Building a home from scratch

This week has been a whirl wind of exciting events. Mr. B+B read somewhere that all but one state received some sort of snowfall this week. All but ONE! Can you guess which one that was? Florida. Craziness I know. We've been enjoying the insane amount of snow and all the festivities that come along with it (more on that later) and working more on the bathroom (soon to follow...) BUT the most exciting thing we did this week... the one thing that triumphed over everything else. The one event that I've been pretty much looking forward to my entire life... we met with an architect to design our home!!!

Yes, most girls dream of wedding days and having children and don't get me wrong, I did that too but if you want to see me get really giddy about something show me some fabulous floor plans or let me go on a home tour or two. Have you seen my Pinterest boards?! The idea of drawing up a house and then seeing the final product really excites me. Like. a lot.

I like looking at the drawings in magazines and online, I love walking through unfinished houses and picturing how everything will come together, I even love going to people's homes and envisioning how I'd change it. It's really an addiction.

Some 4 years ago we bought the most amazing acre-ish lot. The drive alone makes the property worth it. It meanders along the lake. It curves and twists and turns like being in the mountains. It's one way in and one way out. And you really experience the lake as you drive to the property. We love it. AND if you cock your head to the left, stand on one foot, and jump up and down you can even see the lake! I know.

We bought the property with hopes of one day building. One day. And we aren't even close to that day. Really, we're years out. So WHY did we meet with an architect? For a few wonderful reasons.

1. Our family isn't getting any smaller and neither is our toy collection.
2. I'm a planner. Like long term planning. I have to have a vision, a goal to work towards.
3. Budget! We know what we want but we need to budget for it. We've lived a wonderful life in our 1,360 sq. ft bungalow and we'll continue to do so to save pennies. And I mean pennies. Our thought was that meeting with a builder and an architect would help us determine how much we need to save and for how long. Yes, we realize that the market with fluctuate and so will building costs, but we need to plan.

So with out further adieu, I present the first draft of our future home.

It's nothing fancy yet. It's efficient. 3,000 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 4 baths. 2 stories and a partial walk-out basement. Our biggest goal was that we wanted an efficient house. A smaller foot print with no hallways, wasted spaces, plant ledges, two-story spaces or excessive square footage. We wanted a house that would work for our family now and in 30 years.

As we continue to meet with our architect and as our building process unfolds, I look forward to sharing our progress with you.