When we decided to start over from scratch with a new house design we were torn between which designer to hire.  We ultimately decided to go with the designer our builder recommended – Josh Hardy, the owner of CADD Drafting Services.  We reached out to Josh in early March.  He had reservations about taking on our project as he was extremely busy at the time.  He warned that he wouldn’t be able to start for a couple weeks but he also said that once he started he would able to complete the house in just a couple weeks.  We were impressed with the example house he showed us that he designed in Buckhead and felt comfortable with the timeline so we agreed to move forward with him as our designer. Continue reading Our New Designer – Josh Hardy (CADD Drafting Services) →

For those of you that have been following the progress of our new home construction project on the “Building Our Dream” site, you have probably noticed that there has been a long pause since our last post.  We have not broken ground on our home yet, but we were extremely close several months ago.  We had finished our final plans and were trying to finish up the package for the HOA approval when we started questioning the direction we were heading and the house we were about to build.  There were really three things that triggered us to re-assess going forward:

1. Our plan did not take the best advantage of the incredible backyard mountain views. Feedback from professionals and friends/family suggested that a backyard-centric floor plan would be more ideal for the property we have chosen.
2. “Sometimes you have to know when you don’t know and then be wise and humble enough to ask those who do know“.  This is a paraphrase of a principle preached by our pastor, Andy Stanley. Common feedback was that while our house was unique, it may be difficult to sell in the future (if that should ever be necessary).  A more conventional layout was suggested by several sources.  It seemed prudent to give weight to the opinions of those who know a lot more about building houses than we do!
3. Couldn’t justify the total cost.  In the whole scheme of things, we want less of our money going to a house and more of our resources going to what we esteem most important in life – God, family, and friends.  The final price tag was more than we felt was wise to spend on a house.  Andy Stanley influenced our thinking with his sermon “The Best Question Ever“.  In light of our past experiences, our current circumstances, and our future hopes and dreams…we did not want all of our money going to a house.  Thanks, Andy, for reminding us of our priorities at just the right time!

Continue reading New Home Construction: Consider the Wisdom and Advice of Others →