Lighting & Appliances... (We have a Fridg-a-tater!) :)

We did most of our selections on Tuesday afternoon.  On Thursday, we went to Brecher's Lighting and picked out all of our lighting fixtures.  We're really happy with everything we picked, but unfortunately there wasn't a lot of photos available to post here.  Most of the stuff we chose had the oil rubbed bronze finish and is sort of a more traditional look.  We also added ceiling fans in the big rooms and a few canister lights here and there.  (The existing floorplan had them already.)  We also added a couple of hanging pendant lights over our bar area in the kitchen.  Very classy!

From Brecher's we went on to Appliance Distributors to pick out our appliances.  Our strategy on selections was to upgrade the Master Bath and Kitchen.  We wanted those areas to be nice and we know that's good for resell.  For the kitchen we went with a Stainless Frigidaire Gallery Series set we really like.  We picked out one of those new French Door Refrigerators, Dishwasher, Cook-top, Microwave and Double In-wall Oven.  As it turns out we couldn't include the refrigerator in the mortgage, but they were having a super clearance sale on the thing, so we bought it.  Problem was, we had to take delivery of it in 2 weeks.  Uhm, it's sitting in our storage unit now.  :)

We borrowed some photos from Frigidaire's website and included links for more info.

Refrigerator                                                      Cooktop

Microwave                                                                                    Dishwasher

Double Wall Oven

Selections...

Wow!  I can't believe we picked out all of this stuff in one afternoon, but we did.  We went in with a floorplan and when we came out we had everything from brick & siding, wood flooring, carpeting, vinyl flooring, cabinets, countertops, trim, tile, bath fixtures, layout of the switches and plugs, cable jacks, outside water faucets, you name it!  What a day!

Here are some photos of some things we picked.


Going for a classic look: red brick, black roof, white trim. 
Have a few stone accents, one shake area, and shutters to make it modern.

 

Went with an Armstrong Cherry Wood Laminate flooring in the living areas.
Berber carpet in the bedrooms and upstairs.
Sort of a redish walnut color on the cabinets.
Tile in the master bath.  Top if all off with wide 5.25" trim & crown molding.

We went for the upgrades in the kitchen and our bath.
Master bath is all tile, the guest bath and upstairs baths are vinyl that looks like tile.
Counters there are standard white.

 

Countertops are laminate (granite/solid surface is expensive!), color is called Butter-rum.
We did add a 4" tile backsplash though, love the look!



Not much to say about this, but we went with the oil-rubbed bronze fixtures in our bath and the brushed nickel look for most of the other stuff.  I think upstairs is chrome.  This is the general style from Delta .  The oil-rubbed bronze also matches the light fixtures we chose later.



Choosing a style and floorplan...

Let the decisions begin!  We actually started this process before we picked a lot.  After looking at all the plans, the models in other neighborhoods, and the pricing options, we went with a 1 1/2 story plan called the Rockwood II Expanded.  It's about 2700 sq-ft and has 4 bedrooms 3 baths.  We're so blessed and super excited!

Here are some screen clips of our selection from the Ball Homes website:



We went with the "B" floorplan with the double garage doors and office bump-out.



Here's our floorplan.  We "improved" the kitchen a little from the standard by moving the cabinets and making an island.  Super functional!



Here's how it fits on the lot.  Not a huge yard, but larger than the one we have now.

 



Finding a lot...

After looking around the Hamburg area at several houses and several neighborhoods, we wound up in the "Blackford/Bryant Oak" neighborhood.  The name is in quotes because that's still a bit of confusion.  When you enter the subdivision, there's a sign that says Belle Meade.  There are signs posted just after that about joining the Blackford Oak neighborhood association.  Then when you talk to the Ball Homes folks, they call it Bryant Oak.  All I know is the street name is Blackford Parkway.

As it turns out there are several builders in that area, but Ball Homes is the most active.  After looking at several of their homes and pricing options, we decided to go with them.  We met with one of their realtors, Mike Wheatley, and reviewed all of the available options.  After looking at a few of the lots, we wound up here: 3281 Blackford Parkway .  It's still a typical subdivision lot, but it's bigger than the one we have now and across the street from our friends the Hodskins.  We think we have some pretty good neighbors!  We'll know something is up if they put a 10' privacy fence in their front yard.  :)

Here are a few pictures!

Picking an area & subdivision...

We originally started our search with the idea of moving to a larger lot in a more rural area.  We started looking in Scott County where Andrea teaches.  After looking at several tracts in the 1-5 acre range, and praying about it a lot!, we finally came to the conclusion that it would be too much of a stretch to try to buy that size lot and build a big new house on it.  (Maybe someday, but that's a story for another blog.)  We looked at several existing homes on larger lots in Scott County and then in some areas of Lexington we liked and just didn't find anything that we fell in love with.  We could build a smaller house, but it wouldn't give us the space we wanted.  We come to the conclusion for us that it wasn't a good value to buy a house 15years old, when for about the same money we could build a new one.  So we had a choice: bigger new house on a small lot, older house on a larger lot, or small house on a larger lot.  We went with the first one and decided that if we were going to be on a smaller lot, then lets pick one we like.

In 2008, Andrea had lived with Ben & Virginia Hodskins over in the Blackford/Bryant Oak neighborhood near Hamburg and really liked it. After thinking it over, and praying some more, we came to the conclusion that was a good place for us to be.  We end up over there every weekend anyway with church, shopping, eating out, etc.  It's convenient to everything, so that's where we're headed.
By the way, we attend church at Crossroads Christian Church here in Lexington.

Here's a link to a map of the area:
Google Map

Selling our home...

(Started the blog a little after the fact, so we'll try to catch up a bit...) 

This all started as quite a whirlwind.  We originally had planned to wait a couple more years before trying to sell our home and upsize.  With the mortgage rates being so low and our closets running over with stuff, we decided to test the home market waters.  We called our friend Jay Atkins of Atkins Realty and put our house on the market around the end of May.  Luckily for us, we found a buyer within 5 weeks!  We came to terms and plan to close on August 31.  Wish us luck!

Here's a link to the listing if anyone is interested:
A & E's Existing House - LBAR Listing

Welcome to A & E's New Home!!!

Hi! We're building a new home, but if you found this blog you probably already know that. We were looking for a way to chronicle the experience and be able to share photos and updates with all of our family and friends, so we decided to try a blog.

We're so thankful to be blessed with such good family and friends and to have the opportunity to build this home.  We want everyone to be a part of it.  As the title says, hopefully with the support of family and friends, and of course guidance from our Lord above, hopefully we'll turn this house into a home!

We hope you enjoy our posts in the weeks and months to come.  We plan to update often, so please check back frequently. Thanks to everyone and may God share his blessings with us all!!!