What is the best advice we can share when it comes to building a new home? First, make sure you work with a REALTOR® you can trust (more on that here) and second be strategic with your design choices. Building a new home is a huge investment and can feel complicated and easy to succumb to trends that you may eventually regret (think bright gold brass of the ‘80s). Building requires a lot of decisions in a short period of time and it can be challenging to think into the future. Here are a few important items to consider to make the most of your investment and create a timeless home:

1. Flow/ Floorplan – For the first time home builder, this is tricky but so important. How do you want your home to feel when you walk in the front door? Think about where you will store your keys, coat and shoes. Consider how you will use your home but also what is practical.
2. Matching Wood Tones – Tones of wood should coordinate but be different shades. For example, if you select dark wood floors, make sure that your kitchen cabinets are a lighter shade that still coordinates well with the floors.
3. Window Placement – When examining blueprints, leave space for key furniture items (bed, dressers, couches) and consider what the view will be. You do not want to be stuck with too few or badly placed windows. 

Want a second opinion, with over 25 years of combined experience, we have seen the good, the bad and the ugly and would be honored to help you make the most of your home building experience. Considering building but not quite ready, follow along as we will be sharing the process of home building a 6000 sqft luxury home in the prestigious Parks at Prestwick in Avon – available for sale in early 2021.

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1. Make a plan. Determine the weight, size and shape of what you are hanging as well as the material of the walls.  
2. Have the necessary supplies ready. The basics include a measuring tape, hammer, nails and pencil. Bonus points if you have a jar of spackle and touch up paint too. Double sided adhesive strips and a stud finder are always a great to have on hand. Also, note that nails are not the only option – you can always lean art or try a picture shelf or rail. 
3. Measure and mark. Just like the old adage says “measure twice, cut once” – measure twice, hang once. It’s also important to note that the center of a framed piece should be 57 inches above the ground (pictures that are hung too high is something we see all the time in homes). If you are creating a gallery wall, a great hack is to use the paper inserts from the frames as a rough guide for sizing and spacing on the wall. Tape them up and see how it looks. 
4. Go for it. Art is meant to be enjoyed so get it up on those walls. 

Feeling really stuck, don’t panic. We are happy to advise on all of your design needs. Contact us for more information.

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Claybrooke was the first home that we purchased and renovated. We bought her in August of 2019 and she was well loved and cared for but needed a refresh in order to really shine. Up until this point, we had done smaller projects but this was the first project of this scale. We didn’t know what to expect but overall, we feel the project went smoothly and there weren’t a lot of huge surprises. (It helps that we have been in real estate for a long time and that we had a thorough inspection before closing too.)

Even so, we learned some valuable lessons

Be certain to have a fully detailed scope of work you want to be completed by the contractor. Clear instructions and a defined timeline are key. You will save a lot of time by having as many materials as possible purchased and ready for the contractors to install before they start the job.

Know the type of product you want to produce and do not cut corners. Our design projects are not a quick way to make money but rather an investment in a space to make it the best it can be. We had a clear vision for this home, to create something that we would love to live ourselves. Therefore invested in high quality cabinets, flooring and every other finish we put into Claybrooke.

Know your budget and be prepared for the unexpected. You should have at least a 15% contingency fund in place.

Speaking of the unexpected, expect reasonable delays, they do happen.

By the time Claybrooke was complete, we were so thrilled with the final result. Our favorite rooms were the kitchen and master bath. Happily, we had lots of showings and she quickly found a new family.

We hope that you find this to be helpful and that it encourages you to take on that renovation project you have been dreaming about. If you need help or have questions, you know where to find us.

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