Parade of Homes Part 11: 2008-present

Tonight the parade comes to an end, and in this case, that’s a good thing. I plan to be in this house for the foreseeable future. I can’t say we’ll never move again, but it won’t be soon.

In January 2008, during one of my frequent MLS searches, I came across a new-build house that was in our price range. It was farther out than we had ever considered living, but that’s what made it affordable.

Just for the heck of it, we drove out and took a look. It was a little smaller than we ideally wanted, but the sales agent let us know that there were two other options in that neighborhood that the builder was preparing to break ground on. Still, the only thing that made it even a possibility was that the builder had a promotion that month: $1 down payment. We looked at the two models available for that promotion in our price range and chose the one we felt would be best for our family.

The nice thing was, even though the house had been planned by the builder and all the upgrades and finishes picked out by the sales agent, they hadn’t started on it yet, so we were able to make changes. Her choices were included in the contracted price; any changes we made would add to the cost.

I think today I will show photos of the model home, because even though I knew the model was full of every upgrade available and professionally staged and decorated, it was still the picture I had in my mind while our house was being built.

I knew we would not be getting stainless appliances or hardwood floors.

See how there is about a 2ft bump out to the sliding doors? That is an upgrade that our house doesn’t have, but I wish now that it did.

The family room is open to the dining area (there is no formal dining room). The kitchen/family room is across the back of the house.

The front door opens right into the living room. There is no foyer; that was one big compromise I made.

The stairs are between the family room and living room. The spindled railing is an upgrade that the sales agent planned in our house.

We do not have the half round window, just the square.

This is at the top of the stairs. That’s one of the things I really liked about the model—all of this space. I envisioned a reading nook, but ended up putting the laundry up here instead, which was an excellent decision.

Master bedroom with vaulted ceiling upgrade. Again, we have it, thanks to the sales agent.

We also have the optional luxury bath because of her. What that means is the separate shower and soaking tub.

We have a walk-in closet as well. There are three more bedrooms upstairs, two with walk-in closets, and another full bath.

I never dreamed that I would be able to own a brand new house. It felt like a dream. We are so thankful, and though, as I discovered after we moved in, it is not perfect, we love it.

It’s been a year this month since we moved in, and we have done little in the way of decorating. Looking at these pictures of the model makes me anxious to put our stamp on it and make it really ours. So, even though the parade of homes is done, I think I’m going to continue to have a house-based post on Tuesdays. I’m hoping that will keep me motivated to get things done. I’m sure it won’t be something big each and every week. In fact, I know it won’t be.

However, this series was for me more than anything, in place of the scrapbook I had planned to do about our houses. So in that same vein, I will continue to follow our progress in this house, slow as it may be.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10