jillivictorio@gmail.com /

Amidst a global pandemic, I am grateful for the time spent together with my family and some of the goals we have been able to accomplish together in 2020. One of those goals was to build a house!

Are we crazy for doing this? Yes! Is this process going to give me a full head of grey hair? Probably. Is it going to be the project of a lifetime? Heck, yes!  It’s been a longtime dream of mind to find some land a build a home.  Here’s how it all began…

We have been living in our current TX home since 2017 when we moved from Seattle (Issaquah) WA.  We sold our home in WA at a great time and had only had a few weeks to find a house in TX so it was a very rushed process, but we knew exactly what we were looking for and how much we wanted to spend. I’m grateful for the home we found and knew in my heart that this was a home that we would love, add our touches, and eventually flip while getting to know the area, town, and neighborhood better while planning for a future build. We’ve really fallen in love with Granbury TX and we knew we made the right choice moving here to raise our family.

 

The Selling Process – December 2019

With patience and the right planning, I knew we’d be able to make this dream happen. We made some minor updates to our home such as replacing the exterior door and light fixtures, then we renovated our kitchen to add equity and value to the home, with the intention of some day selling.  The day after Christmas 2019, I created a FSBO listing on Zillow, wrote the marketing copy, staged our home, and took and posted the photos. I received inquiries and appointment requests immediately, but nothing serious. I felt that this fsbo listing was a great way to test the waters and see what was out there in terms of a buyer pool. We weren’t in a hurry to sell and we would only sell on our own terms (price, timeframe, and lease back). Then three months later in March of 2020, Covid hit, and real estate seemed to halt for a brief few weeks. Schools and sports also shut down, so with the extra time we had at home together during quarantine, we tackled a few home improvement and gardening projects. I was cleaning and organizing the house like crazy so naturally, our home was always clean and show-ready for potential buyers. In April, potential buyers became active again and the requests for tours continued. I made sure to have viewers practice social distancing and wear masks when touring our home, then re-cleaned and sanitized after each showing. We received multiple offers, but the blessing came in June 2020 when I got a call from a prospective buyer looking at homes for her brother-in-law looking to move to TX from CA. Her and her husband toured our home, loved it, gave the seal of approval to her brother-in-law, and the buyer made an all cash offer sight unseen. They also agreed to our lease back terms allowing us to continue living in the home while we built our house. John and I knew this was the right time and the perfect buyer we had been waiting and praying for.  We had an attorney draw up the documents and handle the transfer of the title.

 

Finding The Lot…

Finding land to purchase was probably the most challenging part of the homebuilding process for us as we were very particular on the type of land in the location we wanted. Some lots were too sloped, too close to neighbors, had no privacy, some had a ravine right in the middle, some too narrow, too small, no trees, too far outside of town, located off a blind road, the list goes on.  Our land search took about a year and half. Our main requirement was trees, lots of MATURE TREES, and privacy.  After more months of looking and visiting potential lots, I found land that fit all our criteria – a treed lot on 1.5 acres, backing up to private ranch land so we would always have privacy without any homes being built behind our lot, and located on a cul-de-sac. I’ve always loved the idea of a cul-de-sac, especially with kids. I imagine the kids being able to ride their bikes and scooters up and down our street without the busyness of cars passing through, except for the residents who live on that street.  The lot had a fsbo sign posted, so out of curiosity, I got out of my car, walked the lot, and saw a vision for a home with landscaping features surrounded by trees.  I immediately contacted the owner listed on the sign and we began negotiations. The lot being located in a beautiful private community with amenities (trails, a fishing pond, and sports courts) were some of the added perks that sealed the deal for us.

Community stocked fishing pond

Choosing A Builder…

We met with several homebuilders in Granbury to get an idea of pricing, styles, floorplans, procedures etc. We first had our heart set on a particular builder as some of our friends had their homes built with and they were absolutely stunning. We liked the idea of a semi-custom build where you can choose from a portfolio of available floor plans and can customize certain areas. Many of the lots we found could not fit the floor plans we liked and needed. We ended up going the custom build route, which I never thought we would do, but I am loving the process so far. In a custom build, there are a lot of decisions to be made about everything, things you never thought about in a home.  We found an amazing custom homebuilder we really liked and we are now working with Remington Homes DFW. After our first pre-design meeting, I felt good about Remington Homes’ services and processes, along with the individuals I met, one of them was the owner. They are family-owned with a boutique feel and a hands-on approach. I learned that they have built many of their homes from floorplans on Architectural Designs, which was the same site I had been obsessively browsing to find inspiration and to pin floor plans from – it was a good match. Remington Homes also conducted several site visits for us and walked several lots with us before we made any decisions to make sure the land was buildable and could accommodate our desired floor plans.

 

Floor Plan Design & Inspiration…

We rounded up our favorite floor plans from Architectural Designs. I spent hours on this site morning, noon and night! After narrowing down my favorite floor plans, we combined some features of two different floor plans and elevation inspirations while adding in our own features for a custom plan and drawings to meet our needs.

We knew we wanted to build a modern farmhouse style home with an open floor plan with a lot of natural light.

On my wishlist for a floorplan included a kitchen sink against a window (my number one ask), a butler’s pantry, mudroom, a private guest suite, a study/home office, game room/play area for the kids, a front porch, rear patio, fireplace, outdoor kitchen, and a detached shop. A short wishlist right?

Here were some of our favorite floor plan inspirations:

Favorite 2-story plans:

Main level

 

 

 

Second level

 

Main level

 

Second Level

 

Favorite Modern Farmhouse Elevations

 

 

Breaking Ground 2021

January 2021

A couple of months after closing on our lot purchase and waiting for the necessary approvals, we started 2021 by finally breaking ground this week! I can’t tell you how exciting it is to see dirt being moved.

I will be sharing the details of our selections (flooring, tile, countertops, lighting, cabinets, etc) in the next blog post, so stay tuned!

You can also follow along our homebuilding journey on our Instagram build page dedicated to all things homebuilding and design: IG @our.farmhouse.at.the.ranch

Thanks for reading! What are your favorite features when designing or building a home?

jillivictorio@gmail.com /

Sometimes giving your home a face-lift can be as simple as a front door makeover!

Giving your home a whole new feel with a front door redesign with new paint, fixtures and accents can make a world of difference!

Image: Rogue Valley Doors

 

You might remember from past Ig posts of what my door used to look like.  The door stain was fading from full sun exposure, the trim was a little dark and blended with the color of the house and the door itself was just ho-hum.  It didn’t reflect my taste at all.  After living in our home for a year and half, I decided to finally make my front door dreams a reality and got to work researching door styles, dealers, and getting quotes on what it would cost to achieve the look I wanted. After completing our fireplace makeover, I was excited to finally be able to tackle our front door.  This is the first thing people see when they come up to our home, and I want it to look and feel warm and inviting!

The Process

I had been eyeing a Simpson door for over 2 years and when I got quotes, they were out of my price range for a front door and would take about 2-3 months to custom order and arrive.  After saving up for a year, I was finally able to order my dream Simpson door and planned the order and arrival in time for Mother’s Day as my Mother’s Day gift to myself. I had my door measured, placed my order, and waited patiently for the call to let me know when my door arrived. Two months later I got the call and immediately drove to the shop to have a look at it. To my dismay, the door was the wrong size!  The months of waiting and planning for this door to arrive in time for Mother’s Day was just disappointing.

Tip: When ordering a customer door, always double and triple confirm with the shop that they have the correct door measurements for your space before they place the order with the door maker.

Thankfully the shop had another alternative door locally that was similar to the first style I wanted!  It was almost identical to the first door and had the 6 lite glass panes, with one panel below. To make up for the inconvenience, the shop gave me a generous discount and better price for the alternate door.  I can honestly say that I am thrilled with how the alternate door turned out and absolutely love it even more, especially if it saved me hundreds of dollars and I didn’t have to wait another 2 to 3 months!  The door I got is made by Rogue Valley Door, another NW custom door builder.

With the money I saved on the door, I was able to splurge on the door hardware and accessories.

When planning my custom door, I knew I wanted to implement the following design elements and functionality requirements:

  1. 6-lite glass panes with 1 panel wood entry door
  2. Painted black with white trim
  3. Convert the door swing from a left-hand door swings to a right-hand door swing.

Installation Day

After the existing door and trim were ripped out, on came the new door!

Notice how the door now swings open on the right side when facing the door from inside the house. It is so much more functional opening this way as when someone enters our home, they naturally step in toward the wall where we normally have a bench to sit and remove shoes. The door used to swing open from the left side and it was an awkward angle when stepping foot into the house where we and our guests would have to scoot around each other to let them in. There wasn’t an immediately accessible space for guests to sit and remove shoes so they would naturally walk in to the dining room and sit at the dining bench to remove their shoes.

Next came the interior trim.

 

Door Trim and Frame Color

Now for the fun part – paint!  I went back and forth tough deciding on the door frame and trim color. I decided on a black frame and white trim and am so happy with how it turned out. I especially love the new black threshold, compared to the dingy silver threshold that was originally installed when we bought the house.

I’ve always loved the classic yet modern look of a black door and once the black paint came on, I knew I made the right choice.

Finally, painting the interior trim…

Hardware

Finally the finishing touch involved installing the door hardware. For Mother’s Day, John installed the door hardware and outdoor light fixtures – best Mother’s Day gift next to the kids bringing me breakfast in bed!

I absolutely love Emtek’s hardware designs and products. I knew I had to incorporate their hardware on my new door.  After finding a local dealer I was happy to learn that the same local hardware store that I ordered our water filter faucet from also carried Emtek products.  I visited the showroom and to see the products in person, selected the style and finish I wanted, and placed my order. Since all Emtek products are custom ordered, it was a 2-week wait and I was ok with that!

I went with the Wilshire design in an ‘Antique French’ finish. I looooovvve it!  This thing is also heavy with a good solid weight to it.

Here is it installed looking at it from the inside of our home.

And here it is installed looking at it from the outside. Isn’t she a beauty!? The antique French finish works well with the black paint.

I love little details like the interior branded face plates.

Light Fixtures

An easy light fixture swap also makes an affordable and stylish update to a front entry. I chose a simple farmhouse style lantern wall sconce but in a larger size as statement lights.

 

Now lets look at the before and after…everyone loves a good before and after shot:

Sources:

Door: Rogue Valley Door (made to order)

Paint: Sherwin Williams

Hardware: Emtek (made to order)

Wreath: Frontgate (on sale!), similar budget option here 

Doormat: Target (no longer available), similar here

Light Fixtures: Ballard Designs similar here