Finding a house style, plan, and builder.

BTW – This post is just 1 in a series of Home Design and Build posts. You can find them all right here: Positively Jane's Home Design and Build.

We bought a lot on January 14th, even though I said I would not build again :). You can read about how we made a decision on which lot to buy right HERE. (This involved narrowing our search down to 1 neighborhood, looking at ALL the choices, and talking to a builder before making a decision.)

And so the design process began, again!

And the questions. All the questions!

What style? How big…realistically. What rooms did we need? And, of course the big kicker – what was the budget?

The neighborhood that we chose is a planned community, Hartness Living. It was designed to replicate a European village. Small houses. Large manor homes. Cottages. Very little land but TONS of common areas and walking trails. With an area for commercial establishments. Restaurants, ice cream shops, retail shopping and more. Even a school.

Because it's a planned community they only allow 5 architectural styles. We walked around and looked at what was already built and fell in love with the English Cottage Style. It invokes the feeling of small, cozy, and simple. Swoop roofs, slate or cedar roofs, arch doorways. Sigh 🙂

So, now a few decisions were made:

✔️ Neighborhood chosen.
✔️ Lot chosen.
✔️ House style chosen.

Next up…the house plan. Which, in my humble opinion is the most difficult. We met with our builder and his person that he uses to design houses. Our builder likes him…I won't have any idea until we see a rough draft. You can read about our meeting right HERE.

I spent hours on Pinterest – typing in English Cottage. I pinned anything that was remotely interesting – exterior and interior. My daughter sent me ideas, Instagram people and TV shows I should watch for inspiration. I was only looking for inspiration! I fell in love with Jean Stoffer/The Established Home on Magnolia Network and took pics of the TV screen!

I then put all of my images (screen shots) in a Google Drive folder for my builder and his designer. 

I also began my notes…anything that came to mind got written down. I did not filter anything. A brain dump if you will. A wish list. As the design/build gets further along I will eliminate what no longer interests me or what I can't afford.

We are anxiously awaiting the preliminary drawings from the designer. I want to see if he understood what I was saying…or not. I do have an architect that I LOVE who I could hire to help me. I was hoping to save a few dollars tho and not use him. In the long run, it's better to use someone who understands me than someone who does not!

BTW – I am probably one of the most detailed people you will ever meet – especially when it comes to home building! Let the builder beware! Haha

As I am waiting drawings I am researching and finding inspiration photos. My first inspo photo came from Ali Henri. I love this living room.

I am also loving these plumbing fixtures.

And these light fixtures are calling my name.