Makin' Some Changes

As with anything involving home construction, whether it be new or renovations, changes will occur and should be expected.  Our builder is responsible for the build of our entire neighborhood with only a handful of plans to choose from.  They do make exterior changes so that each one looks different and the neighborhood doesn't look cookie-cutter.  When you choose a plan, many people think that it is what it is, but that's not true!  Don't be afraid to make modifications prior to and during your build and ask for what you want to suit your family's needs.  If it's feasible for your budget, don't be afraid to make those changes, it's MUCH cheaper to do it from the beginning than to have to go back and redo.  Plus, it's YOUR house.  Don't let your builder talk you out of something just because they don't want to do it, they're not going to be the ones living there NOR are they paying for it!

Since our house is now framed, we are nearing the end of making major changes, but we have made them!  And most recently with the bonus room.  We were never thrilled with the space and it really wasn't going to be a very functional room for us.  On the original plan, it was an open room at the top of it's own set of stairs and very narrow.  We had already requested to have the walls extend to the ceiling, to add a door and a closet.  This change would also technically give us another bedroom with the closet addition.  It wasn't a very costly change so it was an easy decision to make.  Not so much with the latest change!  When we saw the space after it was framed, our hearts sank (don't tell the builders that we walk through ALL THE TIME since we're really not supposed to!).  Our roof pitch is very different and much higher than another house with the same floor plan that we originally looked at and, because of that, the walk-in storage space on the front end of our bonus room is HUGE with a ceiling slope minimum of five feet.  For us, it was storage space we didn't need since there is another smaller one on the other side of the bonus room as well as tons of attic space above the 2nd floor.  We slept on it, talked about it, slept on it some more and were still very uneasy with leaving the room the way it was.  I knew it would only require adding floor joists in that space and taking down the wall they had already built.  And we knew that it would completely change the way we used that room.  SO, we requested an estimate for the change, decided to go for it and now we'll have a large, way more functional space for our family.  We are ecstatic about it and have said so many times that it completely changes the way we think of the house (as if we didn't absolutely love it to begin with!).  Our downstairs living room isn't very spacious, so adding this space is an incredible "bonus" for us.  HA!

If you are building or doing major renovations and don't know where to begin in thinking about the finer details, here are some of the other changes that we have made:  We are extending the kitchen cabinets along the wall and on the island to give us much more counter/prep space as well as adding some glass fronts on the added uppers. We took out the boys' smaller closet in their room, had the door flip-flopped for the walk-in closet that separates their room from J's office and are building him another closet.  This will give the boys about 20 extra square feet in the already small bedroom they will share and now they have a very nice walk-in closet that wasn't necessary for J's office.  The flex room (my office) off the entry downstairs was to have carpet as well as the guest room downstairs.  We went ahead and had those changed to the hardwood on the rest of the first floor.  A lot of changes we have made are electrical and something everyone needs to think about more than they may realize.  We are adding wiring for porch fans on the front, chest-level outlets in the pantry, outlets in the master closet, recessed lighting in the living room and relocating the central ceiling fan to the guest room (I'm not really a fan of the indoor fan!).  You also need to think ahead about data wiring and cable/ A/V outlets, which means you have to pre-plan your furniture placement for determining where TVs and A/V equipment will go.  The two changes we requested just today are to plumb for a utility sink in the garage and to add a second door to the guest bathroom downstairs so it can be accessed from the guest bedroom as well as from the hall.  Whew, glad J thought of that one in time!  That leads me to another piece of advice:  STUDY, STUDY, STUDY your plan!  Even as an interior designer, I miss things and there have been things that J has said he would have modified had he studied it more.  It's much, much easier and cheaper to do it from the beginning than to have to go back in and make the changes later.

We certainly have upgrade plans for later that include flooring upgrades in the bathrooms, replacing the carpet with hardwood upstairs (we're not fans of carpeting), wood wall treatments such as board and batten in the boys' room, a barn wood wall in the guest bath, built-ins on either side of the fireplace, an antique pantry door and outdoor living spaces for the backyard (and on and on and on!).  What out-of-the box things have you added or dreamed of adding to your home?