Our latest itch is to build a new house. Or, at least, find out how much it would cost to build a new house. Not any house, but what's closest to our "dream house" as is possible, and affordable. I'd like 5,000^ft or more, but realistically, it would be in the 3,000^ft range. Unless I become a master carpenter sometime soon.
The plan is this... we will find a few floor plans which we like (a few websites specialize in this). Then, we'd talk to a builder to see how much it would cost to build these houses, with our own tweaks. Like, add a 3rd (or 4th) garage or adding a mud room. Once we get a plan we are happy with, which is within our budget.. find a nice lot and build it.
This won't happen quickly (unless a sack of cash falls in my lap), but seems like a good plan. I'm really in no mood to move right now anyways. This house will do for another year or two. It's a nice house, in a nice spot. But, if the real estate market in this area keeps up, it would be worth selling in a year or two just for the sake of selling it. And, if at that time, we have in hand the house we'd like to have, all the better!
This is what we decided we'd like in the new house (basics):
* A cooks kitchen. Very large, center island.
* Kitchen has to look into family room (as it does now)
* Master bedroom upstairs
* Laundry on 2nd floor
* Guest suite on first floor
* A study/library/den that will be office
* 4 bedrooms (1 guest, 1 master, 1 for Kyla, and 1 for playroom)
* A mud room.
* 3+ car garage
* Front porch, and deck in back (like we have now)
* 2600^ft and above
* 3+ baths
That's basically it. Here are a few we liked:
Country Home
Nice Victorian
Another Victorian style
This one seems close to perfect.
I have about 20 plans on my "favorites" so far. Fun to look through these.
Posted by Kevin at January 28, 2005 08:52 AMNow I have to be honest I've never heard of a mud room! Please don't tell me it's a room full of mud?!
Posted by: Justin Cavnor on January 28, 2005 9:38 AMHa! It's a room that is usually a buffer between the garage door, or a door from the outside, and the inside rooms. So, when you're out in the snow, rain, etc... you walk into that room to remove your muddy shoes, hang your umbrella, etc...
Basically, the room you know will get muddy, so the rest of your home does not. The house we were going to get in Utah had a nice mud room, with 8 cherry wood lockers and a bathroom in it.
Posted by: Kevin on January 28, 2005 9:50 AM