We have been in the house for about 9 months already and we've noticed things we really like and things we could change. I probably have more dislikes listed here than likes, but it's minor things. We will most likely change them on our own in time. I'm just being nit-picky. Don't get me wrong though, we love our house and are very happy. I also have some things that I wish we would've done when building.
Likes
1. We are really happy with the lot we chose. We enjoy not having any houses behind us and the fact that there is always going to be 5 acres of common space behind us- no houses to be built in the future. We have some pretty cool views too and that is always a nice surprise when you look from the morning room windows! Eventually we will get a deck and that will be nice to sit outside and watch the sunset.
2. We love our neighbors. We have gotten close with 2 of them and we have tons of fun doing things together! We haven't met some of our neighbors, but the others ones that we have introduced ourselves to seem pretty nice.
3. We are happy with the open floor plan and we are so glad we purchased the peninsula island. We eat dinner there almost every night. It has become the catch all counter lately, but I am hoping to set up some sort of organization spot for all of the mail and stuff.
4. The size of the kitchen is great and I enjoy having a walk-in pantry.
5. I love the light in the master shower. It makes taking a shower much nicer, because you can actually see and it's not dark and dreary in there.
6. Although we don't use the morning room a lot, it is nice to have and makes a big difference with space. That was a must have when we saw it in the model home.
6. Although we don't use the morning room a lot, it is nice to have and makes a big difference with space. That was a must have when we saw it in the model home.
7. Of course the master closet is nice! So much room.
Dislikes
1. I really don't like my laundry room. I hate having to pass it to get to and from the garage. It's in the way when I bring groceries in, it isn't really a laundry room to hang clothes, keep baskets, etc. I really wish I had a separate room and it'd be even better if it was upstairs. I could have gotten that with the Venice model, which sometimes I wish we did. A thinks it's fine, but he doesn't do as much laundry as me :)
2. Our microwave is always freezing inside. And when it rains or is windy that's all you hear. It sounds like it is raining inside of the microwave. I'm going to request something gets done, because it just doesn't seem normal to me.
3. Our carpet sucks. We did not upgrade, however the carpet we have doesn't seem to have even held up to normal wear and tear…. and it has not even been a year yet! There are spots that are so flat, it looks like 10 year old carpet. It's not fluffy anymore. We take our shoes off always and vacuum every two days to keep it looking nice. I'm highly disappointed with the quality. I'm hoping there is something they can do about that. Wishful thinking.
4. I don't like the noise from the shower upstairs, when you are sitting downstairs. The water sounds like it's in the next room over. That's normal in most houses unless you live in a mansion. A nit-pick, but something that I just don't like.
5. Why is there one floor vent in the master bedroom and 2 in the morning room!?!?!? Our room is never the same temperature as the rest of the house. It's either too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter. I would think there would be 2 in the master since it's a much larger room and 1 in the morning room since it's not near as big.
6. And the vent in the master closet….Why is it behind the door? If you keep the door open, the vent is blocked. If you close the door then you're heating/cooling your small closet space. Is that really efficient?
7. I wish we had a porch out front to sit on. That little stoop isn't made for more than two people to sit on. It would be nice to relax on a patio set in the spring and summer. Oh well.
8. I don't like having only one outlet in the master bathroom. I can't even plug an air freshener in, since I need the two outlets for getting ready in the morning. I don't want to keep plugging and un-plugging things each day to switch out a hair dryer and an air freshener.
9. Our yard is like a rock garden. I picked up a lot of rocks in a matter of minutes. They said they would pick all of them out at grading, but obviously not. Again, this is usually normal in most houses unless you purchase some premium soil or what not.
10. I can't seem to find a place for the trash can that is hidden. I suppose I could use the pantry, but I'm not sure if I want smelly trash in the same area as my good food. Right now it's just in the kitchen along the wall, but it just doesn't look very pretty.
11. I really think the cabinets above the refrigerator are useless. They're far back and I should have asked to have them flush with the refrigerator. In order to get anything in those cabinets you need a step stool and have to reach way over the fridge. Just seems more of a pain than what it's worth.
12. I really dislike those wire shelves that are in the closets and pantry. I know they're standard, but they're a pain. I did see on Pinterest where someone put those peel and stick tiles over the shelves and it helped with the wiring so things wouldn't fall through. I may try that to make it more of a full shelf than a wire shelf.
13. I don't like the placement of the towel bar and toilet paper holder in the master. The towel bar is right above the TP holder, so when you hang a towel, it hangs right over the TP, blocking it and getting the paper damp.
I Wish...
1. I wish I would have gotten the rough-ins for lights. We are going to pay a lot of money to have some do hardwiring now so we can hang up some lights in the rooms.
2. I really wish we would've chosen to purchase a fireplace. It would be so nice in the winter, make the living room cozier and just a nice focal point.
3. I wish we would have chosen to put some exterior flood lights on the back of the house. It would just brighten the back yard up a bit at night.
4. I wish we would have purchased the two extra windows on the side in the morning room. We don't like that we can't look out to that side of our yard.
5. I wish I would've asked to have the doorbell chime and thermostat placed in a different area. They're both on on wall and in a random spot that it just looks weird. I'm not sure if they could have done it or not, but it would be nice to have them sort of out of plain view.
Future Projects
We have a lot of projects that we would like to do. We just need to hit the lottery, LOL :) Until then we'll just keep saving money and completing one thing at a time.
1. Can't wait to paint! That is going to be first on the list. Only a few more months and goodbye white walls!
2. We want to build a deck.
3. We'd like to put hardwood floor throughout areas of the house and tile in the kitchen.
4. We'd also like to replace the carpet in the living room with a more fluffy carpet.
5. Replace the standard lighting fixtures.
6. Landscaping in the spring.
7. Put a backsplash in the kitchen.
8. Finish the basement.
9. Put the epoxy kit we purchased last year on the garage floor.
10. Possibly put knobs on the cabinets. We haven't made a firm decision on that yet.
11. Hang the TV's on the wall in the living room & master bedroom.
12. Create a space in the mudroom for coats/shoes/calendar, etc.
13. Replace or frame the mirror in the master bathroom. I've seen a few things on Pinterest- a simple wood frame makes the construction grade mirror look so much better.
