We are finally breaking ground! I can hardly believe it is true....we started this building/permit process one year ago...yesterday! (permits are my nightmare....just saying)
And here we are finally breaking ground!
So over this last year I have been planning and planning. Building your own home takes lots of effort....so many details! (like where do you want to put the outlets...heaven forbid if I put one in the wrong place =)
Building a home that we will be happy in for the rest of our life and still stay within a carefully planned budget....is crazy hard at times! It's always a battle between you head and your heart.
Here is a list of ideas...and things I have been doing over the past year to help make this build run smoothly.
1 | PLAN, PLAN, PLAN
We have worked out as many details as we can before we started digging. Knowing what you want from the start and everything will go so much faster [not to mention mistakes can be costly]. There is no such thing as a too detailed floor plan.
2 | BE INSPIRED
Keep a book of your inspirations and ideas that you want in your home, or create a pinterest board with everything you want and love. This will make it easier for your builder and it helps you to stay on track. (I also made an inspiration book for our contractor....for any questions I think he might have...when I'm not there. =)
3 | Plan for the unexpected
Have a plan A,B and C. Know that things can cost more than expected....be okay with plans B and C.
4 | SPLURGE WISELY
Know what items to splurge on [such as fireplaces, wood floors] and when to save. (we found 2 vintage doors from an old bank in SF....that we will be using as our front doors....this alone will save us $$$$.
5 | LOOK UP
Ceiling height is just as important as the square footage of the room, so don't forget to go for more height. Go for taller doors as well, like 8-footers and you will get a more grand appeal. You can also line up the tops of windows and doors to give you a more clean line around the room.
6 | INVEST IN STORAGE
Closet organizing systems are worth every penny because otherwise you will just have a rod and shelf with lost of unused space. When planning your house, find unused nooks and use them as storage.
For Example....my office will be made from the space under the stairs....and the walk in closet in the guest room upstairs....will be a nursery for visiting grandchildren.
7 | LIGHTING IS YOUR BEST ACCESSORY
There is nothing else that has the most immediate effect on a room as lighting. It brightens up a space and adds detail, character, style, and eye-candy to a space. The lighting in a room helps to set the mood faster than anything else. When in doubt always go for more lighting.... And focus on the details. We have already started collecting light fixtures.....old and new.
8 | DON'T BE ALL NEW
Vintage-looking light fixtures and furniture add instant character to a new house and give the feel that it was collected over time rather than purchased all at once. I'm always on the look for the unexpected.
The importance of mixing old antique items with fresh new items from stores is that it gives your home the look that it was collected over time and not put together from a catalog over night.
I plan to keep a detailed account of this "building process" . I thought about starting a separate blog just for the building...but decided to just keep it here and tag it under categories....so when our home is finished I can put it all together in a book.
Maybe this will be of help...to someone going through the same thing....and you don't have to be building a new home to use these ideas....I've used them with every home we have lived in....even the one with 2 inch rainbow carpet and a green army cot sofa....and yes, even the rat house.... It is what you make of it.
Happy Day-
