Today, we picked out the beginnings of our new home. We also had a really nice surprise...they started laying the ground work!
We were so excited to see they actually started building! We literally gave the builder our financing commitment letter on Tuesday, so he was not kidding when he said he would start right away. They will be laying the cement next week, which then leads to the framework. I'm sure Matt and I will be at the site every weekend from now until October. Bob (the builder) is just going to love us...ha..ha.
Once we got over the excitement of wood laid out on the ground, we met with Karen. Karen, the builders realtor and design helper, is so good to us! She helped us from day one and sat with us for two hours today while we pondered over three different shades of gray. My mom also came with us to help, and thank god she was there because Matt and I were overwhelmed. Here is a picture of some of the siding samples.
Karen suggested we pick the stone first, then the siding, shingles and roof. I knew I wanted a dark gray/black roof so I actually picked that first. Matt was onboard with me thank God!
So, the stone. They only floor plan that gets to chose stone for part of the house is ours and another model that is similar to ours. It was hard to visualize what all the stone samples would look like on our finished home. There are three houses up in the neighborhood that have the stone front, but they all picked the same color. We really liked it since it was gray tones, but I really wanted to have a different look. We narrowed it down to these two samples.
We knew we liked the top sample, since the three homes already built had chosen the same one. The bottom one was similar, but had different shape stones. After viewing them in the sun and shade, we finally chose the bottom one. It has a different look, but is still within the gray color family to match the gray siding we knew we wanted. I think we stood there for 45 minutes comparing them. It was a tough decision! Karen showed us a larger picture of the stone in a booklet, and it will look pretty dark once they are covering a larger surface. Once we picked the stone it was on to the siding and shingles. I think I mentioned in my previous post how I was thinking I wanted a dark gray siding with light stone...well we basically flip flopped that idea once we chose a dark stone.
Here are some samples of the siding we narrowed down. All in the gray color family.
Matt and I at first were leaning towards a blended shingle and siding. Just to clarify, the shingles are the ribbed looking samples that are vertical. The siding is horizontal. Anyways, we thought we wanted them to match as close as possible. My mom, the genius designer that she is, talked us into going with more of a contrast in the grays. In other words, a light gray shingle with a darker gray siding. Genius! We ended up going with slate for the shingles (darker) and stone gray (lighter). The combo pieced together is the one on the bottom right. Here was the finished product with the roof, stone, and shingles/siding.
We were so proud of ourselves for finally making a decision, and for also taking the time to really think about our choices. I was afraid we would get overwhelmed with the selections and end up pointing at a house and saying "just copy their color scheme". But wait...you did not think it would be that easy did you? As we are saying good-bye to Karen and about to get in the car to leave, my anal retentive husband has a disturbed look on his face. Come on...for those who really know Matt Collar are you at all surprised he couldn't help but tweak our choices at the very last second!? We unloaded our final selection to take another look, and Matt actually made a valid point. Since the shingles make up most of the house, and we wanted a contrast between the grays, we should chose the stone gray for the shingle and the slate for the siding. Basically, swap the two colors, which would then lay the lighter "stone gray" next to the dark cobblestone we chose once the house is finished. Then the darker "slate" siding would be above the garage (small portion in comparison to the shingles) and on the sides of the house. Since he made a valid point, I agreed. I did not get a picture of the final FINAL product, but just use the above picture and imagine the top shingles being the color of the bottom siding and vice versa. Karen nicely changed up our paperwork and we were on our way. Poor Karen has a long four months ahead of her! We left satisfied and happy with our decision, and I should give credit to my husband where credit is due! Good job Matty.
The next decision making will be focused on the kitchen...and a door for the outside. There are only three standard doors to choose from THANK GOD. That should be an easy one.
Big thanks to my mom for helping us...thanks mom!
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