If you have been reading my blog for a while, or read my “Let Go And Let God” post, then you know that our current home was not what I was looking for. However, it has turned out to be exactly what we needed.
I really wanted a larger home and one that was move in ready with a big kitchen/family room and a gorgeous pool and backyard. I also wanted it to be really open and airy. What I got was medium size, but it is open and airy, and we do now have a pool.
1. The thing I love most about this house are the huge 9 foot tall windows and huge vaulted ceilings. This makes the space feel so much bigger. This home is painted top to bottom with the soft white color of Swiss Coffee. I love this color and in my home it reads a true white, not yellow or gray, just a lovely shade of white. This is the perfect backdrop for any decor. I can change up every room with just a few accessory changes. Having the entire house the same color creates the look and feel of more space. I also love the more contemporary architecture of this house. My style is changing to more of a transitional vibe and not so traditional, so this house fits that vibe really well.
2. Our kitchen remodel is my favorite room and was done on a really small budget, but it looks totally upscale. Using existing cabinets, adding a few more off the shelf and trimming them all out with moldings made them look custom for pennies. You can see our resource list here. Shop sales for the appliances you want. Careful shopping will also turn up the best prices for lighting, flooring and counters.
3. I love that it was “Builder Basic” and I didn’t have to tear out or work around any upgrades that someone else had done that I really don’t care for. This house is a blank slate for me to add my own style to. The living/dining area was already tiled in a beautiful tan and cream marble pattern that is totally neutral. We added Nucor Flooring in the family/kitchen/laundry & bathroom areas. It is a wood look waterproof flooring and such a dream to care for. Just vacuum, mop and good to go. With the pool this is fabulous to just walk inside and not worry about water drips.
4. We have replaced almost all of the lighting in the house and I love it all. I like to take my time and shop for the best price for the look I want. If you find something that you love that is super high end, look for similar knock-offs. You can still have the look but for a fraction of the price. All of my fixtures are knock-offs of much higher end pieces. These fixtures still give my home the upscale look that I want at a much more affordable price.
5. The Pool. We had a blank slate with no landscaping at all in the backyard, so designing from scratch has been fun. (here is what we started with)
Our pool is stylish but simple. We opted for the best equipment and finishes available. We chose to keep costs down by omitting waterfalls and other features that can be really costly. This gave us the pool we wanted and one we can enhance with landscaping and decor at a price that was affordable and in keeping with the overall price of the house and area. (I also try to keep resale in mind when we do any kind of major remodels or makeovers. “Don’t overbuild your neighborhood.”)
We still have two bathrooms to makeover, landscaping and decorating to do to create the home of our dreams, but we are loving the decisions we have made so far. I am trying to take my time and not hurry so that the final outcome will be exactly what we want. Patience and budgets are not my best virtues, but I am working on it.
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