 kids of my own that I started doing this, and it was life changing! Every 1-2 months we take a few hours on the weekend and change up all the toys.  We get new(old) toys out that we have stored in the closet and put away the toys that they are sick of playing with.  I also usually rearrange the playroom a little and sit toys in different spots in the room.  My daughter LOVES this and is always so excited when she realizes that's what we are doing.  We call it "make the playroom fun again"!  HAHA. (Make America Great Again.. like that :))
It works like a charm and my husband is 100 percent on board because he sees what a huge difference it makes.  If I realize the same toy is getting put aside over and over again even after being stored for a couple of months, that is when we GET RID OF IT!. The ones that are usually left aside are the ones that are super load an annoying (V-tech).  Though I am not against those toys at all, they never "teach" my kids anything and they rarely chose to play with them.  They are loud and flashy and look cool in the store, but in my experience kids don't like them very much.

4. MOUNTED TV, NO CONSOLES, NO CORDS, NO BLINDS. NO CURTAINS- Because we want the playroom to be SAFE first and foremost, we do not have any cords, blinds, curtains, or furniture that's not kid-friendly.  We have a mounted TV that has no cable box or cords that the kids can reach.  Nothing is underneath the TV that they can climb up on.  In the playroom we have no lamps or anything with a cord and all outlets are covered.  We also did no curtains and no blinds for safety.  We wanted to eliminate everything we could think of that would be a safety concern.  I also see many times playrooms have TVs on top of a TV console.  Kids always go for the TV and the cable boxes first for some reason, so we made sure to have ours mounted up high so they couldn't mess with any of the technology. We also opted out of a closet in the room so that there wouldn't be a door they could smash fingers in.  This obliviously isn't always an option, but if you are building it is worth considering. As they get older we can add things in, but for now we need a safe spot for them.

5. RUG CHOICE
Don't be that person who picks a stark white rug for a playroom!  The best rug for a playroom should be inexpensive, low/medium pile, and have a pattern or color that hides ALL.  THE.  THINGS.  My kids rarely eat in the playroom, yet it is still one of the grossest rooms in the house!  For all of those reason, I won't spend a lot on a playroom rug and I'm not getting a shaggy rug that will trap in all the crumbs, boogers, hair, etc.  The low pile ones stay cleaner and they are generally cheaper anyway. I buy most of our rugs online since it is hard to go shopping with 3 kids!  My favorite retailers are Boutique Rugs and RugsUSA.  I just buy the rugs with the highest rating and have always been happy with the quality.  Our other rugs are from IKEA and At Home.  Both have great inexpensive rugs if you want to see them in person first.


Apparently I have a lot of thoughts on the playroom!  Maybe this will be helpful to someone though :)  Here are a few more pictures of our playroom refresh! 

Green Accent Wall: How we did it

We recently installed this beautiful green accent wall in my son's room. I have received many questions about the process so I put together a simple "how-to".  

This is absolutely not professional advice, but a simple layman's tutorial for non-handy people who want a cool looking wall :)

We are by NO MEANS handy people over here.  However, we finished this project over a weekend and worked on it during nap-times AND keeping 3 small humans alive.  All that to say, it is super easy! 

I had been eyeing this type of wall and pinning it for months and finally decided to just go for it!  I have been wanting to start completing many DIY projects in our home so this was the start of *hopefully* many this year.

For this project we did buy a nail gun because we will be needing it for many of our upcoming projects and I have had my eye on one for YEARS!  That being said, I have seen many people use a regular hammer and nails or liquid nail adhesive to install the boards so you do NOT need a nail gun!

Supplies:

Paint and paint supplies (tape, brush, roller, drop cloth)

PAINTABLE caulk and caulk gun

Caulk finishing tools or sponge 

1"x2" MDF boards (We used about nine 8-foot boards for this wall)

Wood filler- to fill in nail holes (not needed if you use adhesive)

Sanding block

Level

Speed square

Saw- we used just a regular ole hand saw

Tape measure for cutting boards

The total project was under $100 (not including the nail gun we purchased).  However, if you already have some of these items at home then you could easily do the project under $50.  *We bought pre-primed boards for $3.29 each, but you have a few cheaper options for the 1"x 2" boards if you don't mind doing some sanding work before you get started* We needed it to be a quick project so we opted for the pre-prepped boards.

BEFORE

1. Prep the wall for painting with your painter's tape. 

2. Paint the entire wall the color of your choice.  It is much easier to paint BEFORE installing the boards. Leave the painter's tape up until the entire wall is finished.  I wasn't sure if we should leave it up, but was glad we did when I started painting the boards.

TAPE AND PAINT

3. You can map out your wall on a piece of paper and make a "plan" for the look of the boards, or you can "wing" it like we did.  haha!  We started by deciding where our main diagonal line would be and installed that one first.  That is the longest board and most difficult one to place. Use your level to make sure it is at a 45 degree angle before nailing or gluing it to the wall.  From there, you will start placing the smaller "branches" from your main diagonal line.  We did most of ours in pairs of two parallel lines branching from the main line.  We just kept adding "branches" and then deciding where on the wall needed more as we went.  You can always use painters tape and tape out the look to get a good visual before you start hammering in boards.

OUR MAIN LINE. (WE HAD TO REDO THAT TOP CUT TO MAKE A 45 DEGREE ANGLE)

4. Where the boards meet the ceiling, they will need to be cut at a 45 degree angle.  It is SUPER easy to do this using a speed square.  Place it on the end of the board and use a pencil to mark the perfect 45 degree line.  Saw along the line and your boards should fit nicely up against the ceiling.

5. Once all your boards are installed on the wall, you need to calk around all boards and seams.  Don't skip this step! This makes everything look beautiful and seamless.  Use either a large wet sponge or a caulk finishing tool to smooth out your caulk lines, but don't feel like it has to be perfect because it will be painted over!

5. If you used nails to adhere the wood to the wall, fill in the nail holes with wood filler.

6. Let the caulk and wood filler dry.  You can look at the drying time on the caulk tube (as it will vary), or let it set overnight and start up again the next morning. 

7. If you used wood filler for your nail holes, use a sanding block to sand those spots down so they are smooth for painting.

8. Finally, paint over all the boards to finish up the wall.  I used a mini roller to do the first coat of paint on the boards.  Then I let that dry and did a second coat with my brush.

9. Let everything dry then take down the painters tape. Use a small touch-up brush to fix any areas you see after taking down the tape.  We had two spots I touched up, but everything else turned out perfectly.

10. ENJOY your beautiful new wall and the fact that YOU DID IT!!!

The paint color we used was Sherwin-Williams "Retreat" in a satin finish. 

Do you have any other questions about our wall installation?

*Make sure to take a BEFORE photo before you begin painting!*

Building a Barndominum: The Process

Building a new home isn't for the faint of heart (especially when you are trying to build something rather unique, but don't let the fear of the unknown intimidate you!

This home all started with a simple thought and took off with lots of research!  Don't let it all overwhelm you, just take it one step at a time. :)  And have lots of patience!

Know your Budget

Most people do NOT know what their budget should be when buying or building a home.  

If this is the case, it is good to first meet with a mortgage Loan Officer to see what amount of mortgage you qualify for so that you know what your budget looks like and what you will actually get approved for.
We knew we wanted to keep our mortgage payment low so that number was our starting place.  Though we COULD qualify for more, it is usually not a good idea to get the MAX you will qualify for.  The mortgage company will qualify you for an amount that is based on your debt and your GROSS income (the amount before taxes are taken out).  That does not include things you pay for like groceries, daycare, utilities(in most cases), gas, cable, internet, etc.  So, keep that in mind when deciding on your budget, because you certainly do not want to be house poor!  

Once you have met with a bank (or made other financing arrangements) then you can move forward knowing where you stand with your building budget.

Find the Land

This may be the most difficult part of the process for you, or it could be the easiest step! 

In our case, we already land and knew where we would build. That was the easy part! 

Finding land can be difficult depending on where you live, however I know most people who consider building already have land or know where they want to build. If you don’t, you are going to want to consider looking outside of heavily populated areas to get a reasonable price. This could mean extending your commute to work, so lots of things to consider! You can absolutely get with a realtor to help you search for land in your area.

The land is important if you plan to finance your home because if it is paid for, it can serve as your down payment at closing. Just like if you were to buy an existing home, you must bring a certain amount of money to closing (which all depends on the type of home loan you are using). This is a percentage of the total home+land value. If you have already purchased your land and own it outright then you have what you need to get started and probably have most (if not all) of the down-payment you need. 

*I will write a separate post on the construction loan process since it is a whole long thing in itself. 😃

Decide on specifications: material, size, number of rooms, etc.

If you have gotten to this step then I bet you already know what you want to build, or at least have a very good idea. Barndominiums are all about building a home the most cost efficient way. Because it is completely custom, you may choose to upgrade certain items that are not necessarily the most cost efficient choice, but are worth the extra expense for you. For instance, we chose to do granite counter tops in our kitchen rather than something a bit cheaper, like laminate. That was something we preferred to upgrade. 

This is the step where you should make a list of items you know you want. (flooring type, rooms, types of cabinets, etc.). We had a list of MUST haves and a list of MAYBES. Once we asked the builder about the pricing for our MAYBE list then we decided if it was necessary.  Being SUPER organized here will help you out a lot in the long run.  You cannot get an accurate quote for building your home if you do not know all the specifics. So, do your research and try to be as specific as possible on your list. 

This list is what you will use to meet with your builder. You will meet with potential builders and say,  "I am looking to build a home that looks something like this (show a picture) with siding and a composite roof, 3 car garage, 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, and concrete floors." They need a GOOD idea of how the finish-out will be if they are going to give you a GOOD price estimate.  Price per square foot should vary a GREAT deal between a barndominium and other custom-builds that include lots of nice finishes.  Make sure you are getting an accurate price!  We had to meet with MANY builders in order to get someone to give us an accurate price based on our selections. 

Obtain House plans

There are SO many ways to get house plans now with the internet. You can go the traditional route and use an architect if you know a good one. However, this is the most expensive route which isn't the best when building a barndominium. Architects also usually charge by square footage which was what was an issue for us since we were building a LARGE box. HAHA!

You can find a LOT of plans online and purchase them that way and it is much cheaper. We actually ended up drawing out our plans ourselves and our builder was able to create a formal plan from that. He was also able to help us change up things that we weren't sure on since he had that experience. This cost us nothing extra for him to help us with that. So, it is worth asking your builder if they could do that for you! Keep in mind that you DO have to have actual house plans for the bank if you are getting a construction loan. 

Find a builder

Do yourself a favor and meet with a LOT of builders. Look on local groups in Facebook and find builders who normally build more cost-efficient homes NOT mansions. The large builders will not give you the time of day and they will give you a ridiculous price to build your home. 

We met with several who were just not interested in building what WE wanted. We then found a local builder who mostly worked on remodels, but built a few custom homes per year. When we met with him we KNEW that was our best option. He gave us an EXACT cost after he sat down with us and calculated EVERYTHING. His bid would NOT change unless we made changes. Since we were on a tight budget, we were so happy to hear this. He stuck to that price and we only increased it a bit during the build with some decisions we made. Make SURE your builder gives you a set price, we have heard way too many horror stories about builds increasing tens of THOUSANDS above the initial bid. 

Find a bank that offers construction loans

You will need to search local banks to find a lender to do a construction loan on a barndominium.  Construction loans are much different than your traditional mortgage and not all banks offer them. Depending on the material of the exterior of your home (metal vs. siding) the loan rules will differ so make sure to tell them if your home will be metal. Construction loans are different from traditional mortgage loans in many ways so you need a bank that does them often so that they know what they are doing. Time is money when you have a construction loan. Each month you will pay an interest payment until the loan is converted to permanent financing so you want to make sure the bank isn't holding up the process. 

Obtain a land survey if needed

If you do not own a current survey of the land, you will need to get one done for the bank. This will be one of the things they need to get started on the loan. 

Complete construction loan (items needed for completion: plans, appraisal, etc)

Once you have gathered all the loan documents along with the survey and house plans, the bank will do an appraisal of the land and the plans of the home you will be building. When the appraisal has been completed and the loan has been approved, you will close on the construction loan and then you can begin construction!!

Break ground on your new house!

You will turn paperwork into the bank each time you need money for each step of construction. The first bank draw is usually very large to get started. This will cover the pad and foundation. During the process the bank will make sure you are on budget and they will do random drive-by inspections to see if the builder has done what you have taken money for. 

Building process

You will let the bank know when the builder is close to completion and they will do a final inspection and get you ready to convert the new loan to a permanent loan. Once the home is complete you will do all the paperwork for the new loan and close on the permanent loan (once again) at a title company. (NOTE: Some banks DO have the option for you to do a ONE TIME CLOSE where you do not have to close twice. Make sure to ask them about that option).

DONE!

It took our builder about 5 months to build our home, which was right on schedule!  It took an additional 5 months to complete the land clearing, survey, construction loan, etc.  So the paperwork took about the same amount of time as the house!  It was a frustrating beginning, but once the builder got the green light it was actually a very quick process. Make sure to ask each builder what their timeline to build is and what happens if they go way over that.  I have heard of builders taking double the amount of time, which is craziness!

Hope all this helps!

Happy Building!

Building our house: What we did WRONG-ish!

We have been in our home for {almost}3 years now and there are many many things we are happy with, but there are also a few things we wish we did differently.

If you have ever build a home and you DON'T have anything you would change after the fact...TEACH ME YOUR WAYS! Haha!

Many of our decisions we made were MERELY due to the budget, and we are happy that we stuck to our plan and kept our mortgage low.  We put most of our money into the size of our house knowing that additional square footage would be the hardest thing to add later on.  We know we will slowly upgrade the finishes over the years and add things that simply were not in the budget at the time.

Things we will be adding in the next few years: custom cabinetry/built-ins throughout, plantation shutters, shiplap walls, outdoor grilling area, entry fence and gate.

For now, here are the things we wish we would have done differently when we built our home.  (In no particular order).

1. CEILING HEIGHT
We knew from living in our previous home that ceiling height makes a HUGE difference!  Tall ceilings can make even a tiny room feel big!  We did tall ceilings throughout the entire downstairs of our home, but we decided to go with a shorter ceiling height upstairs.  We wish we would have done a foot higher on the upstairs ceilings.  They are 8ft ceilings and we wish they were 9tf now. I think if you are used to very tall ceilings, it is hard to go back to something shorter.  For this reason, we wish we would have spent the extra money to add some height upstairs as well.

2. WATER LINE FOR COFFEE MAKER
If you are big coffee drinkers, definitely have your builder add a waterline for your coffee maker! We are so mad we didn't think of this for our coffee bar!  It would have been very inexpensive to add and would've saved us a lot of time considering we make coffee 3 times a day!!

3. LAUNDRY CHUTE
We went back and forth on this and ultimately decided not to have a laundry chute, but now we wish we had one!  If you have kids and a two story home, you should absolutely have a laundry chute! If you plan around it, the cost isn't very much.  We definitely chose wrong here!

4. INSULATION IN GARAGE
I'm not sure what the exact cost was to include spray foam insulation in the garage like we did in the rest of the house, but I'm sure it wasn't very much!  We opted out of this to save money, but we find that we use the garage a TON during the summer and wish it was insulated like the rest of our home.  The garage gets HOT in the Texas heat!!!  The rest of our home stays so nice and cool even without blasting the AC so this would have been money well spent.

5. LIVING ROOM FLOOR PLUG
This is purely a personal opinion.  We added a floor plug in our foundations to use in the middle of our living room and to this day have NEVER used it. We have plenty of plugs on the walls and really have no desire to run a cord underneath our living room rug.  So, for that reason we wish we would have saved the couple of hundred dollars it cost to include the floor plus in our foundation.

6. MUDROOM SINK
We SO wish we would have added a very small 1/2 bath with a sink in our mudroom so we could have the kids wash hand right as they walk in from outside.  The cost of the toilet and sink would have been very little and we have plenty of space in our mudroom for a small closet size 1/2 bath. Many people add sinks in their laundry room, but we feel we would use a sink by the back door MUCH more.  We totally wish we had thought of that!

7. IN-SET BACK PORCH
I'm not exactly sure what else to call this and can't really find a specific name...so I am calling it "in-set".  This is where the house comes on either side of the back porch and surrounds it.  This creates a little blocked off area for the back porch.  We recently noticed many of the new homes being built have used this design and we really wish we would have thought of it!  It provides a nicer back porch that is more sheltered from the elements and can be used more times of the day. To do this, we simply would have needed to expand two of our rooms by a few feet and incorporate it into our layout. We think the extra cost would have totally been worth it considering it would be very difficult and expensive to add now.

8. OUTDOOR WATER FAUCETS
We did not specify where we wanted water faucets outside or how many we wanted. We ended up with one on the front of the house and one on the side of the house.  We have NO water facet in our backyard! Though we can reach the one of the east side of our house, it is a pain and we wish we would have specified where we wanted them and how many.

9. EXTERIOR LIGHTS
We don't very many exterior lights on the front of our house and wish we would have added a few more considering where we live is very dark at night!

10. COMMERCIAL-GRADE GARBAGE DISPOSAL
When we built our house, our builder installed a very low-grade garbage disposal.  It stopped working (even with very light and proper use) after a little over a year.  When we replaced it, we upgraded to a commercial grade disposal that should last "forever" (we were told).  I wish we would have just installed a nice one from the beginning.  They actually aren't very expensive and it works like a CHAMP!

For the most part, I think we did a good job balancing our wants and our budget when we built our home. I'm sure there are a few other small things I am not thinking of here, but these are the major things we wish we would have done differently!

Building Our House: What we did right (Part 2)

I began making a list of the things we wish we did differently and came up with some additional things we did "right".  These are definitely things to consider if you are building so I didn't want to leave them out!

Though they may seem like minor things, they are small things that we feel make a big difference!

Now, had our budget been unlimited....all of these lists would be different!  Hahaha!

However, these are great lists for anyone building a home on a tight budget like we did.  (Of course some of these are great for our family and may not be for every family)
Doggie door in laundry room-- If you have a dog, it is always a good plan to PLAN for that dog in your home!  We wanted our small dog to be able to go outside on her own, but also wanted a place to put her when we left for several hours.  We chose the laundry room so we could shut the door and she would have a sheltered space while we were gone. It is much simpler to put one in during the building process then doing it after the fact. We bought one at Lowe's and our builder installed it for free.  Never hurts to ask!  It is a simple request so the builder probably won't even charge you for it!

Nursery/bedroom adjacent to Master bedroom-- When we built our home we were in the process of growing our family, so we planned our house for more babies!  In our old home the Master was downstairs and all additional rooms were all upstairs. That seemed great until we had our first baby and her nursery was upstairs.  Those night wakings were a mini midnight-workout! For that reason, we wanted this house to have one bedroom RIGHT beside the master to be used for the nursery.  We moved baby #2 out when we had baby #3 so she could be right by us, and it has been AWESOME.  It gives us our room to ourselves at night with also having the baby only STEPS from our room. 

Playroom by the kitchen-- Our playroom is right by the kitchen meaning that you can see into the playroom while standing at the kitchen sink doing dishes.  This is GOLDEN in the state of life we are in right now!  Later on down the road we will change the room to a study or library.

Two living spaces-- We have a formal living room downstairs and a family living room upstairs. We have loved this so that we have a "cozy" living area for family time upstairs that is carpeted (and covered with toys), and a formal living room downstairs for when we have guests. Later on we will have one for the kids and their friends to use and one for us adults.

Plugs for TVs-- We went room by room and decided where we would put TVs with our builder.  We put electrical outsets up high on those walls so we could mount our TVs with no cords showing.  This was no additional charge, just planning.

Space(square footage) distribution-- We chose to do smaller bedrooms and larger family spaces.  We want to encourage lots of family time so we chose to put the money(square footage) into those spaces. Our bedrooms aren't tiny, but also they don't have unnecessary space. We made the common spaces (kitchen, living, dining, etc.) larger with more square footage devoted to those.

Christmas tree closet-- We put a closet right under our stairs that is for our Christmas tree!  We take all the ornaments off each year but we do not collapse the tree and put it into a box (because I loathe fluffing the tree).  We just put the assembled tree in that closet and take the top piece off so it will fit (height-wise).  You may not care about fluffing a tree, but you should definitely plan where you will store decor in your home if you like to have seasonal decor.

Large storage closet-- If you have kids, this is SO nice to have!  We have a 10x8 storage closet upstairs for all the things.  It has been great for luggage, ski gear, baby clothes, etc. and I know it will always be useful!

Coffee Bar-- We extended our kitchen cabinetry to the dining area for a coffee bar.  It was not very expensive to add this, anf it was money well spent!  It added a great deal of storage for things used less often (like serving dishes, cake stand, etc.) and a dedicated place for coffee and drink preparation. 

Master Bathroom and Closets -- We have two closets in our master bathroom (necessity), but the actual bathroom itself is pretty small.  It has all the necessary stuff (like a toilet closet, freestanding tub, and shower), but it is not super spacious.  For that reason, we planned to put a makeup vanity and chair in my closet.  To plan for that, we just had our builder put an outlet in the closet so I could plug in my hair dryer, curling iron, etc.  Once we moved it, we installed an IKEA vanity on one of the walls.  It's been perfect and I love having the dedicated space so our counter top is (mostly) clutter-free. I think it is always a good idea to have an outlet in both master closets to use for lots of things (chargers, clothes steamer, etc.).

Claw-foot tub-- We ordered our tub on Wayfair for a great deal!  We didn't like the price-tag of the Jacuzzi tub and didn't want to have to deal with the maintenance on it.  The claw-foot tub was inexpensive, makes a big impact, and is awesome for soaking since it is SO deep!!

 Fingerprint-resistant appliances-- If you have kids....then you know why!  Frigidaire makes a series called "gallery" that is fingerprint resistant.  The appliances are affordable and the stainless stays looking nice even with little fingers all over them!

Dedicated trashcan drawer in kitchen-- We put a trashcan drawer in our island right by the kitchen sink.  It is in a perfect place for use and it gets the trashcan out of sight.  win-win!!!

Pantry deep-freeze-- We planed a dedicated spot in our pantry to put a small deep freezer.  I'm not sure what we would do without the extra space and love having it so accessible. Make sure to put plenty of outlets in the pantry!

I'm sure I'll think of some more I missed!  If I do, I will go back and add them :)

Building Our House: What we did RIGHT!

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???

House Plans & Commonly Asked Questions!

Many of you have asked to see our house plans so I am finally getting them posted so you can check them out!  

I drew our house on a sheet of white copy paper the day we decided we were going to DO THE THING! From there, we quickly got the ball rolling with just the simple drawing I created(so don't think you need fancy prints to get started!). 

The exterior of a barndominium is typically square or rectangle because it is easier and less expensive to build a simple shape. Knowing we were going to do a large rectangle, I simply drew in all the rooms and where I wanted them to go.  Every time I had an awkward "free" space, I just put another closet there!

Tip:  You can NEVER have too many closets! 

We met with many builders to find one to build our home.  The builder who we ultimately used to build the house only needed a "rough draft" set of house plans.  He then took that rough draft and made official plans for us to give to the bank for our construction loan. He also gave them to the individual contractors to work off of during construction.  Those are the large plans you see with lots of numbers, grid, etc!

We thought we would have to spend $1-3K on house plans, but our builder offered that service included in his price! When he told us that, we were SO glad we hadn't paid for house plans yet.

Takeaway:  Ask around and see if a local builder offers this service so you can save some money!

Here are all the fine details!

4 bedrooms

4 bathrooms

2 living rooms(1 upstairs and 1 downstairs)

1 playroom

1 home office

3 car garage

10 extra closets that are NOT for clothes 🙌

His and Hers closets in Master Bath

HUGE pantry

Laundry room

Mudroom

3700 square foot of living space

Hardie-siding exterior

Concrete floors on entire first floor

Granite counter tops in the kitchen

Foam insulation used throughout

Tank-less hot water heater (has been AMAZING)

Custom paint-grade kitchen cabinets made by a local carpenter

Ikea vanities in all bathrooms built by Yours Truly(me!)

Carpet on second floor with tile in bathrooms

All tile and carpet used was basic in-stock selection from Lowe's

All Paint used was by Sherwin Williams with the builder bulk-discount

Composite roof

1 Large covered back patio

The cupola on top of the house is fake and just for looks(people ask us if you can climb up in there all the time!)

The barn doors on the exterior were made by our builder and are not functioning because he fixed them to the house so they would not move in the wind

Our builder ordered all the barn door hardware for the house off Amazon

Most of our lighting in the house came from IKEA!

The other 25% of the lights came from Costco :)

We used a local builder who also does many remodels when not working on a new-build.  This was by-far the best decision we made in the process.  He was not the "TOP" builder in the area and not well-known, but he did a great job teaching us along the way, offering his expertise, and was available ANY time we needed him!

The house was built for about $73/sq. ft- this included the water well and septic system.

This home was an absolute labor of LOVE.  We worked hard to find a builder who would work with us on price and take the time to budget EACH item.  We had many questions (like how much does it add to the price if we do a 3 car garage instead of a 2 car garage).

All of the other builders we found simply wanted to give us a HUGE price tag due to the size of the home we were wanting to build.  They didn't want to break out all of the costs for us so that we could decide if it was a "need" or a "want".  

Do your research and KNOW what your home SHOULD cost before you get started interviewing builders.  If they quote you double what you think it should be, walk away and keep interviewing. 

Things we have added since completion that were not included- concrete in front of the garage, sidewalks, concrete flowerbed barriers, gutters, an asphalt driveway, backyard fence, security system through Simply Safe, sprinkler system, and sod.

We had to remove the balcony due to the cost **:(

**We decreased the size of the back patio a bit to save some money and moved the entire back wall of the house in several feet(not shown here).  Both to save money

**The bedroom #2 was cut down to a LARGE storage closet instead of a bedroom to stay on budget.