Just a year ago, we were living in northern Virginia in a very beautiful, sought-after farm-to-table community! Fast forward to August 2022, and we have relocated to the north Dallas area. Of course, you’re probably up to date on our move if you’re following along on Instagram or if you saw my last blog post on my covered patio.
It seems like 2021 was a year of transition, and I can honestly say that I needed the change from the east coast to the south. We primarily relocated to be closer to family, and overall we just needed a change in scenery.
Once our home sold a year ago, we began the new home-building process in Texas. Fortunately, we were able to put a contract in on a home that was already under construction. The below pictures (minus the ones with scripture) represents the new home-building process when we saw it for the first time in person.
The builder had chosen all the options for the home; however, they were gracious enough to allow me to make some changes to make this house truly a home for us.
Some of the changes we were able to make are:
- Added hardwood flooring to the owner’s bedroom and closet
- Remove cabinets in the kitchen and add floating shelves and a beverage fridge
- Upgrade quartz countertops in the kitchen
- Add beams to the great room
- Add an outlet in the pantry
- Add a pot filler
- Upgrade carpet pad
- Upgrade all toilets in the home
- Tile to the ceiling in downstairs baths
- Extend cabinets in the kitchen
- Epoxy on garage floors
- Upgraded appliances
- Comfort-height, elongated toilets in every bath
The below photo incorporates the builder’s initial selections along with our changes. Of course, there were some selections we weren’t allowed to change (i.e. tile, lighting, carpet, plumbing fixtures, etc.).
As you can see by the new home construction photos below, this is not the typical colonial home that you typically see on the east coast. I was so excited to finally have an all-brick home! Don’t get me wrong, I loved the James Hardie plank on our last home; but I don’t miss the aluminum vinyl homes that are very common in Virginia.
In addition to an all-brick home, I was also very fortunate to get most of our must-have options in the new home. Our wishlist of options was:
- Over 4000 square feet, 4+ bedrooms
- A wide foyer with a spiral staircase
- Voluminous, soaring ceilings throughout the first floor
- Multi-slide patio door
- Large kitchen with tons of storage
- Large great room with custom beams
- Casual dining room with loads of natural light
- Covered patio with room for a tv and built-in kitchen
- Good size pantry and floating shelves
- Good size laundry room on the 1st floor
- Large owner’s bathroom and closet
- Game room and media room
- 1st floor guest bedroom
- Ensuite bathrooms for every bedroom
So, it looks like we got everything I could possibly want, right? Well, not quite. There are things we had to compromise on due to the timing of the market and our move. They are minimal in comparison to the things we did get in our new home. The things we had to compromise on are:
- Lot size
- Three-car garage with a gated entry through Porte-Cochere
- Two door entry
- Centered fireplace with bookshelves on either side
- Painted white brick
- Black windows
We had the option to get black windows and painted white brick; however, that home did not have enough of the things I wanted from my initial list. So, if you remove those items, the list is very small.
We are extremely grateful to be in our new home after waiting almost 7 months. It was worth the wait, and we can’t wait to bring you all the updates and changes.
Here are some of the photos of the process of getting to a completed home. Again, the soaring ceiling heights, light hardwood flooring, and the abundance of natural light are the reasons we fell in love with this home.
If you’re following along on Instagram, then you’re all caught up on how I am designing the spaces so far and what updates I’ve embarked on for our new home.
Stay tuned!
