January 30, 2013

On Becoming a Homeowner...

Some of you may or may not know that just one short month ago, Beau and I finally moved into our first "dream" home. I say "first dream home" because I know this won't be our final dream house but darn it, so much thought and preparation and stress went into this baby that I'd by lying if I said we weren't extremely proud of our purchase!

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When the idea of buying a home came up, we tossed around the idea of buying a pre-existing home or building. I've always wanted to build. My parents built their house and it was such a fun process to see it all come to reality and I, too, have always wanted to experience that. Beau, on the other hand, wanted to just buy a home. We looked at quite a few pre-existing homes and quickly realized that while we liked some of the houses, we didn't love any of them and chances are, we'd be spending tens of thousands of dollars to change the floors, cabinets, etc...to get it exactly the way we wanted it. Err-I wanted it. Beau knew I wasn't going to stop looking until I was 100% satisfied and I think he quickly realized the only way to get what I wanted was to build it ourselves. ("What baby wants, baby gets." -The Break Up)

Is building a home more expensive? In my opinion, no. It actually ends up being about the same. Like I said, if we would have bought a pre-existing home, I would have wanted to spend the same amount of money upgrading it and changing it to be what I wanted it to be so for us, it was a wash and a no-brainer so we paid the exact amount to build as we would have had we bought a pre-existing house. (Plus, we got to choose every single little thing from the floors and the light fixtures to the appliances and the door handles...and it's all brand new! Win/win!)

May 23, 2012 we signed that dotted line and were on our way to becoming homeowners. Little did we know it would take 4...yes-FOUR, months for them to even break ground. Talk about testing a girl's patience...

September 20, 2012 (our 7 year anniversary!) we drove up to find that there was no longer just a big empty lot...they had finally broken ground and I'll be honest...I've never been so happy in my LIFE to see a pile of dirt.

Our builder (Grand View) swore UP and DOWN we would close before Christmas while I, in the meantime, rolled my eyes in disgust thinking "There's no possible way this house will be done that quick!"

Lo and behold...we closed on December 21, 2012 and since then, it's been a huge work in progress! A very fun work in progress, but definitely WORK, nonetheless! I know I have all the time in the world to hang stuff on the walls and get it the way I want it but we're getting there. One day my fear of putting a hole in my brand new walls will go away and soon enough, we'll actually have something like a picture or a mirror take up residence those big blank walls.

In the meantime, I'm really enjoying the simplicity of it all!

Anywho...without further adieu...welcome to our home! :)
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"A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams." -Unknown

Now come back, ya heard! ;)

102 comments:

  1. Your home is beyond gorgeous! I love how your kitchen is so open to the living room and that table is absolutely beautiful. I know it was wonderful watching your ideas come together!

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  2. It's so pretty! :) I know from experience that you'll have a GREAT time making your new house your home! :)

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  3. Your house is so beautiful!!!! :) Happy for you both!!

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  4. Its gorgeous, congratulations!

    xx Emily

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  5. Your house looks great!! I really love the island in the kitchen

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  6. It's absolutely beautiful! I can't wait to see it 100% decorated! Congratulations!

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  7. Awwww congrats Stephanie!!! It looks amazing!! I would love to be able to build a home one day, for now we are still just looking to buy our first home that is not super expensive!! We will get there eventually. Honestly though it is a gorgeous house!! I hope you are very very happy there :D

    Jen xxx

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  8. Just beautiful!! Smart on the double-sink Master :) I'm convinced "his" and "her" sinks are the makings of a happy marriage! Congratulations on becoming a homeowner!

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  9. so this is not a forever dream home? I LOVE IT!! its gorgeous!

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  10. Your house is GORGEOUS! Love, love your master bath :) Let's see your closet?? It has to be amaze!

    We live in a brand new home as well, and it took me forever to put holes in the walls! Haha...you feel like you have to get it right the first time! ;)

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  11. Gorgeous! Congratulations :)

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  12. Wow, it is gorgeous! I would love to build a home from scratch too. There's just no land in Austin to do it.

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  13. I'm swooning over your whole house-especially your floors! I love!!! Beautiful house!

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  14. Lovely. It's coming along nicely. BTW, a house is really never done. You are always changing stuff. ;)

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  15. Its BEAUTIFUL!!! I love the wood floors!! Congrats!

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  16. Wowza. That home is gorgeous. I would imagine you will be very happy there for a very long time. Perfect blend of modern and rustic.
    Where did you get that corner folding table that is in the living area with a candle on it?

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    Replies
    1. Thank you!! My mom actually got it for me years ago from Hobby Lobby!

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  17. Absolutely gorgeous! Congratulations!

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  18. It is beautiful! And I am so jealous! Especially of that master bathroom! Congratulations!

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  19. This is such a gorgeous home! Y'all did a great job on all of the details. I especially love the railing on the staircase; beautiful!

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  20. congratulations! becoming a homeowner is definitely something to be proud of! :)

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  21. your home is so gorgeous! well worth the wait, i'm sure! thanks for sharing :)

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  22. Oh my god your house is GORGEOUS!!!! Congratulations :)

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  23. Oh my goodness! Your house is absolutely gorgeous!! And the bar in your kitchen- absolutely to die for! I love the rock :) Can't wait to see pictures as you continue to decorate and such!

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  24. Love your kitchen island with the rock on the bottom! Congrats! Home-ownership is so fun :)

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  25. I love it all! Especially the mud room and master bathroom. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!!

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  26. Your house is so beautiful! I am obsessed with the outside of it. I live in Houston and wrote down the builders name for us to possibly use when we start looking in a couple years!

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    1. Aw yay!!! Ya I really liked working with them because they have their set floor plans but you can do almost ANYTHING to do them and as long as you're not adding square footage, there's no extra charge. We knocked out several walls to give the living room/kitchen a more open feel and even knocked out an entire closet in our bathroom. No charge! They were great to work with, for the most part!

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  27. Love love love!! I will have that table that you have in your breakfast area... I will have it!!!!!!

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  28. love it! So jealous! I think our next home I would love to find one we can build.. because you're right.. we've been in ours for 4 yrs and still installing new floors.. need a new roof etc etc.. beautiful home!

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  29. Yay, I've been waiting for this post! I love it all! The stone on your island is amazing and I love how open the floorplan is! Can I live there please? Also, I have total master bathroom envy. We built our house almost 8 years ago and it was such a fun process!

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  30. Gorgeous. I'm jealous. As the owner of an older home (80 years), I often wish we had gone the new build route. I love the charm of old homes but older homes are like Mayan Gods - every few months it will demand a sacrifice. New pipes, electrical work, roof leak, toilet leak, hot water heater, squirrels in attic, termites, etc... And always at least 2x what you think it should cost to fix it!

    Enjoy your new home and revel in it's newness and having nothing broken! How did that wine rack turn out, BTW?

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  31. It's gorg! Looks so sparkly & NEW. We are going through the same process right now trying to decide whether to buy or build. I think you've swayed me ;)

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  32. Such a gorgeous dream house! I love love love all the stone and the master bathroom. Congrats :)

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  33. LOVE the house! Can't wait to read more about it as you make it your own :) My fiance and I just bought our first house at the end of August 2012, and I love being a homeowner! Even though we've been in the house for 5 months, I still have boxes to unpack, and empty walls to be filled...but like you said, you have forever to do all of that. Congrats on being homeowners!

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  34. GORGEOUS house! I just love your dining room table.

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  35. SO pretty, Steph! Y'all have done such a great job decorating too. I giggle a little bit when I notice NOTHING hanging on the walls because we are in the SAME position. I get anxiety about punching nails into our pretty walls, only to possibly change my mind a few months later! Eeek!

    You are so lucky you were able to furnish your home immediately with brand new everything. We are still using all of our old stuff, and SLOOOOOWLY purchasing new, which is frustrating because we are such a long ways away from being finished!

    So happy we finally got a full home tour! Looooove your new abode!

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  36. Wow... your home is stunning. That kitchen island is the coolest thing I've ever seen. Congratulations! I bet you love coming home every day now :) Not that you didn't before, but you know what I mean ;-)

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  37. eee...I love all of it! The island is gorgeous and so is the entry way. Cannot wait to see what you do with all the decorating!!!

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  38. It's beautiful Steph! Although I am a little sad my "Shay was here" had to be covered up! ;) Can't wait to see it in person! And this gives me the new house bug even worse! AH! I love you!

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  39. Wow, your home is amazing! I love the arched doorways, and the beautiful decor you have picked out!

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  40. I have house envy right now! Wow. You guys did an amazing job. I love the dark floors and all the stone! Beautiful. Congrats on the house & enjoy every square inch of it! :)

    xo, jill
    Classy with a Kick

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  41. Beautiful!! Congrats to the both of you!

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  42. Your home is beautiful, Stephanie! So happy for your and Beau!

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  43. I'm obsessed. It's just so gosh darn gorgeous! Especially the banister on the stairs and the kitchen omg and that bathroom is as big as my NYC apt.

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  44. Your house is gorge! Love it!!!
    I want my kitchen to look exactly like that...sigh, hopefully after I finish grad school!!

    Kate
    NYTjerseygirl.blogspot.com

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  45. Your home is gorgeous! I love everything about it! I need to move to your neighborhood!

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  46. Beautiful! I'm in love with your master bath- love the double doors. Very pretty!!

    My hubby and I closed on our first home back in August and it was such a good feeling. The home buying can be sooo very stressful so I completely understand.

    Congrats!!!

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  47. DYING over the shower in your master bath & your ISLAND! How FREAKIN' COOL! It looks beautiful, Steph. Congrats to you and your hubby! xox

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  48. oh my goodness, absolutely love it!! congratulations lady!

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  49. It looks fantastic! Can't wait to see all of the decorations you put up :)

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  50. Yay! You finally posted pics! Beautiful home :)

    We are so glad we built too, because it probably would have cost more to buy a pre-owned home and then pay for upgrades to make it the way we wanted it. So it was a no-brainer to build, it's just so hard to be patient while it's being built! :-P

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  51. WOW! Lusting over your dark hard woods and open floor plan! I hope I'm able to build one day too. :) Loved keeping up with the process on instagram!

    Happy Wednesday!

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  52. OMG it's gorgeous!I cannot wait till we get to build a house now! Ah so exciting for y'all!

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  53. oh my word Stephanie your house is beautiful. actually that is an understatement, it is GORGEOUS!!! i love everything about it. the natural/earth tones. the wood floors. the way you decorated. love it all! i actually just sent my hubs a link to it, so he could see the gorgeousness as well ;) you did good! ;)

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  54. I love the stone bar in the kitchen!

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  55. OH MY GOD. I am speechless as to how incredibly gorgeous everything looks (not that I'm surprised with your fabulous taste!)! I am beyond in love with everything & super envious of the countertops & stone. So beautiful, Steph! Now you need to start filling that home up with some baby Stephs & Beaus :) Xoxoxo

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  56. Your house is gorgeous!! I'm beyond jealous! Congrats!

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  57. Love the house, love the island in the kitchen, love the sectional, love the kitchen table .... in general, LOVE IT!

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  58. My husband LOVES your house! haha. I do too, of course, but it's so funny how much he freaks out over it whenever I bring it up :)

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  59. Gorgeous home!! Where did you get your kitchen table? (The one with the chairs and the bench)

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  60. It is so beautiful! I love how your upstairs has a step up to the left..I'm assuming master? gorgeous house congrats!

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  61. LOVE your first dream home :)
    xo
    Samantha

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  62. ummm i had to recheck my url...i though I was on the pottery barn website for a moment. so, so pretty!!! just plain gorgeous. you make me want to re-do sooooo many things in our humble abode. building a home is a LABOR of love. i am so happy for you and the hubs!

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  63. I wanna see more pics of the upstairs :) I've never seen anything like that before!!! Eeeek I love it :)

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  64. Your home is absolutely beautiful!!! It very much the same way with us when we were house hunting...But Aaron, I think, was even more picky than I was lol so we thought it best to build our own as well.

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  65. Whoa, your new home is beautiful! The stairwell is amazing - love the design. And, can we talk about that bathroom for a sec - holy cow - it's stunning! So happy for you and your hubby!!! :-)

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  66. love your new home, congrats. we are in the process of being the 'picky' house hunters now. Can't wait to see what you done once you are brave enough to put some holes in the wall!

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  67. I have thought of building versus buying my next home but always worried it was too expensive to build. I love my home now but it needs a lot of tweeks. Thanks for sharing your experience, will have to consider it again.

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  68. Gorgegous home! Every little detail is perfect. Want to come decorate my house :)

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  69. CONGRATS Steph!! It is so stunning and you have done such an awesome job making it your own...
    Thanks for the tour x

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  70. beautiful, fresh, and clean. now ya'll need some kiddies running down those halls. haha...eh

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  71. your home is a dream! how is this not your forever home?! absolutely beautiful!

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  72. Ok I don't know how I missed this post the first time around, but oh my word. The instagram pictures don't even do it justice. I love EVERYTHING about your "first dream home" I'm ready to move in whenever ;-) Everything looks absolutely perfect. I love the kitchen/DR table. How has the bench worked out so far? I've always loved the idea of having a bench!

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  73. your home is beautiful!!! The kitchen is especially wonderful, though I don't think I could choose a favorite room, they are all so nice! :) enjoy your new home!

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  74. Your house looks absolutely beautiful!! What an amazing kitchen!

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  75. Absolutely gorgeous! I just love love love it!!!

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  76. GORGEOUS house y'all! I think my favorite part of it has to be the kitchen table. I love the rustic feel - definitely what I plan to do when the time comes :)

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  77. The house is gorgeous!!! Congrats!!!

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  78. Stephanie, what neighborhood do you live in?

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  79. Your home is absolutely gorgeous!! Congratulations! :)

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  80. SO JEALOUS OF YOUR NEW HOME! IT IS GORGEOUSSSSSS!!!!!

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  81. Love your new house--it's beautiful! I especially am loving the grey-ish color wood you used for your floors--what type is it?

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  83. Your house is gorgeous! I love the kitchen and the master bathroom!! Congratulations!

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  84. I use my husbands email to comment under bc I only have a yahoo email acct, so don't think I am a creeper man! HA! Sooooo few more annoying questions: 1) do u know the name of your gorgeous kitchen granite and your interior and exterior stone?

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