This weekend Denis and I went to visit the model home that I fell in
love with a couple months ago. We were heading out that way to the
outlet mall in Gaffney, and so I asked Denis if we could go visit the
model home. Fortunately, the kids were in good spirit and so off we
went. People – it’s a gorgeous home. I knew I liked the floorplan, and
having now been inside it, I love it even more. Now I know the model
has ALL the frills and extras that the home can possibly have, in
order to entice a buyer into spending more money. But even looking
past the gorgeous kitchen cabinets, the beautiful coffered ceilings,
the lovely furnishings – it’s just a great, great house. It’s a single story ranch, although you can upgrade to put a bonus
room with bathroom over the garage. It’s a 3-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath
home, although I suppose with that bonus room it could be considered a
4-bedroom, 3 1/2 bath home. The master bedroom is a nice size and the
bathroom was off the hook. Denis and I both agreed that the deluxe
bathroom (which was featured in the model) was too much, and so we’d
just stick with the basic bathroom without the deluxe upgrade. Plenty
of closet space, and a linen closet in the bathroom as well. The two bedrooms for the kids (they’ve claimed their already) were a
bit smaller than they have now, but they feature a private jack/jill
bathroom for them to share – no having to walk down the hall to the
bathroom in the middle of the night. CootieGirl’s closet would almost
double in size, and CootieBoy’s would be about the same, based on the
bedrooms they each claimed. The rest of the house is all open. The kitchen/dining/office/morning
room/living room is all one big massive space. I didn’t think I’d
like it, but this house has it laid out in such a way that it doesn’t
feel like it’s all on top of each other. When you walk in the house, the dining room is on your left, and the
office is on the right. Really, they are just two big spaces outlined
by columns to create a sense of separation. My vision is to enclose
the office and have that become a fourth bedroom on the main floor of
the house so that the bonus room can be exactly that: a bonus/rec room
for the kids. If we did that, we’d also tack on a full bath and
closet so that that fourth bedroom becomes ensuite for visiting family
and friends. The existing dining room would then become an office
space – which would be completely open to the rest of the house. Continuing into the main space is the living room. A massive 20×20
area. The model home had a screened in porch on the back part of the
house, but it also comes with an option to merely expand the great
room back another 8 feet, making the living room a whopping 28×20
space. Since the land we own in Fort Mill doesn’t exactly have a
“view” in the back, we’re leaning toward having a 28×20 space instead
of the screened in porch. However, we also like the idea of having
floor to ceiling glass doors that we can open up in spring to allow
fresh air to fill the house from the screened in porch. So that
particular option is up for debate at this point. I’d be happy with
either one. But let’s talk about the kitchen. The kitchen in the model home would
inspire anyone to learn how to cook. TONS of cabinet and counter
space, a MASSIVE island that can seat up to six people, and an eat-in
section that can fit a table for 6-8 people. There’s also a walk-in
pantry and a small desk area where the kids could do their homework.
And again, all of this is open to the living area, which is open to
the dining room and office space. And yet the model home didn’t feel
small, despite this area being all one giant room. The model home had 10 foot ceilings, which I loved. I loved that the
laundry room was hidden (right off the garage) but yet I wouldn’t have
to go up and down stairs with laundry baskets. I like that the master
bedroom was on the other side of the house from the other bedrooms. All while we were viewing the house I kept thinking, “How would this
work for our White Elephant party?” That’s our biggest party that we
throw, with anywhere between 25-30 people in the house at one time.
This house would be perfect – because the living room is large at
20×20 and quite possibly could be 28×20 if we go with that option
instead of the screened porch. And with it being open to the dining
area, kitchen AND eat-in area, we could easily throw that party
without people feeling like that are on top of each other. If we had company over, we’d have the office as a fourth bedroom/bath
AND the bonus room/bath at our disposal. And the best part is that the basic house is only 2693 square feet –
including the garage. It cuts out all the stuff we don’t need (formal
living room being one) and keeps only those things we want. The only
changes to the floor plan we’d make are to close in the office to make
it a bedroom and blow out the living room from 20×20 to 28×20. So now we wait. Denis liked the house, and the kids liked the house.
I’m going to do some investigation as to how much the model home – as
is – would cost to build, and we’d reduce from there. The good thing
about this home builder (Schumacher Homes) is that they have a set
price list for their upgrades/options, so there are no surprises. The
base model version of this home starts a $220K. Want to see it? I’ve linked to it before, but here it is again for
those that may not have clicked the first time:
http://www.schumacherhomes.com/planLandingPage.aspx?schumacherLocationId=16&p… *sigh* I told Denis that I wanted to go see the home so that if I
didn’t like it I could finally get this floorplan out of my mind. But
the opposite has happened – now that I’ve seen it and walked through
it, I love the floorplan so much that I’m itching to build! *lol*
But I know we can’t – not until the market drastically improves so
that we’re not left holding two mortgages.
love with a couple months ago. We were heading out that way to the
outlet mall in Gaffney, and so I asked Denis if we could go visit the
model home. Fortunately, the kids were in good spirit and so off we
went. People – it’s a gorgeous home. I knew I liked the floorplan, and
having now been inside it, I love it even more. Now I know the model
has ALL the frills and extras that the home can possibly have, in
order to entice a buyer into spending more money. But even looking
past the gorgeous kitchen cabinets, the beautiful coffered ceilings,
the lovely furnishings – it’s just a great, great house. It’s a single story ranch, although you can upgrade to put a bonus
room with bathroom over the garage. It’s a 3-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath
home, although I suppose with that bonus room it could be considered a
4-bedroom, 3 1/2 bath home. The master bedroom is a nice size and the
bathroom was off the hook. Denis and I both agreed that the deluxe
bathroom (which was featured in the model) was too much, and so we’d
just stick with the basic bathroom without the deluxe upgrade. Plenty
of closet space, and a linen closet in the bathroom as well. The two bedrooms for the kids (they’ve claimed their already) were a
bit smaller than they have now, but they feature a private jack/jill
bathroom for them to share – no having to walk down the hall to the
bathroom in the middle of the night. CootieGirl’s closet would almost
double in size, and CootieBoy’s would be about the same, based on the
bedrooms they each claimed. The rest of the house is all open. The kitchen/dining/office/morning
room/living room is all one big massive space. I didn’t think I’d
like it, but this house has it laid out in such a way that it doesn’t
feel like it’s all on top of each other. When you walk in the house, the dining room is on your left, and the
office is on the right. Really, they are just two big spaces outlined
by columns to create a sense of separation. My vision is to enclose
the office and have that become a fourth bedroom on the main floor of
the house so that the bonus room can be exactly that: a bonus/rec room
for the kids. If we did that, we’d also tack on a full bath and
closet so that that fourth bedroom becomes ensuite for visiting family
and friends. The existing dining room would then become an office
space – which would be completely open to the rest of the house. Continuing into the main space is the living room. A massive 20×20
area. The model home had a screened in porch on the back part of the
house, but it also comes with an option to merely expand the great
room back another 8 feet, making the living room a whopping 28×20
space. Since the land we own in Fort Mill doesn’t exactly have a
“view” in the back, we’re leaning toward having a 28×20 space instead
of the screened in porch. However, we also like the idea of having
floor to ceiling glass doors that we can open up in spring to allow
fresh air to fill the house from the screened in porch. So that
particular option is up for debate at this point. I’d be happy with
either one. But let’s talk about the kitchen. The kitchen in the model home would
inspire anyone to learn how to cook. TONS of cabinet and counter
space, a MASSIVE island that can seat up to six people, and an eat-in
section that can fit a table for 6-8 people. There’s also a walk-in
pantry and a small desk area where the kids could do their homework.
And again, all of this is open to the living area, which is open to
the dining room and office space. And yet the model home didn’t feel
small, despite this area being all one giant room. The model home had 10 foot ceilings, which I loved. I loved that the
laundry room was hidden (right off the garage) but yet I wouldn’t have
to go up and down stairs with laundry baskets. I like that the master
bedroom was on the other side of the house from the other bedrooms. All while we were viewing the house I kept thinking, “How would this
work for our White Elephant party?” That’s our biggest party that we
throw, with anywhere between 25-30 people in the house at one time.
This house would be perfect – because the living room is large at
20×20 and quite possibly could be 28×20 if we go with that option
instead of the screened porch. And with it being open to the dining
area, kitchen AND eat-in area, we could easily throw that party
without people feeling like that are on top of each other. If we had company over, we’d have the office as a fourth bedroom/bath
AND the bonus room/bath at our disposal. And the best part is that the basic house is only 2693 square feet –
including the garage. It cuts out all the stuff we don’t need (formal
living room being one) and keeps only those things we want. The only
changes to the floor plan we’d make are to close in the office to make
it a bedroom and blow out the living room from 20×20 to 28×20. So now we wait. Denis liked the house, and the kids liked the house.
I’m going to do some investigation as to how much the model home – as
is – would cost to build, and we’d reduce from there. The good thing
about this home builder (Schumacher Homes) is that they have a set
price list for their upgrades/options, so there are no surprises. The
base model version of this home starts a $220K. Want to see it? I’ve linked to it before, but here it is again for
those that may not have clicked the first time:
http://www.schumacherhomes.com/planLandingPage.aspx?schumacherLocationId=16&p… *sigh* I told Denis that I wanted to go see the home so that if I
didn’t like it I could finally get this floorplan out of my mind. But
the opposite has happened – now that I’ve seen it and walked through
it, I love the floorplan so much that I’m itching to build! *lol*
But I know we can’t – not until the market drastically improves so
that we’re not left holding two mortgages.