Things We Love and Learned From In Our Home
Building a home can be a huge undertaking. There are endless decisions to make and problems that arise, but is also one of the most rewarding experiences. There are so many things I love about our home, but also many things we learned through the process.
Things We Love
For years I would spend my weekends pinning ideas, reading blogs, and attending open houses in order to acquire ideas for my dream home. Seeing all of that planning come together to create a home I truly love was absolutely amazing. This was the process that inspired to become an interior designer.
There are so many things that excite me about our home, but I wanted to share some of my favorites with you.
Storage
Having plenty of storage is essential. I tried to include cabinets, drawers, and closets everywhere I could because even if I didn’t have anything to put in them at the moment, I knew would need it later. As a result everything has a space, and I’m able to easily get to something if I need it.
The hardware
I LOVE the gold Emtek hardware that we installed on the cabinets and doors throughout our home. It was something I debating throughout the process since it was a splurge, but I’m so pleased that I made the decision to move forward with the hardware.
Our freestanding tub
Relaxing in the tub with and a good book at the end of the day is one of my favorite ways to unwind. I honestly use the tub at least once a week, and I don’t think I could live without one!
Custom kitchen drawers
The one thing that became such a fixation for me was the kitchen design and layout. Since I am five feet tall, the upper cabinets are difficult to utilize effectively, so I had to get creative in planning the lower cabinets and drawers. It was worth every moment, and I love cooking in my kitchen. Everything is right where it needs to be, and I never have to go to the pantry or hop on a countertop.
Kitchen Backsplash
Since most of our cabinets in the kitchen are lower, I wanted to do something special with the back kitchen wall. We decided to add some white oak shelving, a custom vent hood, and brought the kitchen backsplash all the way to the ceiling. Since the upper cabinets also rise to the ceiling, your eye naturally flows up whenever you look at the kitchen. The tile has a handmade appearance to it and at night you can see the light reflecting off the tile in different ways.
Since this was the first time I had built or designed a home, the whole build was essentially a learning experience. Here are just a few of the things I learned in the process.
Things We Learned
Cheaper is not always better
While building our home, we contracted some work which was inexpensive in order to save some money. What we didn’t realize, was there was a reason that work was inexpensive and we ended up spending double the price in order to fix the work that wasn’t done correctly. Often times, there is a reason why some work less expensive, so do your research before making a hire.
Mudroom
One feature that we tried to incorporate in our home was a mudroom or drop zone. Originally it was planned for the first floor, but it would not have been aesthetically pleasing. We now use our second floor closet for most of our everyday belongings.
Don’t forget furniture
When we were building our home, I was very focused on the home itself, and I didn’t account for new furniture in the budget. Our furniture from our apartment is good quality, but it doesn’t quite match our current style, which leads to an unfinished look in some of the rooms. I’m in the currently process of replacing my furniture, it’s just taking a little longer than it could have had I planned with new furniture in mind.
Building a home is definitely a process, but one that is well worth it!
