I can't figure out what this is or what it looks like. Is there a link or a photo that you could post? It sounds interesting but I don't know what it is.

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If you can get a shut off switch for your dishwasher. We have one on the wall above the counter, so It kills the power to it excepy when you turn it on tho use it. It sames some electricty!!

Don't put in more bathrooms that you think you will use. I know some people who have 3 full baths with whirpool tubs etc for only 4 people and she works full time with no housecleaning help. I wouldn't want to be cleaning all 3 of those after work!!!

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Add a powder room that is just for company. It has only a toilet and sink. It is for company only. I never have to worry about the bathroom being clean when I have guests.

We just built a house. One thing I would suggest is adding on the rooms/bathrooms they offer if you think you'll need them in the future.

Our floor plan offered a huge loft - or we could add a bedroom and have about 1/2 the loft. We added the bedroom w/a good size closet for much less than it would have cost to do later.

On our first floor we had a 'study' and 1/2 bath. We took the option to make it a full bath and add a closet to the 'study' which makes it a bedroom (but dh uses it as an office). Again - much cheaper than doing post-construction. It sounds like we have a huge home when I say it's a 6 br/3 ba. But it's really not - and cleaning isn't that hard - we don't use the tub downstairs (yet) - so it rarely needs cleaned. Right now we have 2 bedrooms that aren't used - so they get vacuumed 1x/month or so and gone over if I know we're having company. But when we add to our family (we plan on having 2 more kids and/or doing foster care or adoption) we won't have to worry about where to put them.

We figure we'll fill the 5 bedrooms upstairs - or fill 4 and keep one as a guest room (his mom and mine both spend the night if/when they visit).

The bedroom and bathroom downstairs add value to our home - if/when we sell. We can advertise first floor bedroom and full bath. And I think we'll use the full bath - esp. when the boys are older and get dirty playing outside - much easier to take them to the closest bathroom than all over my carpet to get upstairs!

ETA - I first thought this was to save $$ - not to simplify! LOL But if you think you'll need these later it still applies - definitely simpler to have the rooms now than to deal with construction later!

When you are choosing flooring, carpeting and other permanent items. Go for a neutral colors so you can change your decor more easily later. White tile in the shower was a regret of mine. Another well water issue, staining the mortor. It just won't come out. Don't pinch penny's on the windows they will save you $ in electric bills in the long run.

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"Before I was a Mom I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body." ~Anonymous

This is a good idea. The floor plan that dh and I have finally settled on is a two story and will have 3 bathrooms. The master bath, and upstairs (and 2 bedrooms so it will be for the kids) and a downstairs for guests Only! That way when you have guests stay over they will have a shower too so that I don't have to let them in the master bath if I don't want to and they don't have to go all the way upstairs!

Having just completely gutted and renovated an old house, I have a few suggestions - things that have worked well in our design and I'm happy with.

First, I agree with everyone about the electrical outlets. It's funny how much work it is to choose where you want them before you live there. Have the electrician take you on an imaginary walk-through of the house if possible, and think about where you want to turn on/off lights, and where you want bookshelves (they cover outlets!), etc.

Second, I love our porcelain kitchen sink. we always had stainless steel before and I found it looked cheap and always looked dirty. i give the porcelain sink a good once-over every few days, it takes about a minute, and it looks gorgeous. We also have wood chopping-block-style countertops. Love them. I don't mind the nicks and scrapes because to me it adds to the lived-in feel, and they are a great addition to the kitchen. Also in the kitchen, we have pull-out bottom cabinets. Nothing gets lost in the back of cupboards this way, and our heavy plates are all stored down below, rather than in the wall units.

Sounds like you got the bathroom plans all worked out, which is great. I'm sure it'll be a lovely home.

While you're still in the design phase, I can HIGHLY recommend the line of books from Sarah Susanka. She is an architect who has specialized in making homes liveable and practical, so that we use all the spaces we have and we feel good in them. Her big hit was the Not So Big House, and the two I bought are "Not So Big Solutions for Your Home", which is a series of articles that appeared in Fine Homebuilding magazine, and "Home By Design". I am very happy that I read these books before putting any plans in place, and feel that we have reached some great solutions for maintaining a wonderful space to live in and keeping our sanity... You can check out her whole website at www.notsobig.com

Good luck and have fun with the project!!

We just built a house 2 years ago and all I wanted was granite countertops for the kitchen. They would stand up to a lot and really last. Well a friend of mine has granite and two young children. Her countertops drive her crazy. All day long she is wiping fingerprints off the counters. I also have two young children and knew that would drive me crazy too. I have laminate and I love it. My husband and I figure when the kids are older then we can have granite put in with out much trouble.

When you are picking things for the house keep in mind - how easy is this to clean and will it show every bit of dirt? I also went to plumbing, flooring and cabinet places and asked their opinion. How do I clean it, do I need special cleaners etc.

we just built a hearthstone home. It sounds like its a bit like yours.
http://www.omahanewhomes.com/Richlan...e=Monticel lo

We painted with the Dutch boy brand paint. We upgraded certain features, but went standard on others. We also bought our own appliances separate and didn't finance those in. We also waited to buy our storm doors. We wanted our payment to be as low as possible.

We went with the solid surface counter tops and I like them. The granite is very expensive, and the solid surface seems to be just as nice.

What kind of house did you build? Hearthstone and Celebrity brands are big here. Very economical for starter homes. We are having a nice fence put in right now so my kids will have a nice safe yard to play in this summer. Erin

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Put in closet and cupboard organizers when you build the house - this is one thing I definately wish that I had pushed for when we were building the house.

Put your heating vents on the FLOOR or close to the floor. Heat rises - when the heating system vents are on the ceiling, only the top 12 inches of your home is heated. And don't put your thermostat 18 inches from the ceiling right below the largest heating vent in the house. Trust me - just TRUST ME on this one. (It's a bear dealing with this and we've been messing with it for 3 years now....) And have more than one thermostat.

Mount your microwave over your stove to save on counter space.

Build/buy kitchen cabinets that go totally to the ceiling - this will maximize your space and give you extra storage.

And personally, for me, if we ever build a house, I will never again put in another bi-fold closet door.. they drive me BONKERS!

If I think of any more, I'll post again..

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