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7 years ago when we were still in Northwest Arkansas, we custom built a house we lived in for only 5 years. The process was stressful, and as a result, I said I’d never do it again.
Our home search was going pretty rough. But then I walked through a model home from Highland Home builders and fell in LOVE with one of the layouts. It was (mostly) everything I was wanting in a home. The appeal of new and fresh seemed to make my past experience fuzzy. I finally gave in to the appeal and here we go again.
The builder is Highland Homes, which is a major builder here in Texas. This is an idea of the front elevation, though our brick and trim colors will be like the house in the picture below this. We will have some rock accents like in the model picture, though ours will be a grey that pairs nicely with our brick color of choice. (I didn’t take a picture of the rock.) And we added a 3rd car garage and a master shower is in part of the area of the master closet.
This isn’t the style of our home, just the brick and trim colors I chose.
This is the floor plan, except it doesn’t show the 3rd car garage and master shower. It is a downsize from our current home, the difference will be in the pool and outdoor living we’re planning to add! I’ve already imagined where everything will be. I’m so excited!
I had my first design meeting this week to make more specific choices. Matt was busy with work and I got to go by myself. (Matt prefers to let me make all the final design decisions anyway –Ā he does not have any strong design opinions, just lots of cost opinions.)
I took lots of pictures of my selections during the process, so I could show him later. As guessed, he loved them and loved not having to make them himself. I’m pretty lucky.
Flooring
Because we’re planning a pool, we wanted flooring that was water-resistant. I love the beautiful hand-scraped hardwood floors we have in this house, but I also like the idea of a smooth, scratch-free option. We are doing LVP floors in MOST of the house. It will look like the floor I took in a model home of a different floor plan.
This picture is when I was trying to see how my floor choice would look with my cabinet and trim/ wall color of choice. SW Pure white on walls and trim!
There will be tile in bathrooms and laundry room floors. The small subway tile will be in my master shower and around the bathtub in my master bath. The large 18″x18″ tile will be on the floors.
The only carpet in my entire house is the master closet! Yep! Still, it had to be chosen … it is the one on the top of this pile of carpets.
Kitchen
I decided to go with some contrasting colors in my kitchen. Since walls and trim will be white, I’m going with dark cabinets. The same color will be in the kitchen and bathrooms.
Below is the combo of counter, backsplash, backsplash grout, and floor option. The backsplash grout will be darker for some contrast.
I know this is a picture of a picture, but I’m really excited about this sink I chose!
Door
And another picture of a picture – my front door of choice! It was actually a really tough decision. I can’t wait to see how it looks.
And for fun, here is a nice quote I found in one of the model homes. I really loved it. The model homes were decorated exquisitely, so I plan to go back for more inspiration when it is time to decorate!
I hope you liked this peek into this process. Would you like to see more blog posts along the process?
The next meeting is the First Builders Meeting, where we will go over plans and discuss lighting among other things. I’m very excited about moving forward with this!
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From my home to yours,
Mary
Thoughts about squeezing in a half bath for guests if the kids playroom bath won’t always be ready for them? Possibly, putting it near the pool door entrance to lower down on water treked through.
(Corrected post)
That is a great idea, but I’m really trying to keep the house smaller than I have. I’ll probably miss that 3rd bathroom (I have 4 now), but I’m really looking forward to less to clean/maintain! Of course, it will be a trek through the house for pool guests to use the bathroom … perfect doesn’t exist in a house plan without inching bigger and bigger.
You are my hero! Our semi-custom build 10 yrs ago was fine. Especially with a more simple floor plan. At this point, after 13 months of construction and no end in sight, you can literally kill me before I ever build again. Keep the excitement alive! You have a great eye for design! Someday Iām going to come visit!
But your home is going to be AMAZING! If you’ve survived 13 months of construction, I have a whole new level of respect for you.
I’m excited about the layout and small size of this new house. I want to spend less time on housework!
So no carpet in the bedrooms? Will that be the same kind of flooring as you show in the picture? My husband hates that we have carpet at all (just bedrooms) and would prefer to eliminate it so I’m interested in your choice to use something else.
Yep, no carpet in the bedrooms. I’m currently trying to persuade my husband to get a dog in the next house, so it makes sense. (Fingers crossed!)
I would love to see/hear about your building process as I am just beginning the process myself! (And boy do I need to declutter and get rid of A LOT so we can sell our current home)! I had to prioritize doing tax paperwork over following the Decluttering process but am ready to begin now. Good luck with building your new home! š
We are still waiting on the permit to come through so we can have the first builder meeting. I’ll definitely fill you in on the process!
Thatās awesome! Thanks! š
Wow! This sounds fantastic! When will the house be ready to move in? Do you think you will be able to stay here for a while? A lot of work and stress, but if anybody can handle it, I have complete confidence that you will.
Thank you so much, Barbara! The house should be ready by the end of September (we hope!). The hope is we can be there for a long long time!
It looks like a really beautiful house and Iām sure it will be your dream home. I especially love that front door. I hope you post pictures of that when it is installed.
I was wondering why you chose carpet for your master closet? Iām kind of into closets and would love to read more about your master closet choices. Iām sure there weee plenty of decisions to make there as well.
Thank you so much. I’ll definitely keep everyone posted as things progress.
To cut down total space, consider only 1 eating area since you will likely spend a lot of time outdoors.
We’ve done that for many, many years, love it and have 0 regrets!
Also, if a laundry and bath are off the garage, you can come in from outside or garage, shower or dump dirty clothes there and keep the dirt much more confined! You will love it!
Put a rod across the washer n dryer under shelves or cupboards to hang assorted hangers on so they are very handy for out of the dryer stuff!
Have white, med. and dark tall, narrow containers for dirty clothes and have your KIDS sort laundry! AND, have them zip zippers, turn jeans inside out if you like and ALL items must be RIGHT side out OR they don’t get washed! You will save TONS of time!! : )
When moving: take pics of furniture pieces and print out..when moving in, use paint tape to put them on walls or under chandelier’s where table n chairs go = EASY to know where boxes should NOT be put. You will feel very moved in very soon! Color code boxes by rooms, so kids/ anyone can help put boxes where they belong! š
Put kitchen utensils in a box and they only go in a drawer IF used within a couple months! Helps purge stuff!
Our whole house is the same porcelain tile floor that looks like wood = EASY to clean and makes the whole house flow super well! It’s a bit $, but you will never have to replace it and you save $ cleaning carpeting!!
Set up a “charging station” for electric shaver n tooth brush, dryer, curling iron or other equip. Handy, but behind a drawer or door front so it looks neat! Save time n effort in bath: use sold surface WALLS not + solid floors n walls in shower!! You will be amazed at the time you safe!!
Install TALL toilets= handy and easier as you age later. š
IF you can put in a roof with less pitch you will save a lot of $. DO put in ZONE heating n cooling in bedrooms vs most other living areas = your house will be cooler and warmer where you want it most! Slow fan speeds, too, so no major drafts just nice gentle air flow!! Both worth it!!!
If you can use solid surface doors on bedroom closets vs covered or bi-fold, you can use the inside of the doors for GREAT storage!! Do upper and lower rods in closets and only a small section for full length dresses or such. Doubles your storage! Do same in coat closet if you can. Love it!
Hope some of these ideas help. You are blessed by God to be able to build!!! Enjoy! Lynnie
Wow, thank you so much for your thoughtfulness in your thorough reply! There is so much to consider when buying/building. I’ll definitely keep posting updates on the blog. š
This looks like a great project. Have you got an update for us? with some pictures hopefully.
Yes! The post is still in edit mode, but we actually found a home and didn’t build. There is a lot to tell!