| Window shopping |
 Yesterday, Dan and I went window shopping... and door shopping, floor shopping, and patio shopping. Friends of ours from out of town came by to look through a model home, which they are having built next year, and invited us to tour it with them.
The house is gorgeous: large open living area, outside entertainment area, formal rooms, four bedrooms and office. I couldn't help but feel a bit envious, as Dan and I purchased our house during the housing bubble and if it's worth what we paid for it, I will be surprised. We don't expect to buy another house any time soon.
There is a marked difference between Dan and me when we walk through model houses. I look at the bathrooms and kitchen - how are they laid out? What conveniences do they have? How easy are they to clean? And I look at the colour schemes. Do I like the colours? Can I apply the colour scheme to my own house? And the overall floor plan: are the bedrooms separate from the living area? Do visitors have to walk past a bedroom to get to the entertainment area? Is the lighting adequate? Are there enough power outlets?
When Dan walks through a model house, he looks at the way things are constructed. We have a large pergola attached to the back of our house that we want to convert to a room. We don't have a lounge room large enough to entertain more than a couple people comfortably and the last quote we received for just connecting the roofline was enough to make us give up on ever having that entertainment area. We gagged on the sticker price and didn't discuss it again for months.
After touring the model houses and seeing how the outside entertainment areas were built, Dan got new a new idea. He'd push the pergola roof closer to the house, so that the house eves overlap the pergola roof, move the guttering to the outside of the pergola, and put flashing up to assist with water flow, which can be done for a minimal expense. The hard part will be putting in a new floor with ventilation - but we can do this in stages. Our new lounge room is now within reasonable reach, although it won't be done any time soon.
I always wondered what the point of going through model homes was for someone who wasn't in the market to buy - but it turned out to be a worthwhile trip.
I love being able to dream! Dan does, too.Labels: home improvement |
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Name: Melanie O.
Home: Durham, North Carolina, United States
About Me: Female, American health and beauty-conscious professional who has rekindled a childhood love of dolls.
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posted by Melanie O. at 
