I consider myself a fairly experienced home buyer, so buying and selling “round six” should be a breeze. Until I decided to build this time around… And we’re not just building new, we’re opting for a custom built home. I wish I could say we’re investing in our forever home, in the location of our dreams but instead we’re building a for now home where we need to be for various reasons as a family. I can already tell this house project will be quite a trip and I’m glad you’ve decided to come along for the ride 🙂
30 days after deciding that a custom build was the way to go, we found a lot, hired a builder and an architect and reviewed a few versions of design plans. Last week we fired the architect because instead of getting closer to what our layout should be, his designs were getting farther away. We don’t have time to work with someone that can’t listen and bring our ideas to life in the plans. So, our builder suggested we move on from him and introduced us to a new architect. The project is starting off delayed by four months now (eye roll).
We’re also in the process of relocating from California where we’ve lived for the past three years, back to the east coast. Anyone who has relocated across the country with a family and pets knows the joys of a big move (big eye roll). Until our new home is completed we’re renting an apartment and chose the largest place they had to give us as much space as possible. We went from 4700 square feet to 2500 square feet, three adults working from home, a nine year old, a cat and a dog – fun times! I recognize that despite the inconvenience, we’re really blessed to be able to rent a luxury apartment while building our next home. That said, this is an adjustment for us especially with three adults working from home.
Former West Coast Home
Current East Coast Apartment
But let’s get back to the house… We’re building a transitional style home with a slurried brick finish on the exterior and a more modern than traditional vibe on the inside. Slurried brick is colored mortar troweled over bricks which gives the bricks a rich texture and depth that paint alone can’t do. I love the look of clean lines and modern floor plans but I don’t want to give up the classic warmth and character that comes with a slightly traditional look. Combining the two sounds like the way to go. We shall see.
Here are a few photos of the lot and the inspiration for the elevation we chose.
New Home Site Plan
Slurried Brick Inspiration
In three weeks we’ll have our second design meeting with the builder and new architect. Fingers crossed this guy produces a strong v1 of what we want or I can see my husband scrapping the new build altogether and I’ll be remodeling someone else’s home and dealing with all the aggravation of trying to undo their lousy design choices lol. Check back in a few weeks and I’ll let you all know how the design meeting went. Wish me luck!