Why We Bought New

I get asked all the time why we decided to build a brand new house when I have eclectic and even semi-vintage taste in design.  Well, the answer is simple.  Old houses are way more expensive in Charlotte, North Carolina!  Sounds crazy, right?  I thought so too, but for us to find the same square footage in an old bungalow in a safe neighborhood in the Queen City we'd be looking at more than double the price.  That's hundreds of thousands of dollars more for old plumbing and squeaky floorboards.  A bungalow fixer may be in our distant future, but for now we are feeling so blessed to have found a builder that will add a bit of character to the average cookie cutter!  Don't you just love our cute little bungalow-style tapered columns in the front yard?

Building has been an arduous process.  What should the color of the walls be?  How will the kitchen countertops coordinate with the fireplace hearth?  Why is the wrong bathtub in our master bath?!  I think if I had to do it all over again, I probably wouldn't build.  I would renovate.  Hey, this is my blog and I'm allowed to be honest, right?  The thing is, I'm picky.  If you know me, you know that to be true.  I have been picky ever since I was a small child and I don't see that changing anytime soon.  So when a builder gave me options for a countertop but didn't include the one option I had been looking for from the start, it felt like compromise.  Even though my house is beautiful and I'm so thankful for it!  Please don't get me wrong.  I am grateful!!!  But I'm also picky. ;)

While the house was in the process of building, the one thing that kept running through my head was "how do I make this house US without ruining the resale value?".  Cookie cutter homes are in cookie cutter neighborhoods and attract people who like cookie cutter things.  Like white metal ceiling fans.  Gag me with a spoon.  It took 6 months for our 1st home to be built, during which I devised a plan.  A master plan.  (insert evil laugh).  I'm going to transform this house, room by room, into a dream home that is loaded with character, personality and charm.  And I'm going to do it on a budget with DIYs and good finds.  Aaaand, I'm going to protect the resale value.  We moved in last week and I have already started making that happen.  In the middle of painting my master bedroom wall for the 4th time (more on that later) I realized what an amazing, crazy journey this is going to be!  Hence the need to write it all down.

Throughout this blog I will be chronicling my adventures, my mishaps and my utter disasters on the journey to making my home beautiful.  Think I can do it?  I guess we'll see!