moved out of our old home and into a rental house,
we got our plans approved by the HOA,
we finalized everything with the builder and signed the builder contract,
and we worked on getting approval for the construction loan.
On October 17th we closed on the construction loan and were given the green light to begin construction!
For those that are following our build process and would like to have a little more detail on securing a construction loan just keep reading. Continue reading Construction Loan Closed!→
As we mentioned in our last post, we decided to start over from scratch with a new house design. There are lots of elements in the new plan that are similar to our old plan but, at the same time, it is truly a completely different layout. We owe a big thanks for this new design to Josh Hardy with CADD Drafting Services! We are so excited about the new layout and hope you like it too. As always, your comments and feedback are appreciated. We haven’t broken ground yet so there is still time to make corrections if you see something that you think we may have overlooked. Continue reading Final Elevations and Floor Plans (New Design)→
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:
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.
“Sometimes youhave 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!
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!
I never thought I would be writing a post about a woodworking project but I am so excited to be enjoying this new hobby! I have always had a desire to learn woodworking but it seemed too hard and I had no foundation of experiences to build from. I built a dog house years ago but it was pretty simple and turned out sloppy.
Haven painting the dog house
I am also extremely busy with my growing family and a demanding career so I assumed if I ever got around to woodworking it would be during my retirement years.
So what changed? Well, for my birthday my wife gave me a Kreg Jig. I didn’t even know what it was and when Bethany explained what she wanted me to do with it I felt intimidated and under qualified. She showed me a table on Ana White’s website and explained that if I could build that table we could save thousands of dollars compared to a similar table she was considering purchasing at Restoration Hardware. That got my interest. Continue reading Ana White 4×4 Farmhouse Truss Beam Table→
When we first set out to design a custom home we knew the kitchen would be a focal point of the whole design and that the layout and design of the kitchen would receive our highest attention to detail. One of Bethany’s favorite things to do is prepare meals for our family and experiment with new recipes in the kitchen. For our family the kitchen has become one of the primary hangouts to talk, play games, and work on school. We wanted a design that would provide the storage space, convenience, and amenities of a 5-star kitchen but we also wanted the kitchen to be open, spacious, and an extension of the family and dining areas. Continue reading Designing Kitchen and Cabinet Layouts→
My wife and I are capturing the steps involved in building a custom home. Test pits and soil tests are not the most glamorous or interesting steps to write about but they are both important steps in reducing risks by understanding the reality of the build site.
During the purchase of the land we performed a level 3 soil study and validated that the property could support a septic system for a six bedroom home. The soil tests showed that we may require a more expensive septic system (one with an aerobic treatment unit) if more suitable soil could not be located on the property. We probably should have dug test pits at that time but we liked the property so much that we knew we would proceed with the purchase regardless of any potential test pit results . The perc test passed and we were willing to give up a basement if required so we concluded the due diligence process and proceeded with the land purchase. We decided to postpone test pits until we were closer to the actual build. Continue reading Test Pits and Soil Tests→
When it comes to choosing interior colors for our new home, I have little trouble knowing exactly what I want.
Choosing a roof color, however, is trickier! I definitely know that we want a white house. But when it comes to the roof, I am lost. I have been obsessing over shingle samples for several weeks now. Up close, they all look very similar. And pictures are not accurate representations of what the shingles look like in person. Basically, I have narrowed it down to off-black, dark gray, and light gray. Here are some example inspiration pictures of what I like in each color. Continue reading Choosing a Roof Color→
It really is daunting to design a home from scratch. There are so many possibilities, and beginning with a blank slate can be intimidating.
But beginning with a blank slate can also be PERFECT IN EVERY WAY! Because you can design a home exactly how YOU want it!
After searching far and wide for the perfect house plan, we discovered that there just wasn’t something out there that met all of our needs and our aesthetic desires. Many houses came close, but there was always something not quite right about the design (usually on the inside). So, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work combining elements of many homes we loved. Continue reading Farmhouse Inspiration→
Last month my husband and I had the opportunity to attend a product demonstration at the Sub-Zero and Wolf Showroom in Atlanta. We were expecting to see the products. We were expecting to taste food samples. What we actually experienced FAR exceeded these expectations. We enjoyed a fun-filled evening of wine, fine dining, and a top-notch cooking demonstration with Wolf’s talented and personable chef, George. Continue reading Visit to Sub-Zero and Wolf Showroom→
