We Built A House 2019

At the end of March 2019 we found out that the city had one final housing lot open and the builder was planning to start building as soon as the weather was ready in the spring.  When we found out about this open lot, we immediately called a realtor and got information about it.  It really didn't take long and a few days later, we were committed!  The builder had house plans already but since they had not started yet, there were a few minor things that we were able to tweak on the plans.  The house is a 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom house plus an office so we knew it would fit our family perfectly.  They broke ground and dug the basement on Monday, May 20th, 2019.  

Before the building started, we talked to the builder about finishing the basement out for us and he gave us a price of an extra $25,000.  To us, this was definitely worth it since then we didn't have work to do, we would have the extra living space right away, and Bennett and Ashley would have a finished bedroom when we'd move in.  Alot of these his finishings are standard to what he builds but there were definitely a decent amount of things that we got to pick out and customize which was fun.  The things that we didn't get to, luckily are still in my style and I like them.  

We got to pick out the following:

• All flooring - carpet in the main living areas and bedrooms, wood laminate in the kitchen/dining, linoleum in the entryway and the 3 bathrooms.
• Paint color - we choose a pretty gray for the whole house.  We'll update with some color in time but for now, I like the gray.
• Kitchen and bathroom cabinet style, color and hardware.  I went with a very dark espresso color (almost black).  I L.O.V.E. it!  The design lady that we met with said that white is a popular choice right now and I'm like nope, how about the complete opposite and let's go as dark as possible.  
• Counter top color in the kitchen.  It is a laminate counter top but the color that I choose makes it look more like real granite.  I upgraded a small bit and had them put an extra coat of something on top of the laminate to give it an added shine - which in my opinion makes it look alittle bit more like granite too.  (We could have gone with granite but that of course would have added to the price of the house.)
• Counter tops in the bathrooms.
• House and shingle colors.  This one was the one pick that made me suuuuper nervous the entire build.  This too, I went with a very dark gray and I do love it.  But it was ordered months before it was installed so the whole time I was doubting myself and afraid I was gonna hate it and that it'd look too dark.  And I knew that this wouldn't be a cheap fix if I really didn't like it and that we'd just have to live with it.  Like I said, luckily I do love the color and glad I went with the dark.  
• Window and garage door style - how many panes are in the windows and garage door windows.  

It was so fun to live just a few blocks away from the new house so we were able to watch the whole thing being built.  About once a week we'd all head over to the new house in the evening when the workers were gone and do a walk thru to see the progress.  

Isn't it pretty!?!  

It really was a fun process and I'm so glad we did it.  I'm also glad we had the builder with the plans and some of his standard things already - so that we didn't have to pick out every single thing.  The total cost was about $275,000.  It's great to have a brand new house and not have any major things to be repairing and fixing for now.  We are on a .22 acre lot (old house was on a .5 acre lot).  We would love to live on an acre or two of land some day, but for now, this fits us pretty well. 

I'll let you know more about the moving in a different post.