Before I met R, he had been working on a home design for years. It was a very well thought out house, but it was entirely his house. After we got married we scrapped that plan and together designed a fantastic plan. It was huge, nearly 5500 square feet, with a large two story family room and a two story massive fireplace to go with it.

We sent out that design to 4 builders and got their bids back. We were expecting it to be around $80 per sq ft to build, it’s closer to $120 per sq ft. Their bids were all WAY out of our price range. We decided to redesign again and cut about 1000 sq ft.

Over a one month period we spent every free second of our time drawing out a new floor plan. I am so glad that we couldn’t afford the 5500 sq ft plan because this plan is so much better. Sadly, we had to cut the two story fireplace. However, the new plan flows much better than the old plan. It is still a good size house at around 4100 sq ft.

Our requirements for the house:

  • Must have a large kitchen with lots of open counter space. I cook a lot and I want a useable kitchen.
  • Must have a walk in pantry. When I bought my first house, having a pantry hadn’t even crossed my mind. As a result, our food is stored all over the kitchen and sometimes in the garage. It’s a HUGE pain in the butt.
  • Must have an open floor plan so that you can see from the kitchen into the family room. I’m in the kitchen most of the time and I don’t want to be isolated from the rest of the family.
  • Must have the laundry room on the first floor. I know lots of people like it on they second floor but they are nuts. I understand there is less carrying of clothes up and down stairs, but I would never hear when the laundry is done so I can start a new load, plus I fold in front of the TV so I’d have to haul it downstairs anyway (seeing as we only have one TV).
  • No carpets allowed, they stain so easily and are very hard to keep clean.
  • As little grout as possible. I HATE grout with a passion. Hate isn’t a strong enough word, I entirely and completely utterly despise grout. It gets so dirty and is hard to clean.
  • Must have large shower in master bathroom. Our current house has a tiny tiny shower where you hold out your elbows and touch the sides. The new house will have a 6 ft by 6 ft shower. I can extend my arms as far as they will go and still not be able to reach the other side. Plus the shower will have awesome jets and sprays. I think this is what I’m most excited for.
  • Must have wood burning fireplace. We have a gas fireplace now and while it’s nice it’s just not the same as a wood burning fireplace.
  • Must have walk up attic. Our current place has one and while that wasn’t a consideration when I bought this house, I’ve grown very fond of it. It’s so much easier than trying to fit things through a little hole in the ceiling.
  • Must have lots of windows and light. Our current house wasn’t angled into the sun and there for some of the rooms are somewhat dark.
  • Must have screened in porch. My father’s house has one and in the summer it’s delightful to be able to go outside but still be in the shade and not have to worry about bugs.

So here are our finalized plans: