Our builder, M/I Homes, has been great so far. Incredibly friendly, accessible folks who take the time to answer our questions in a timely fashion, we've enjoyed our experience to date.
It's overwhelming to select a plan; in our case, there were 11 or 12 plans to choose from. Each has up to four different facades, or "elevations." And it doesn't stop there, because we are working with a semi-custom builder, meaning we can take their existing plans and add structural options.
Our (okay, *my*) requirements:
1. A master bedroom upstairs. Especially with a baby-turned-one-year-old, it was tricky being on the first floor in Austin and running up and downstairs at all hours of the night to tend to Teagan. When the kids are all teenagers I may regret this, but I've covered this base in an emergency -- see #4.
2. A bedroom for each child. We have a broad age range among our kids, and sharing isn't always the best option. Also, individual bedrooms = less fighting. At least in my house. If your kids love sharing a bedroom, God bless you! You are lucky and I am jealous.
3. An office/jewelry studio on the first floor, not too far from the epicenter of our home, aka my other office, aka the kitchen. I am a woman who needs a she-shack. Personal space. My own room, dammit. I count my blessings every day and I try my best never to take things for granted, but even so---I need my own room. It's not easy being a Mom. And if you disagree with that last statement, this might not be the blog for you.
4. Space not only for ourselves, but also for our sets of parents who will be visiting us. Instead of uprooting one of the kids from his or her room during grandparent visits, I was looking for a plan that offered a first floor bedroom with attached bath, in a somewhat private area that was still accessible to common areas and the kitchen. Can also serve as my bedroom in 5-6 years when teenagers drive me nuts.
5. A three car garage. 4 kids + 2 adults + no basement = a no brainer.
6. In lieu of a basement, a room upstairs the kids could make their own. Wii central, games, a sofa to flop on, family movie night, etc., with a big closet for toy clean ups.
7. A fantastic kitchen that I love being in, with double wall ovens, gas cooktop, butler's pantry, large walk-in pantry and open to a great room.
8. A functional, large-enough dining room, so I can hopefully get back into my pastime of occasional dinner parties with friends who also enjoy drinking. I mean socializing.
9. Upstairs laundry room.
Our (okay, *my*) requirements:
1. A master bedroom upstairs. Especially with a baby-turned-one-year-old, it was tricky being on the first floor in Austin and running up and downstairs at all hours of the night to tend to Teagan. When the kids are all teenagers I may regret this, but I've covered this base in an emergency -- see #4.
2. A bedroom for each child. We have a broad age range among our kids, and sharing isn't always the best option. Also, individual bedrooms = less fighting. At least in my house. If your kids love sharing a bedroom, God bless you! You are lucky and I am jealous.
3. An office/jewelry studio on the first floor, not too far from the epicenter of our home, aka my other office, aka the kitchen. I am a woman who needs a she-shack. Personal space. My own room, dammit. I count my blessings every day and I try my best never to take things for granted, but even so---I need my own room. It's not easy being a Mom. And if you disagree with that last statement, this might not be the blog for you.
4. Space not only for ourselves, but also for our sets of parents who will be visiting us. Instead of uprooting one of the kids from his or her room during grandparent visits, I was looking for a plan that offered a first floor bedroom with attached bath, in a somewhat private area that was still accessible to common areas and the kitchen. Can also serve as my bedroom in 5-6 years when teenagers drive me nuts.
5. A three car garage. 4 kids + 2 adults + no basement = a no brainer.
6. In lieu of a basement, a room upstairs the kids could make their own. Wii central, games, a sofa to flop on, family movie night, etc., with a big closet for toy clean ups.
7. A fantastic kitchen that I love being in, with double wall ovens, gas cooktop, butler's pantry, large walk-in pantry and open to a great room.
8. A functional, large-enough dining room, so I can hopefully get back into my pastime of occasional dinner parties with friends who also enjoy drinking. I mean socializing.
9. Upstairs laundry room.
10. Separate girl-boy bathrooms. Girls are cleaner and neater than boys. End of story.
11. A very large great room. Because there are a lot of us, and it seems like new construction doesn't follow this concept.
12. A front porch, if possible.
13. FLAT DRIVEWAY.
14. Lots of overhead lighting, since I'm almost legally blind.
and lastly....
15. A mudroom/back hallway/place to hide backpacks, jackets, lunch bags, cold weather gear, shoes. i.e., ALL THE STUFF I DON'T WANT IN MY KITCHEN! :D
When you start digging into floor plans, you come to realize that if you're not using an architect to design your home from absolute scratch, no one plan has everything you want. And you can't pick and choose. So you select the one that best fits your needs. For us, it was the Wilton. Here's a look.
First floor:
Second floor:
