Home; where the heart is.

“Where we love is home, home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.”

It still feels surreal to be putting down roots. To have stood, as a family, in the exact spot where our future home will be. Where we’ll share meals, stories, laughter. Where we’ll watch our babies grow up. Where love will reside and memories will be created. Where we’ll experience this journey called life together.

Making this decision was not an easy one. We had quite a bit to consider: from personal to practical. We eventually landed not only on settling down here in Florida, but also on building a new home vs. buying pre-existing. And that was just the first of MANY decisions. 

With all of those decisions, I wish we’d had someone to prepare us and fill us in about all of the builder upgrades that are WORTH getting: so I’m here to be that someone for you, for whenever you need it! 

When you purchase a new build, you start with a base price that comes with all of the “standard” options. Most of the standard features for many builders are pretty great (like 42” cabinets, granite countertops, ceramic floor tile, stainless steel appliances, his and her closets) but we decided to personalize our house a bit more with a few upgrades! 

Below you will find a few of the key areas that first-time homebuyers should definitely consider as they are building a new construction home:

Location, Location, Location!

This was very high on our list of priorities. We wanted to be in a specific area that would be a reasonable distance to both of our jobs, in a certain school district so that our oldest daughter wouldn’t have to switch schools, and smack dab in the middle of BOTH of our families. We somehow hit the jackpot with all three.

For my husband, Benel, the lot was very important. (Like more important that the actual HOUSE… He truly loves his little pile of dirt). He wanted to be on a cul-de-sac or less busy road so that we could be comfortable with our kids playing outside, he wanted a backyard that didn’t back up to someone else’s yard or home, and he wanted to be within walking distance of the community clubhouse for easy access to days spent at the pool or quick games of pick-up basketball.

Really think about the neighborhood you are building in and the lot you are getting. Is this your “right now” home or your “forever” home? Is this going to double your commute time to work? Are the schools within your zone great? How far away is the grocery store? Are there parks, malls, restaurants nearby? Is there a ton of rush hour traffic on your street? How about the noise? Is the sun going to rise straight into your bedroom window each morning? Try to ask yourself the really hard questions: it is very easy to get distracted with all of the excitement.

Structural

We had one big rule of thumb as we went down the list of design center options. If it would require a big tear down, a huge expense, and a giant mess to replace / add / do it later: let’s just do it now. 

This included any changes we wanted to make to the floorplan itself. Whether that was adding an extra bedroom, enlarging the master closet, or including an additional storage room: if we knew we would want it later, we decided to just go ahead and do it now. Most of the structural upgrades offered to us, weren’t ones that we felt like we would ever need so it was significantly easier to pass on those.

Below are some structural upgrades to consider:

Layout Adjustments (enlarging rooms, deleting / adding walls, additional doors or windows)
Extra Bedrooms + Bathrooms
Extra Garage + Storage Areas
Vaulted Ceilings
Plumbing + Electrical Changes

Kitchen

After we got through the structural upgrades part of the conversation, it was time to get down to business and focus on my number one priority in the new house: the kitchen.

For me, the kitchen is the heart of the home, so the majority of our budget went towards upgrading this specific area. This makes the most sense from a resale perspective as well: the best place to invest your money is in your kitchen. Our builder has a great standard kitchen package, but we wanted it to be personalized and feel completely like our own, so we definitely went for it!

Areas to focus in on:

Cabinets 
The color, style, and texture of a cabinet can change the look of a whole room. While shaker style cabinets have become a clear favorite in the last few years, there are still a lot of other options out there, so do your research!

Countertops
The options here are endless: granite, quartz, silestone, soapstone, etc. Make sure you are selecting a material that is scratch, chip, and spill resistant and will stand the test of time!

Backsplash
Your backsplash is a simple accent that will tie your whole kitchen together. This is easily the area of our kitchen I struggled with the most and needed the most input on! There is an infinite amount of options in this category which can make it seem extremely overwhelming, but it does help to have an overall vision for the space and then stick with it! Don’t get too distracted by the new, shiny toys: you’ll never regret going with what you already know you love.

Appliances
While most builders offer black or white appliances as standard, most people do decide to upgrade to stainless steel. But even within stainless steel, there are many additional upgrade options you can go with. Do you want your refrigerator to have a top freezer, side by side, or bottom freezer? Do you need your dishwasher settings to be hidden inside of the door? (Parents of toddlers: you feel me, right?) Do you want a built-in microwave, oven, or stovetop? There is really so much more to think about than you’d expect.

Additional Upgrades to consider:

Cabinet Crown Molding
Under Cabinet Lighting
Undermount Single Basin Sink
Range Hood / Vent 
Trash Pullout Cabinet
Built-in Pantry Cabinet w/Pullout Shelving
Wine Fridge… because winez.

Master Bedroom + Bathroom

Where the magic happens, amiright?

In all seriousness, our master is where we will spend a good chunk of our time, so I wanted to be sure that it was a very inviting place to be. Picture your ideal master in your head. What do you see…? Do you envision a sitting area to be able to get cozy and watch a movie or read a good book? A huge walk-in closet with lots of storage space? A spa-like bathroom with dual-shower heads and a soaking tub?

Prioritize your must-haves vs. would-be-nice vs. we-could-do-this-later and go from there: working your way from the top on down!

Upgrades to consider:

Tray Ceilings
Master Suite Bump Out
French Doors leading to Backyard Patio
His and Hers Closets
His and Hers Vanities
Freestanding Tub

Flooring

This is an important (and pricey!) decision to make. Do you want to avoid carpet in all of the central living areas? Or throughout the entire home altogether? What type of flooring would you be interested in: hardwood, tile, luxury vinyl, laminate? 

We are currently trying to decide between doing our floors through the builder or taking their flooring credit and doing it elsewhere after closing (for cheaper). I would suggest taking your time and doing your research in this area for sure: replacing floors in the future can be an expensive, messy, time-consuming task!

Upgrades to consider:

Hardwood or similar in the main living areas
Upgraded tile in the bathrooms and laundry room
Upgraded carpet pads for extra comfort in the bedrooms

Lighting + Electrical

This is not an area that most people think about for more than a second when building a home: but I would definitely encourage you to think about exactly how you want your home to feel. Good lighting can completely shift the feel of an environment (and bad lighting can make even the nicest space feel dreary, dark, and depressing). 

If possible, think about adding extra windows or a sliding glass door if your floor plan allows for it. Think about how your home is positioned and how it receives natural light: if you’ll get great sunlight in the morning, but not so much towards late afternoon, you always have the option to add in recessed lights to help light up the room for dinner time or homework time. And let’s not forget your master bathroom: good lighting is a must for make-up application, ladies!

Consider adding in extra outlets, usb outlets, extra cable connection ports, pre-wiring for decorative lighting, etc. 

Upgrades to consider:

Extra outlets in the pantry 
Move existing outlets to more convenient locations
Outdoor outlets for a backyard entertainment center
Outlets in the soffit for Christmas lights (game-changer for a two-story home!)
Pre-wire for ceiling fans and decorative lighting

Now that we’ve discussed all of the areas in the home that will be your main focus from an upgrade perspective, there’s one final task. Let’s not forget the areas that you don’t have to feel obligated to invest your building budget towards because they are easy and less expensive to do afterwards.

What can WAIT:

Decorative Light Fixtures + Plumbing Fixtures
Crown Molding + Wainscoting
Custom Master Closet w/Built-ins
Custom Laundry Room Cabinets
Custom Cabinet Hardware
Window Treatments
Epoxy Garage Floor
Outdoor Kitchen
Surveillance System
Pool

At the end of the day, regardless of your choices, you’re going to have a beautiful house that you customized yourself and because of that fact alone it’s going to feel like home. Ask questions, do your research, and enjoy every single second of the journey!

Think I’m missing something? Let me know!
What’s one builder upgrade you don’t think you could live without?

Love Always.

Z.