Building Bid

Posted by Amber in Building on July 9, 2013  ||  16 Comments

After the floor plan and the elevation were finished, we took our finalized copies to our builder for a more accurate bid. Yes ballpark figures were discussed at our initial meeting, but now that we had the design finished Daniel could bid our project with specifics.

We both had mascara tears after getting our bid. It was $70,000 over our target price. Everyone tells you that you will go over budget when you build. We couldn’t start off $70,000 over our target. It would be a disaster.

Why? How could our bid be so far over our initial ballpark figures?

Although we only have 3791 square feet of living space, we have to frame and brick and cover 5677 square feet. These costs skyrocketed our price per square foot. Also framing, brick, and labor costs are fixed. There aren’t cheaper options. They are what they are. (Remember the discrepancy in the square footage on the floors is because I want the kids to be on the first floor with us.)


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Daniel and I started looking at what costs we could cut. We saved almost $20,000 from cutting the tile roof. Then we painstakingly took $100+ here and there from various allowances like tile, appliances, lighting, etc. Somehow we landed at our target price.

This picture basically shows how I felt afterward. (For the record I wasn’t drinking anything when Nick took this. I was just caught off guard.) Overall our mood was extremely uneasy. We said from the beginning we wanted a nice house not a big house. Now we felt like the opposite was happening.

Here are some general thoughts/questions that were whirling around our heads: Do we even attempt to build? Do we just ignore budget and go crazy? Should we just live with my parents forever? Do we go house hunting again? (Admittedly I never stopped looking for houses throughout the entire design process just in case.)

Basically we were overwhelmed with the bid, but we were uneasy with the cuts we made getting it into a comfortable price range. What’s a family on a budget supposed to do?

(Not to answer my own question, but the answer is something completely crazy.)

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Design Process: Elevation

Posted by Amber in Building on July 1, 2013  ||  14 Comments


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We focused on the floor plan layout first, because we knew we wanted a boxy house like this one above. Of course we sent over this example, so the architect could start thinking about how the layout would work with our desired elevation before he drew up the floor plans. I figured the clean boxy lines would be easy to achieve.

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Our first elevation draft looked like this. I was like WHAT?!?! It looked more ranch style that is trying to be Mediterranean but got confused. It’s not ugly. It just wasn’t what we were thinking/expecting. We didn’t like the multiple peeks on the roof which can look great on certain elevations, but again not what we wanted. Our next step was to ask for the redraw to have the roof squared off. We needed the upstairs framed to match the downstairs to get that boxy look. Also we wanted the windows to be symmetrical to add balance.

 

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Oh so much better in all it’s boxiness. Now all that attic space in the upstairs floor plan makes more sense right? We have a covered front porch and balcony. The pillars for the balcony are pre cast columns.

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This is the back elevation. There aren’t many windows on the upstairs because most of the rooms are at the front of the house since only 840 square feet of the upstairs is actual living space.

It is pretty crazy to see it finished on paper, but we are really curious to see how looks once it’s up. We chose painted brick because it’s cheaper than stucco. However, we will have stucco sprayed on the back patio area (for the same reason why people have wood siding). People in Texas seem to prefer brick and stone exteriors anyway, so I think it will work to our advantage in the future. The roof is drawn to be a tile roof in typical Mediterranean style.

What do you think? Does it look anything like you picture?

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Patterns in Design

Posted by Amber in Decor on June 28, 2013  ||  10 Comments


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Now that the layout of our new house is established, we’ve been trying to get ahead on thinking about the design. We hope that allows us to make quicker decisions, get what we want, and maybe even save some money.

Specially we are exploring pattern in our design choices which is convenient because it’s my monthly challenge for June! Just to clarify in case the opening image threw you off, we are looking at pattern in the house not on it. (Although I would totally be into a polka dotted house if the HOA was cool.)


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We know (or think we know) we want to do some wallpaper but probably not an entire room. I love both of these black and white options. They are simple in both color and pattern that it wouldn’t limit the room in the future.


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There is definitely a part of me that wants a bold wallpaper too. I mean what an incredible impact on the room this floral has. I wear of patterns easily though, so I do worry about going so bold then being over it in a month especially since wallpaper is not cheap.

We could always go the stencil route since it’s cheaper and much easier to change in the future.


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Then there’s the matter of adding pattern in the form of tile to the house. It’s much more expensive than standard tile, but goodness it’s gorgeous! I do have the same fear of it wearing on me since it would be such a permanent thing.


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But seriously how amazing is this patterned backsplash?? If you keep the kitchen neutral (and have a badass range), then it makes such an amazing impact on the space.


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I have been obsessed with this bathroom since Emily Henderson posted it on Instagram. It’s a pattern, but it’s also not too busy. I love me some scallops (the pattern not the food).


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We are very interested to see what the price difference between laying hardwood the normal way versus in a herringbone pattern. We love the herringbone look but seriously doubt it will be in the budget.

Basically we are trying to find a balance between adding our style into the home but not so much that no one will ever want to buy it. Patterns are a tricky thing sometimes.

How do you feel about pattern? Go bold or go home? Put it on the wall, the floor, or neither just leave the pattern to the textiles? Don’t worry we’ve made zero final decisions, so your opinions are very much appreciated!

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Design Process: Floor Plan

Posted by Amber in Building on June 27, 2013  ||  29 Comments

After we got our preliminary floor plan, we knew we had to focus on our must haves and specifics. Our architect gives clients 2 drafts for a price per covered square foot, then works hourly after that. We wanted the plan to be exactly what we wanted regardless, but we also didn’t want to slip into that hourly part either.

The big issue was the kitchen. Although we originally said we wanted the built in nook, we didn’t like it. There was a ton of wasted space with the nook area. The powder room needed to be further from the kitchen area for privacy. Also the entire kitchen was just too small.

The other thing was the fireplace in the great room. The only place to put a tv in this room would be over the mantel. We like the placement of a tv on that wall but hate the idea of mounting one over a mantel. We would never have a beautifully styled mantel. Think about our future Christmases guys. (If it was an outdoor fireplace or one in the master I wouldn’t care so much.)


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Let’s start with the great room. We moved the fireplace to the outside wall and added an outdoor fireplace to the back. I wanted it to be a see through fireplace, so we would only be paying for 1 fireplace. However having a see through fireplace on an outside wall is a security issue. We added french doors on both sides of the fireplace for more light and symmetry.

Onto the kitchen where pinterest influenced the entire layout.


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I saw this on desire to inspire and became obsessed with the idea of having a window that opens like this in my kitchen.

That little half circle by the sink is a pass through window! We completely took out the nook to add cabinets and that window on the exterior wall. The outdoor kitchen is to the right of the window too, so that’s going to be a great set up. Now we have a large rectangular island with a bar that is open to the rest of the space.

As I write this it sounds like it was so easily accomplished, but it really wasn’t. We couldn’t move the nook to the other side of the kitchen because we wouldn’t have a place for the fridge. Plus the pantry set up would be crazy. We couldn’t put the nook to the right of the kitchen because it would block the hallway to the kids room. Where is it?


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We are putting the every day dining table between the bar and the great room. Originally I wanted the island to just flow to the great room, but we have to have a nook space with 2 small kids. Plus when they start school, they will need a place to work on homework.

The more I looked at homes with this layout, the more I decided it wasn’t that big of a deal. I think the kitchen layout and that window are more important. Plus it’s the best use of that space overall.

Also totally random but our architect send us an updated drawing with a huge tv with a pull up bar for the now nook space. We weren’t sure if he was joking, annoyed with us, or actually thought it was a good idea. (To clarify he thought it was a good idea.)

Other small changes to the downstairs:

  • Fireplace added to the master
  • Bedrooms got another window. It’s more about natural light than wall space.
  • Added a coat closet off the entry.
  • Powder room got moved to the other side of the stairs.


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The upstairs only had minor changes. We added a porch to the top with french doors out. The craft room was added. Yea. No windows. Boo. The unfinished space is just attic. We will go into the reasoning behind that later.

Here’s the final run down on our completed plans:

  • 4 beds
  • 3.5 baths
  • 3 car garage
  • 2 Living areas (great room + upstairs playroom)
  • Office and Formal Dining downstairs
  • Craft room upstairs
  • 3 fireplaces
  • 3 covered patios (front upstairs & down, back of the house)
  • 3,791 square feet (more than we wanted but apparently necessary to accommodate our room requirements)
  • Total covered 5,677 square feet (this includes all the square footage that’s under a roof i.e. garage and attic space)
It was at this moment when I was in love with the idea of building. I knew this is what we were supposed to do, and I couldn’t wait to get started. 
What do you think? Is this crazy? Can’t wait to share the elevation next week!

 

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Design Process: Preliminary Floor Plan

Posted by Nick in Building on June 26, 2013  ||  4 Comments

When we last left off in our story, Amber was telling you about starting the design phase. Our pillow talks during those weeks basically went like this:

Amber: “Did you see the kitchen layout on that floor plan I pinned?”
Me: “No.”
Amber: “WHY DON’T YOU EVER LOOK AT MY PINTEREST?!??!?!?!”

It was hot.

We spent hours looking at floor plans. Picking apart components. Commenting on the master suite layout, the patio, grouping of the bedrooms, etc. It was at times a very grueling process. As this phase stretched on, we were both getting grumpy. Designing a floor plan sounded like a lot more fun than it was turning out to be.

Once we had all of our requirements, we were ready to speak with the architect. Amber went and relayed everything we wanted. She emailed out a very detailed list of requirements along with a ton of images (including the one above) to illustrate some of our bullet points.

About 2 and a half weeks later (which was a week and a half longer than expected), we got the preliminary floor plans back from the architect. Before we get into those too much, let’s just say they made us feel a little something like this:

Not exactly what we were looking for. Click To Enlarge

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So there it was. Some good, but mostly things that we weren’t diggin. Major issues were:

  • Kitchen layout was all wrong. Amber Edit: It’s hard to appreciate the good in any plan when the kitchen layout is bad.
  • We (thought we) wanted a built in bench for the nook, but not 3 sided.
  • Upstairs was missing a Craft Room / Blog Headquarters
  • Powder Room is right off the kitchen. (I don’t want to smell that while I’m cooking)
  • No fireplace in the master
  • The fireplace in the living room was wrong for furniture placement and room function in the future.
  • Not enough windows.
What we liked:
  • The flow of the master/master bath/closet.
  • The jack and jill set up of the kids’ bedrooms which we didn’t want originally but liked how this one was laid out.
  • The hidden stairs with a nice walk in pantry underneath.

Tomorrow, Amber is going to talk a bit more about the corrections we made and reveal the finalized floor plans.

So what do you think of these plans? Do you agree with our assessments?

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Design Process: Architecture

Posted by Amber in Building on June 24, 2013  ||  12 Comments


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When we first started the design phase, we contacted some modern architects (who shall remain nameless) to see if we could pull off something similar to the modern beauty above. Although they were proud to say they worked with all budgets, our phone conference lead us to believe all budgets actually meant big and bigger. We were quoted at $200+ per square foot for build costs in addition to an architecture fee of 10-15% of the total final cost. They wanted complete control of everything AND an 18 month to 2 year time frame.


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We were discouraged but then realized we are 28. We can build a modern house at some point if we want to. Plus the great thing about modern houses is they are on a beach or somewhere secluded. We are in a neighborhood (no matter how custom) – a modern house just wouldn’t fit in.

Also we are way too big of control freaks to give someone complete authority over our project. Yes they are experts, but we would like to make our own mistakes. (Don’t quote me on that later.) I thought the guy was a bit of a pretentious jerk face too, so there was that.

We hired the architect that our builder typically uses, so we just needed to explore floor plans to get a more defined idea of what we wanted. We headed to Cool House Plans. We did not pay attention to the elevations for each floor plan. We just focused on the layout.

This floor plan needed a lot of tweaks to make it what we wanted, but it was the closest to what we were looking for. Technically we took multiple floor plans and just pieced together what we liked.


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For example we liked the flow of the master to the master bath in this floor plan. Overall though the plan was a bit choppy with a weird stair placement. It’s hard when you can’t walk the space beforehand to really decide, so you just have to do your best to imagine it.

We brought our sample floor plans (all marked up) along with a list of our criteria to our architect:

  • 4 bedrooms (master + 2 bedrooms down – I want to be on the same level as my babies)
  • 3.5 baths
  • 3,200 to 3,400 square feet
  • Living room/great room open to the kitchen with a rectangular island (not curved around the space)
  • Split bedrooms
  • 3 Car Garage
  • Study and Formal Dining downstairs
  • Hobby room, play room (2nd living area), guest room upstairs
  • No grand staircase just hide the stairs (let’s be honest the mess upstairs needs to be hidden from people)
  • Mud room and large laundry area

We will share the preliminaries next. What would your criteria be? Who knew a modern house would be so ridiculous?

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Meeting with a Builder

Posted by Amber in Building on June 20, 2013  ||  18 Comments

After we decided on a lot, it was time to get with a builder. We had been talking to our builder Daniel while looking at lots, but it was time to get serious and start on the design phase.

We have known Daniel for years. He helped us when we did the massive remodeling (floors, kitchen) on our last house. My parents and him just built this commercial building. They have a real estate investment company together and have built, remodeled, and sold numerous homes together over the years. (Daniel being the builder and my parents being the realtors.)

Honestly I did meet with another builder, but I felt more comfortable with Daniel. I know the quality of home he builds. Plus I trust him which is huge when you are looking for a contractor!

So we sit down and start talking about what we want. It went something like this:

Daniel: So what kind of house do you want to build?

Us: One with walls??

Here’s the deal on a completely custom home you are in charge of everything – daunting yet exciting all at once. We knew the basics of what we wanted – square footage, bedrooms, etc. (I mean we do have a pinterest clearly that qualifies us to some degree.) In fact I think everyone has a vision of what they want in a house, but it’s totally different when you are on the other side of the desk about to make that vision a reality. It’s a lot of pressure (not that anything we said then has any permanent standing yet but still).

So this picture isn’t exactly related to meeting with Daniel, but it pretty much sums up how we felt. Part excited and part nervous like we did at our first auction only on a much grander scale.

We brainstormed together what amenities we wanted like fireplaces, flooring, exterior features, etc. Daniel gave us ballpark prices, so we had an idea of what was feasible when we met with our architect. I felt significantly less clueless after the meeting which is always a good thing. We had a lot of thinking to do before we started hammering out the floor plan and elevation.

What are some of your must haves? Do you think it’s awesome to be in charge of everything or do you prefer to have your choices limited for sanities sake?

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Lot Secured

Posted by Amber in Building on June 18, 2013  ||  13 Comments

In the 2013 home lot draft, the Wills have selected lot #3. No one guessed that. Seriously no one did. You can’t really get a feel for the neighborhood or lot without touring it, so I fault no one but the internet. Here is our best attempt to walk the lot with you.

Once you get over the slope, this is the brush. I believe most of it will have to be cleared when they do the dirt work for the house. Although I would love a lot with a ton of trees,  I want an unobstructed view of the front of my house more.

This is the back right side of the lot. You can see the neighbor’s fence. (They have a pool so maybe we don’t have to compromise on the community pool thing? Okay maybe a little.) The bigger trees in the background are about where the lot ends. There is a house way back there, but they are too far away to spy on us.

This is the back left. There isn’t a house on the neighboring lot yet, but it is sold and they are somewhere in the process of building. Maybe the design phase? I really don’t know. It doesn’t matter too much they won’t be crowding our space.

This is the view across the street. There are just a ton of trees. We didn’t consider that lot because it would have required a retaining wall which are a considerable amount of money. We are talking $10,000 starting point for a small one. Hopefully no one ever builds here, and we get to look at the trees from our porch(es).

Nick actually instagrammed me when he was standing at the back of the lot before we even announced anything about our future plans. Honestly we didn’t really have future plans at that point either!

Here’s the main reason we decided lot #3 was it.

It’s a neighborhood thing. This is a small neighborhood. It’s gated which I forgot to mention yesterday (oops). These are some of the houses that are in there. Notice how they all look different. Most are Mediterranean in style, but none of them look alike. The other neighborhoods just all looked the same to us. The house we want to build would look out of place and be over built for the other areas.

When we first pulled lots, this one did not come up because we only wanted to look at lots under $80,000. So how did we find this?

We were getting discouraged at how out of place our house would be when Nick said what about that one neighborhood…where is that? We have been eyeing this neighborhood for years since my mom has sold several of the houses in here. I couldn’t remember exactly where it was, but I somehow pointed him here. It was pretty much over then. Except that the lot price was $89,900 which was then raised to $99,900 while we were in the design phase. (Cue the Charlie Brown music.)

This lot is not the most expensive in the area, but it was more than we initially wanted to spend for a piece of dirt. All the remaining lots in this subdivision are the same price, but most require retaining walls which was a deal breaker for us on an already over budget lot. We were able to get it for $90,000 and know this is the place we are meant to be. There was just an huge weight lifted off us when we finally committed. We are really going to make this all happen.

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Lot Hunters

Posted by Amber in Building on June 17, 2013  ||  26 Comments

Although lot hunting isn’t nearly as thrilling as house hunting, it shouldn’t be underrated when you are building a custom home. We looked at about 20 lots total. Some within the same neighborhood. They are all in the same school district. We walked the lots that we were interested in to get a better feel for the topography.

I will give you all the information on each lot, so you can really get a feel for the market out here and understand the whole process better.

Lot #1

  • $51,000
  • 0.89 acres
  • Cul de Sac
  • Golf Course neighborhood (no lots left on the course)
This lot is mainly flat with a rise at the back.The neighborhood is newer homes that are around 4,000.

Lot #2

  • $55,000
  • 1.117 acres
  • Cul de sac
The lot has very pretty trees and slants down. The neighborhood is a little older and mostly flat with trees scattered throughout.

Lot #3

  • $99,900
  • 1 acre
  • Cul de sac
This lot sits pretty high with brush at the front then levels out at the back. The neighborhood is small, and most of the lots have homes on them. They are newer homes around 3,500 square feet.

Lot #4

  • $50,000
  • 1 acre
  • Community Pool
It’s rare to have a community pool when this isn’t a master planned community. The HOA maintains it, but I don’t know who paid to put it in. There is a builder who offices here, but you can use whatever builder you want. The neighborhood is new with only about 7 homes finished. 

Lot #5

  • $64,000
  • 1.1 acres
  • Gated community

The lot has trees and dips down right after that little dirt patch on the picture which might require a retaining wall once you put a house on it. This neighborhood had some insanely well maintained and elaborate landscaping.

So step 1 is to search and find the lot we wanted to build on. On any of these lots, you are in charge of finding an architect and builder to build your home. These are the 5 lots that we were considering. I know it’s hard to tell, but which do you think we chose?

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House Hunting: The Show is Over

Posted by Amber in House Hunting on June 14, 2013  ||  24 Comments

Alright it’s time to eliminate some houses and let you know our decisions.

We eliminated the Victorian fixer upper first. This home is very style specific. The style being not ours. The project is just too overwhelming for this stage in our lives (toddler + one on the way). Plus it really isn’t set up for a growing family in 2013. Come on 1874 be more forward thinking.

Also the ghosts.

Next to cross off the list was the historic home in our dream neighborhood. Even though we’d love to be in this area, this just isn’t our house. The foundation and lack of natural light were deal breakers. It’s even been significantly reduced in price since we toured it, but it’s just not it.

Finally the restored colonial in Weatherford…was also crossed off the list! This home is gorgeous and under budget. However we felt like we would be pouring money into this place with very little return on investment. It was more of a style issue than an updating issue. Also that kitchen was going to be a huge undertaking that would require professionals and beams to hold the upstairs in place. No thanks.

Please don’t kill us for leading you on all week. First we underestimated the blogosphere’s response to our house hunting. Second we wanted to explain our next move as thoroughly as possible.

Since the house we wanted sold, we have continued to search for houses. When we sold our home, we were still looking. We moved into my parents…and kept looking. We are looking in a very large area and only found 3 houses over the last 4-5 months.

We were faced with a hard decision. Do we continue to wait around for something to maybe pop up or do we pursue other options? Remember there’s a baby in my belly, and did I mention we are staying at my parents? Am I painting a dire enough picture for you?

When we bought both of our previous houses, we knew the second we walked in that they were IT. We didn’t come close to feeling that this time around. I was really stressing, and we knew it was time to do something else.

So we did. Or we are rather. The Wills are building a completely custom home. We have a ton to share with you about the process thus far. You already know we are sneaky, so yes we have a few things up our sleeves.

Do you hate us for leading you on? I hope not. I’m sorry. Are you as excited as we are about building a home with literally no rules? Seriously the options are endless, and your opinions are needed to get this sucker built.

 

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