Our First Lesson in Home Building

Last Monday we met with the architect.  We were excited because we had picked out a plan that we really liked and thought with minor tweaks we could make it right for us.  The main change we wanted to make was the square footage.  In fact, here is the exterior of the plan we started with:

Some of the things we love about the exterior is the symmetry and front facade.  A couple of things we do not like - the brick extensions and the pitch of the roof.  The architect told us no big deal, we can fix that.  We were on a roll so we moved on to the first floor.  Here is a pic of the plan on the first floor:

We liked the flow of the rooms, but the main selling point on this plan is that it would allow us to have a side entry garage.  The changes on this floor included:

• Removing the sunken living room
• Making the wall between the dining room straight
• Removing the curved wall in the back of the house
• Taking the bump out in the kitchen and moving it to the rear of the house
• Changing the full bath to a half bathroom
• Making the fireplace double-sided
• Extending the garage

Whew, that seems like a lot looking at it now, but we still felt like we were in a good place and on our way to making it perfect.  We moved on to the second floor and came up with the solution to possibly remove the third bathroom to add square footage to the bedrooms.  Here is the second floor in all of its glory:

So where exactly did we learn a lesson?  We learned that house plans online do not have accurate square footage.  Instead of the 3,073 that we originally thought this plan was, it ended up being over 3,600.  We were not surprised that the square footage was not correct because our realtor and the architect told us they thought it was bigger.  That being said....we did not expect 500 square feet bigger.  

With this new development, we are busy trying to figure out how to make this work.  We feel like we have a great support team.  Our realtor know his stuff when it comes to building and has worked with our architect on many plans.  Between us and them we will make it work!

 

The Home that Wasn't Meant to Be

I have a thing for historic homes - like a really big thing.  I love everything about them.  I love the history, the architecture and the feel of an old home.  I know my love affair for older homes started at a young age.  I grew up in an old farmhouse and my parents always took the opportunity to take us to tour historic homes when we were on vacation.  Some of the homes that have contributed to my love affair include Abraham Lincoln's home and the The Dana Thomas House both in Springfield, Illinois.  I cannot forget the plantation homes that my family toured when we were in Atlanta for the '96 Olympics.  My all-time favorite historic home that I have toured is George Washington's Mount Vernon followed closely by Arlington House.  It is not just old homes that I adore...it is historic architecture in general.

So...now that you know my love for old homes runs deep, imagine my excitement when I discovered an old historic home in my hometown hit the market.  This historic home is situated on an acre of land and is on one of the iconic streets in my hometown.  In the early 1800's it is where the high society lived and although it is not as highly regarded as the 1800's, it is still appreciated and recognized for what it used to be.  Behold the beauty that I discovered.

I fell in love.  Unfortunately, Dean did not.  This home is screaming for someone to come inside and restore it to its former glory.  Restoring it and updating this home will take a lot of time, money and effort.  We looked at the home with my parents who love historic homes just as much as I do and even they were not optimistic about the prospect of this house.  Here are some inside shots that should scare me, but do not.  Instead, I see them and get excited about what this could be.

After talking to our realtor as well as sitting down with Dean and revisiting our reasons for moving to my hometown we came to the conclusion that it just was not meant to be.  We both feel this is more in line with our tastes, but not our goals.  We are looking for a comfortable new home that we can personalize and not have to spend the weekend doing home improvement projects.  So for now I will have to give up my dream of owning a historic home, but I will get the opportunity to build a custom home that is all ours.  We will be able to write our own history in this new home...and fill it with some antique touches to appeal to the love I feel feel for historic homes.  Good luck to whoever buys this beauty - I am looking forward to seeing what you do with her!