3 Years After Building A Home; What I’d Do Again And What I’d Do Differently
It’s been 3 years since we built our home. Going through the design process can be quite overwhelming (soooo many choices) but also very exciting! I thought it may be helpful to put together a post reflecting on the decisions we made.
What I still love about our home:
1. Our floors: This goes for all of our choices; hardwoods, carpet and tile. I don’t think I’ve ever wished I had changed it. I love that our hardwoods already feel lived in and have so many variations in them. That has been a huge help with our large Golden Retrievers running around. I wanted a product that did not have a shiny finish as you notice every imperfection. The tile in our bathrooms and laundry have a natural feel to them. The powder room tile is also a classic hexagon pattern. Our carpet is tightly woven (not the most pet friendly) but I do still like the darker color for hiding dirt.
2. Backsplash tile: I’m also still content with our tile finishes in the bathrooms and kitchen. I played it a bit safe when it came to these selections. I was nervous to go bold because it’s much easier to change out a pillow case or lamp than it is when you get sick of your backsplash or the floor to ceiling tile in your shower. We went with variations of subway tiles and I love the contrast against our bathroom floors. However in our kitchen, the white tile against our white cabinets and quartz sometimes feels a bit blah. But... they are all classic finishes. They ebb and flow well with multiple styles and multiple decor items. They also will continue to work if we ever decided to paint the cabinets.
3. Imperfect smooth wall finish: You’ll thank me later for this one. It’s a game changer, especially if you have kids or pets (Norman). It’s much easier to fix little and big marks, scratches, dings... you name it. We actually just had to fix an entire area below our bay windows ruined with scratches and our General Contractor filled it and sanded it down. That easy!
4. Paint: Our interior paint, City Loft by SW has also remained a favorite of mine. The builder had another color picked out (I don’t recall what it was, other than it was too taupe for my liking). I begged her to let me pick a different interior color... I think we were past cut off for this decision. But the shade we picked is the perfect, almost white greige. It has enough interest that our white cabinets and tiles don’t fade into the walls but it also feels very light and airy yet brings a bit of warmth to the space. Plus, both Tim and I hate painting. I realize this is something you can do upon move in for much cheaper than hiring someone. But since it was already included, I didn’t see the point of sticking with their color choice, only to either hate it or have to change it later.
5. We waited on projects: I love that we unintentionally drug our feet a bit to add in our own touches. There are some things that are much more cost effective to do upfront ie floors, structural options like openings and doors, countertops etc. We passed on using the builder for most light fixtures, fans, built ins and backyard landscaping. Some of this we are still (3 years later) finishing, and that’s ok. We took the time to live in our space and see how we would use it. Had we decided to do it all up front, I don’t think I’d be happy with every choice we made. It’s definitely nice to be 100% moved in and have no more projects once you close on your home but that’s not always reality. It’s an expensive process and some things you don’t realize you want until you’ve lived in the home for a while. I also love that it’s an evolving process and slowly becoming a home that reflects us.
Things I’d do differently:
1. Blinds: I chose very simple white blinds. We had so many decisions to make and a budget to stick to that I didn’t even entertain any other options. It was actually my easiest decision because I didn’t care one bit at the time. In hind sight, I would have gone with a woven or fabric option in some places to add a bit of warmth and softness, and also to break up the white. This is one of my bigger “I wish I would’ve done differently” but, replacing the blinds in an entire house can cost a pretty penny. With other projects at a higher priority, we’ve been living by ‘they aren’t broken, so I don’t see the point in fixing them’ anytime soon.
2. Canned lights: This is something I never ever thought of before we built. While I am extremely glad we didn’t put any in our bedrooms, we did put some in our office, kitchen, living room and dining room. Jury is out re how much use they’ll get. It’s 100% personal preference and depends on the room... Tim will have them on at night or early morning when he’s in the office and kitchen. The living room lights are also on a dimmer which is much more my taste. Overall, I’m much more of a lamp / light fixture / sconce type of girl. Lighting can add interest, layers and that cozy feel to a room. I’d rather spend the money on table lamps or wall scones than overhead canned lighting.
3. Electrical wiring: Once you are finished building, this is much more difficult and expensive to add lighting down the line. Think of any place you would ever want to put a sconce, a chandelier, an outlet and have them pre wire for it. It’s much cheaper to have that done while your walls are open. During your pre-drywall walk through, take pictures of every wall in your home. When you want to wire a sconce or add a fixture later down the road and the electrician starts asking you questions, having those pictures would be extremely helpful. Having less knowledge on what is behind those walls could cost $$$ later on if they have to be opened up.
4. Bathtubs: Another ‘easier to get it right the first time’ situation. Would I move just because I don’t have a master bathtub? No. Well... let’s just say the next place we move, my dream tub or a hot tub are at the top of my list. Hence my tub Tuesday posts. I didn’t realize I’d miss having one this much, but the community hot tub has also been closed since COVID hit, which doesn’t help. When we purchased our home, not having a large bathtub wasn’t a huge deal to me because of the hot tub access. What makes matters worse, the tub in the guest bath (the only tub in the house) is too short for me. This is a very small “thing I’d do different” in the grand scheme but it makes the list. I’ve tried to think of every possible scenario in which we would be able to add one or make the current tub larger, but it doesn’t seem like it’s a possibility.
5. Visit your prospective lot, often: Walk in multiple lighting / weather situations if possible and different times of the day to see where the sun is. Drive through the neighborhood at different times… is there commuter traffic? Is it safe at night? If buying a new build, I’d also walk the models with all the lights off during the day to see how much natural light is available for your particular floor plan. Model homes always have all the lights turned on and doors often taken off the hinges, which can be a bit deceiving. Backyard landscaping will also be heavily influenced by the amount and type of light. If you are choosing or deciding between two lots with different orientations, this could help make your decision. Maybe you want sunset views out your backyard. Or maybe your living room windows face south or east, which will get blasted with the California summer sun. It’s another layer of decisions and thinking but often times we walk the models and assume everything translates to our new home when that isn’t the case.
All in all, we are very happy with our current home and choices. That being said. I hope this post is helpful if you are a first time buyer, building your first home or renovating and are a bit over your head in decisions. Thank you for following along and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to drop them in the comments below!