Random thoughts...

Hi e-neighbors! Everyone's houses are looking so good :)

So, my preconstruction meeting is Friday and I must admit I am not that excited. It feels like nothing has been happening with the house and I've gotten caught up in "life".  Im hoping that after the meeting I will be just as excited as I was before.

I ended up having to go back to have a second appointment at RiteRug. I could not decide on the floors and cabinets.  I really liked the dark espresso cabinets, but I didnt really like any of the floor choices that I had to go with them.  RH did allow me to choose from the hardwood choices for houses built on slabs...but I still was not sure.  I ended up changing the cabinets and granite to match what was in the model (cherry bourdeaux cabs and tan brown granite) and added crown molding to the cabs and a chocolatey hardwood. I really like dark hardwoods and after being advised that my kitchen would be too dark...I DID IT ANYWAY!!! lol.

I decided to go with a full brick front after going back and forth between that and partial stone. I've noticed that alot of the houses in the neighborhood are partial stone, but I felt like my model (the Verona) would look better with brick. My Ryan rep assured me that the houses will be about half brick half stone,but that like my house the construction on the brick houses hasn't started yet. I went with Triangle's Sandfaced Brick "Southampton" because I felt it had a "stonish" color and texture.

But on to better news...I think I am going to love my neighborhood! Whenever I visit I am always surprised at how much progress has taken place since my last visit. Love that there will be kids close to my son's age for him to play with. I can just imagine him riding his bike on those rolling hills :)

-ro

Not too happy right now

I woke up so excited about picking out my options.  Somehow all that excitement has been replaced with frustration. The distressed floor that I want is "engineered" wood and can only be put in a house that is built on a slab. They offer no distressed uptowns in either hardwoods or laminate hardwoods for a crawl space. I can't settle on this. I know what I want and just hope that I dont have to get vinyl for now and pay someone to put hardwoods down. I might get a better deal that way but I wanted to keep this as simple as possible.

My selections...so far...

Verona

Crawl Foundation
Elevation B
Partial Stone (currently debating between Rustic Kentucky and Rustic Penn)
Side entry garage w/ opener

Morning Room- did not add the addt'l optional window
Sliding door

Kitchen peninsula and island
Maple Espresso finish cabinets (currently checking on getting the cabinets above the refrigerator deepened to 24" and lengthened to 27" to bring them flush with the counter tops and a counter depth refrigerator)
Cabinet crown molding
Tile wall backsplash (haven't selected which one yet)
42" cabinets
St Cecilia granite
Range gas stove
recessed lights in the kitchn

Owner's bathroom w/separate shower w/seat and decorative tile, wheat granite, tile floor
double bowl vanities in master and secondary bathroom
 Maple spice raised panel in master and maple spice recessed panel in secondary and downstairs bathroom
White marble counter tops in secondary and downstairs bathroom

Bedroom on the first floor, w/ full bathroom
*Still debating adding french doors to the living room :s

Attic storage (still debating on getting rid of this)
Bonus room
Pine stair w/oak handrail and balusters
Bronze light fixtures and door knobs
7 ceiling fan rough ins
1 extra floodlight off of the morning room
Tankless water heater
12x14 deck
laminate hardwoods in the foyer, kitchen and morning room (haven't selected which ones yet)
carpet upgrade identical to what was in the model

I have my Guardian and RiteRug appointments within the next two weeks so all of this is subject to change :)

Is anyone building the Verona with the Cottage Elevation?

What a day! Turns out I can have porch if I build the Verona with a cottage elevation. I didnt really want a cottage elevation but am noticing that the look varies from model to model. Besides the flower boxes, columns that widen and the shakes there isnt much difference. I would have preferred my partial brick to have a bit more brick... I will post the pics my rep sent me. I know on the other elevation there was more than one partial brick option. I hope that holds true for the cottage elevation as well.

I went to the NVR office today to officially sign my loan application. I have heard such horror stories about NVR but so far I have been very pleased with the customer service I have been getting all around. I know this is just the beginning but I am confident in the people working with me through this process :)

Current selection w/side entry

The one I wanted w/side entry and porch

The cottage elevation that I can get w/side entry and porch

I REALLY want a porch :s

You know how you have a list of all the things you want in your "dream house"? Well, a porch was one of those things for me. Because I took so long to decide, I can not have a porch because the lot beside mine is also a Verona and they already picked the porch elevation. Instead I decided to tack on the side entry garage...but I can't seem to get that porch out of my dreams *sigh* If the porch means as much to me as I am starting to think that it does, I may have to move down to the next lot. I won't be able to get the side entry garage on that lot and it is not as big as my current lot.

I am going to sleep on it...

So excited to be building my first home- a Verona with Ryan!

After weeks of going back and forth, I finally decided to make a decision and stick with it. I am building a Verona in The Mills...and I am EXCITED!!!! I already knew that I was indecisive and overly analytical, but I didnt know the flaw ran quite so deep.  Luckily, I have two great Ryan reps and an agent who understand that about me and took my flip flops in stride. Yay for understanding people :)

Originally I wanted to building the Rome.  I really liked several of the floorplans but I loved the Rome's roomy loft. I've always wanted a loft and loved that home office on the first floor...awesome value! It also took a while for me to decide between the 60 ft and 80 ft lots. I  debtated between The Mills and another neighborhood about ten minutes away.  That neighborhood offered the Verona and >BAM< "Ladies and gentlelmen, entering the ring is the Verona. Weighing in at more square footage than I thought I could afford." LOL. For about a week I considered going there because they were offering the bonus room on the Verona.  However, my heart was really at The Mills, so when they showed me what I could get there that was comparable I went for it.

This is my first time blogging so pls bear with me. I have been inspired by so many of the Ryan blogs out there. The blogs gave me a more realistic view of the process, and as a first time homebuyer relieved some anxiety about the unkown. I will let you all know about the fun stuff (UPGRADES) later. For now it's off to work...