We are building our family home, and we couldn’t be more excited to share the news. Our big activity lately has been a daily drive. It also became a great opportunity to look at neighborhood after neighborhood and different homes. It was only about a week and a half between looking at at a house and buying our lot. It’s been a really quick and smooth process, and we are so excited for this next chapter. You are such a big part of my every day life and I can’t wait to share more about this.
WHERE?
So, it’s a big move… about a mile down the road from where we currently live. We love that it felt like “home” with a totally different vibe. More on this below.
WHEN?
Our home build will take a minimum of 15 months. Crazy, right?! It’s actually what held us back from building a fully custom home but in our opinion, it’s well worth the wait and we are in no rush. Our current home is not for sale and we will live here until our new home is complete.
A LONG TIME COMING…
If you’ve been here for awhile, you know the topic of conversation for the past year or two has been: “where are we going?” The home we currently live in was our very first home. We bought it with the intention of staying 3-5 years, and this week marks the 4th year we’ve been here.
We absolutely love our home. Even more, we love our neighborhood life. My kids spend the majority of their waking hours, playing outside in our cul de sac. They ring the neighbor’s doorbells to ask if their little friends can play. When we are outside, a neighbor friend is on a walk and we stop and chat. We have fires in our court. It really makes everyday life more fun. This neighborhood definitely feels like home. It’s what has kept us here longer than what we anticipated and why I really don’t mind the length of the home build. AND, we are moving next to more of our friends, so it feels like a total win.
Over the past year, we’ve looked at just about every neighborhood in the Houston area and even considered options in Dallas and back in Wisconsin.
OUR CHECKLIST
The 3 things we wanted were: a much bigger yard, a neighborhood that felt secluded and the ability to build whatever home we wanted.
YARD
We really wanted a bigger yard where we could spend lots of time outdoors with family and friends… pool, soccer, backyard BBQs, all the things. The lot we purchased is over 3x the size of our current one.
NEIGHBORHOOD
Like I mentioned, we are only moving a mile away. We actually decided between 2 neighborhoods (1 a bit further) and loved the one down the road. It is the best of both worlds- feels like home but has a totally different vibe. When we go to “our new yard” as Leo calls it, it feel so peaceful and secluded… we just love it!
CUSTOM BUILD
For the family home where we plan to raise all our babies, we wanted to make it ours through and through. Building a custom home has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. It took a little bit of convincing to get Anthony on board because of the huge time commitment it will take: both on our end and to actually build the home. I think this will be the most fun part, getting to pick every single detail… and of course share it with all of you!
WHAT’S NEXT?
Right now, we have a new yard where we picnic and play with the boys. The next step will be getting an architect and designer to begin putting all our ideas down on paper. For now, I will share all the house inspo I swoon over.
HOUSE INSPO
I’ve had a “Dream Home” board on my Pinterest for a decade, so I have a very clear vision of what I want. For the exterior, we love a hint of that french chateau look combined with transitional. We see a white exterior with black windows. I love a very symmetrical home: front door in the middle and mirror images on both sides.
I am all about the classics (as I’m sure you’ve noticed by my white tee + denim daily), so I envision the interior as pretty traditional with an elegant twist and touches of what’s trendy now.
I am so excited about the backyard. We will be doing a very similar patio to what we have now with the grass/concrete look. I am pretty certain we will put in a pool right away. I can’t wait to have a vegetable and herb garden that the boys can help out with. And, just all the memories to come.
Okay, here are some of my favorite pins…
Obviously, this will be a very detail-oriented and long process. I get so giddy over every little step, and, of course, I want to share everything you all. I see lots of Instagram story polls of “this or that” in the future. I am so thankful for you and this ride of life you choose to take with my family and me.
xo
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