It’s been quite some time since I’ve had an update on our home build, and really when I initially saw myself writing this particular blog post that I knew would be scheduled for today, I pictured I’d be settled in my bedroom or kitchen writing my first post from home. However, I seem to have found myself sitting in an almost empty apartment, using my phone as a less than dependable hotspot (since internet has been moved out of here), still trying to tie up some loose ends and still hoping we will be in and settled before we are forced to check in to a hotel.
Everyone that has been through the home building process will probably tell you the same thing, building a house is difficult. But what I can tell you based on my experience is that what you may find difficult may be completely different than what someone else interprets as such. For instance, decision making can be overwhelming and draining for one person where as someone else may like that aspect of it the process but have a hard time with schedules, delays and living through the process.
Whichever is the case, I can say that I’m thrilled with how this home has developed, and I look forward to styling it and sharing the process with you all as we continue to move forward. Below are 5 of my most asked questions that I’ve gotten while sharing this construction process with you,
What is the difference between a custom home and a semi custom home?
Having done both at this point, there are two major distinctions. When building in a community development where one company is the primary builder, they typically have a set of features and finishes to choose from. Oftentimes, there are showrooms and assigned team member there to aid in assisting you when making your choices. In a lot of ways, the process is much more streamlined and realistic to do with a busy schedule. Sometimes, there are specific brands that they will only install when it comes to plumbing and lighting, limiting your choices. When getting quotes from some of these builders for changes to their existing options, it seemed that there was a high premium set on these sort of things.
For the custom home selections, we were provided a list of prefered vendors and would choose from them, whether it was kitchen appliances, flooring, windows etc. In addition, we were not limited to using an certain brand throughout the home. I did however, purchase all of the lighting and cabinet hardware on my own and was able to have it installed. The process for our selections was not as streamlined, which meant it was up to me to have everything organized, and to sort through many more options. For me, this was a benefit, as I wanted to be able to specifically choose each element going in. However, this can also be very time consuming and can lead to frustrations.
Again, not every builder is the same. For instance ours had in the contract that if we went outside of the prefered vendors list, work would not be guaranteed based on those materials purchased. Whereas I know other builders who let you choose your vendor selections a bit more freely.
Is building a custom home less costly than with a home developer using their plans?
It depends. This can completely go either way in either house based on what your finishes are. If you go all high end of course things will quickly add up from finishes, to tricky installations, thus making it much more of a custom job, but at a higher cost. The flip side of this, custom builders seem more eager to offer more options at a more a la carte rate, but there are also more unknowns going into things. Another thing to keep in mind, the semi custom home design centers that you are able to make selections at are designed for an ease of process, but also come at a built in cost.
The unknowns are something to consider, if you are interested in doing a completely custom home, be prepared for them to add up. When a builder is constructing a plan that they have done multiple times, they will know the ins and outs of the house and how things will work. When something is being done for the first time, there can be unforeseen incidents which bring up unforeseen costs.
What software do you use to create your home design boards?
I actually wish I had slightly better software than I do so that I could make even better design boards, its something I’m looking into and hope to implement in the future. However, for now, I have found that having an account with PicMonkey and Online Photo Editor to be very user friendly. Both allow you to create custom pages so you can create, save and edit your own mood and design boards.
Others you can use are photoshop and Canva, I personally like to use the Canva app when creating documents and collages on my Iphone.
Did you work with an architect for your house plans?
Yes, we created the plans to fit the lot which was a bit of an irregular shape. Before creating this blueprint, I had probably looked at hundreds of house plans (I mean that literally, I made sure I exhausted my options) with none quite fitting what we wanted/needed or meeting the potential for what could be done with the lot.
Working with an architect is not something you have to do if you are building a custom home. In fact, you could purchase your blueprint and even make subtle variations to the house plans to fit your property which would probably save time and money if that is the route you’d like to go. I personally love going through and looking at blueprints and house designs, some of my favorite places to browse are Architectural Designs and Dream Home Source. Or you could use plans that the builder you are working with already has and tweak it to fit your style.
What style of architecture is your house?
I don’t think there is one solid answer for this, as it is made up of blended styles. Mostly, we took architecture notes primarily from Cape Cod architecture, then had subtle inspiration from English Cottages and American Farmhouse. Although, I could even see how some aspects could be interpreted as traditional Colonial as well.
I hope this helps answer some of your home construction questions! Below is a giveaway you can enter that is just in time for the holiday season
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