(Okay Ashley!) Here you will see our most recent and hopefully final version of our floor plan and elevations of our new home-to-be. We are still awaiting all the bids to come in, but I feel cautiously optimistic this is it. I am very proud of what our Designer, Karen Boden, alongside Brandon and I, came up with based on our needs and ideas to be as efficient as possible with the space, while also making sure we did not sacrifice function and aesthetics. And a single story was a must!

We are trying our best to get as small a loan as possible so that this home could be paid for by a single income and not put us in a financial situation that would change our current lifestyle. Then as we grow and add, we pay for those projects in cash as we can afford. In saying this though, we do not want to waste the opportunity we have to design an energy efficient and healthy home for a hopefully growing family and implement the features that are important to us, to name a few: spray foam insulation, superior energy-efficient windows (because we have alot of them!), standing seem Galvalume metal roof, Hardie cement siding, energy star appliances, low flow faucets/toilets, energy saving H2O heater, good heat/AC unit, no VOC paints, and also non-toxic/low odor stain, sealers, caulk, grout, adhesives, etc. which by the way are out there, but not nearly as easy to get as the no VOC paints.

We are being very conscious of what we invest in from the get-go knowing we can always add more space in the future with an additional game room and/or guest space with a separate structure...But for now, and the indefinite future, we will have plenty of room to entertain and grow!

Of course all closets, storage shelving, utility shelving, etc. will be elfa from The Container Store...I actually bought everything back in March because as an employee I had a 60% off short-term opportunity I could not pass up! It's a modular system, so even though almost all closets and storage space have changed from our original design, I will have more than enough components to complete the job, and probably have some to return.

Now our floors are a bit unconventional to some; we are simply buffing and sealing the slab for now...will sort of have a modern loft look, which I think will be great with our Transitional style of the house (a little bit of modern and traditional mixed together). I am almost certain that we will add wood or laminate floors down the line in bedrooms and common areas, but this is a good start with a cool look...

One conventional Central Texas feature we are missing is a fire place. We did this for space and budget reasons realizing we have not lived with a fireplace in many years and we enjoy a toasty fire best outside, so a project of ours after move-in will be to build a nice rock fire-pit in the back yard.

Where will we park, you ask? Well, for health reasons, I was really pro-detached parking. We whittled our needs down to simply a basic covered carport with matching roof. This, however, will be the first thing to cut if we need to trim the fat any after bids come in.

So, like it or not, this is what WE like! I hope you will continue to watch the progress and see this plan come to life...Lyd