10 changes for the new build!

Many of you have asked me what we’ve decided on for the new build… ranch, 1.5 story, 2-story, or multi-level like our previous home. Well…

MULT-LEVEL! We are actually building pretty much the same house as our previous house but a few tweaks. LOL! Were you expecting that? The main reason is because I want a 2 story layout and Blaine wants a ranch layout. Since we can’t agree, we are compromising with a multi-level house again. Our new build may be a similar layout, but it’ll be a different house with completely new finishes to change the vibe. Also, we know how much it cost to build our previous house even though I’m sure the cost will be completely different this time around with prices higher now. Also, we did love that house, but after living in it for a couple years, we realized we could make it even better for our family’s needs.

Here are some things we are changing! Once we get the final floor plan (which I’m hoping tomorrow), I will share with you all!

1- Having a door in the shower. I sure love an open shower look and is totally what my eyes are drawn to (our previous shower was open and on INSTAGRAM , I love sharing inspo pics of open shower concepts), After living in the rental (which has been less than a month), I realized what I’ve been missing. I love taking warm showers, and I just love how warm it can get in there being in an enclosed space. Our new build will be enclosed with 2 walls and 2 glass walls.

2- Two offices. Blaine and I both work from home. In our previous house, I had my office in the living room and he had his in our master bedroom. When he’s on a phone call or has to go on conference calls with his team or boss, the door is shut and I can’t go in there. One time he was on a conference call and I had to get something in my closet. Instead of army crawling so the people on his screen wouldn’t see me, Blaine quickly turned off his computer camera so I could run and grab it.

For my job, I create videos or am writing content. I get distracted or interrupted easily since I’m in the main area of the house. I had a constant “open door policy” vibe, but there are times I need to get sh*t done and can’t be interrupted. It’s especially hard when I have to do videos and don’t want noise in the background … I don’t know how many times I’ve said “give me 5 minutes and then you can turn on the tv.” 😉

3- Three bedrooms in the basement instead of two. With the new build, we want to stick with around 2000 sq. ft. on the main level to stick to our budget. With 2 offices on the main level, a master suite, and a “suite” for Mariah upstairs, we couldn’t fit anymore on the main level.

4- Larger laundry room or better layout. With 4 kids and Blaine doing laundry every day, our previous laundry room was just plain awkward. There’s a reason why you all never saw the laundry room…ha! I’m not talking about wanting a massive laundry room. We just need enough space that’s functional. You can tell we didn’t put much thought into the previous space, and I felt bad because Blaine is doing laundry in there everyday! 😉

5- No fireplace in the living room. The 2.5 years we lived there, we might have turned on the fireplace 15 times. We had such an amazing view from our living room, but the fireplace obstructed part of it. Part of living out in the country is enjoying the view we get to experience. If we didn’t have the fireplace there, we could get the entire beautiful view looking out to our backyard from the comfort of our couch. With the lot we have, we won’t see rolling hills from our backyard, but we’ll still have a view with timber in the back.

6- Adding lockers inside the house – We had lockers in the garage in our previous house, but with the LONG cold winter we had, everyone wanted to just hurry and get in the house. In case that happens again, lockers will be available right when you walk inside the house. I do still want to have some sort of storage in the garage for the shoes, cleats, outerwear that are not being used during that season.

7- Powder Room – We didn’t have a powder room before. We had a full bath on the main level that was there for guests to use, as well as for Mariah and Lennon who had their bedrooms on the main level. We decided it was a good idea for Mariah to have her own bathroom especially as she gets older. I mean, I wish I had my own bathroom instead of sharing with Blaine..LOL! A powder room for guests was a must then.

8- Grass – Grass was not on our priority list when we built our previous house so we had dirt and plenty of weeds in our yard. Blaine ended up seeding it in 2019, but it did not turn out. We finally hired someone fall of last year but moved out before we could actually enjoy having grass. You don’t realize how much you’ll miss grass until you don’t have it. This time around we are putting grass as a top priority. Blaine even wants some type of turf in our yard for the family to play and practice soccer in the backyard… umm ok? I’m not even sure how much something like that costs.

9- Four stall garage – We had a three stall garage in our previous home. We currently have 4 vehicles.. mine, Blaine’s, Blaine’s work vehicle, and Dylan’s. Eventually, there will be more vehicles with the 3 other kids growing up! Oh my, I don’t even want to think about that!

10- Screened in porch – We really wanted a screened in porch in our previous house, but one of the budget cuts we made before building was taking out the screened in porch to do at a later date. Obviously, we moved out before making it happen so we really want to make sure we do it this time around before we move in. I want to enjoy the outdoors without having to worry about flies, spiders, or bugs. Anyone agree with me?!

Hope that gives you a little bit more of an understanding of what we realized was important when living in our previous house and want to make sure we address it for the new build! The great thing about a custom new build is that you get to change things that didn’t work out before! Like I said before, even though it’s going to be a very similar floor plan layout, I can see this being a completely different house! The finishes and details of the interior and exterior are going to be so different! I’m excited to change it up and do something new this time around!