After years of dreaming, we purchased some land and are building a house. We knew we wanted to build the house ourselves, without using a general contractor. Clive thought this would be impossible, but I was determined to find a way. We reached out to bank after bank, only to be met with frustration. We were almost to the point where we were going to build little by little, as we could afford it. Then came our break. We found a bank that would finance a self build where Clive could act as the general contractor.
After sitting on our property for 4 years, we were ready to break ground … officially. We had done some cleaning and grading as well as installing our septic system prior to starting construction. We wanted to prep the site as much as possible to give ourselves a head start.
When we started planning our home we knew we wanted to think ahead and plan for our future. We wanted to design the house so it would be functional and serve us when we are older. I had a few non-negotiable when designing our home. We currently live in a house that was built in the 30’s that has next to no storage space. I’ve never really had a closet, so a big closet was on my list. I also love cooking and hosting so a large kitchen island was something I insisted on. Clive wanted a room for his hunting equipment so we designated a space in the basement for that. We also both wanted a functional mud room.
We still have lots to decide, which will be both fun and stressful I’m sure. I would love to know, what would be your nonnegotiables when building a house? If you’ve built, what design decisions did you love and what would you do different?
