But I wonder - am I going to regret the items I passed on because of budget? I hope not. I know we all have our own priority list but (and this is hard to admit) I sometimes feel jealous! Oh my gosh, I wish we had an unlimited budget! LOL!! I wish that we could afford the hardwood floors! I wish we could afford to upgrade owner's bath, the bathroom cabinets, the faucets, the lighting, and I could go on and on and on! But, wow, we've already added quite a bit but you look at it and say only $150 more to upgrade blah and blah. It adds up and fast!
I would have never imagined it would be this difficult to make these types of decisions before this process started. There's so much to consider when making selections. And even now that most of our selections are done I still can't stop second guessing and wanting to change things! Oye, where's the off switch?!
~Update 13-APR-13~
I managed to distance myself for a few days because I started getting on my own nerves. I'm becoming obsessive! LOL. I'm a dweller... I'm dwelling!
I don't think there is ever an off switch. lol
ReplyDeleteThere are a few things I wish we had done differently or that I wish we could have squeezed into the budget. Even after living in the house a while we still think of changes we could have made that would make the house better so I'm not sure it ever really ends. We really tried to stick with the structural stuff that would be really hard to change/add later (morning room and extra windows) and a few things that we knew we would need to be happy with the house now (recessed lights in kitchen and upgraded cabinets). The rest of it can be changed later... although I know we all want the house to be perfect right now!
ReplyDeleteI want Instant Gratification! LOL
DeleteYou are preaching to the choir! I get jealous sometimes in reading these blogs, a lot of it comes from the fact that Pittsburgh is an expensive place to live, and I'm jealous of the people who can build the same house as mine for 100k less somewhere else! Or people with flat yards! I wish I could have added a million more things or hell, even got a bigger house but I have to think of it as hey, I'm BUILDING a home, not a lot of people can say that, and I'm putting my personal stamp on it, and people aren't here to judge me because I "cheaped out" and didn't get a finished basement, or a kitchen island, I the only person who is judging me and I shouldn't be!
ReplyDeleteRachael so true about Pittsburgh, we pay sooo much more than these other folks and get way less, since when is Pittsburgh a "great" place to live?? LOL, I mean I like it here and all, but rather live in Florida ya know???
DeleteAnywayz, there is no OFF switch, even after you move it, your mind your spin about what could or should have been!! Its an investment rememeber and a work in progress, it's like a child...LOL
You're right Rachael. I am very thankful we are able to do build our home. I appreciate you reminding me, I think I lost sight of that through all the options!
DeleteThere is definitely no off switch. And I really believe no one has an unlimited budget...everyone has to sacrifice somewhere. I really wanted a pretty elevation but that was the first thing to go when I wanted other stuff. I get jealous when I see others have bigger houses and way more stuff! But everyone has their own price point...we are in a very cheap area so we were able to get more bang for our buck, but what I wouldn't give to live in a big nice city! There's always a trade off.
ReplyDeleteyeah, finding the tradeoffs are a little difficult too. Sometimes you don't know what you want. It's easier for me to decide what I don't want. LoL. Maybe that's my issue!
DeleteI agree wholeheartedly with everyone else here - there is NO off switch! I think we're all our own worst critics...well I KNOW I'm my own worse critic. I get jealous too! I want a bigger house, and I don't even know *why* I want a bigger house. lol. We're a family of two (one of which is a child!) I think the wanting never ends. The good news is, we can get most stuff - just in due time. We all have a looooong time to make our homes 'perfect'.
ReplyDeleteYou mean I have to teach myself patience? lol!!! NOOOO! My inner child is having problems with this process.
DeleteI understand how you feel. I did hardwoods, upgraded master bath, upgraded cabinets, faucets, extra lighting, but we all have things we would have done if money were no object.
ReplyDeleteYou know what though? Even if we had done everything we wanted while we were building we still would not have everything we want now. Because after living in the house there are a ton of things I realize they never even offered us.
Like backsplash in the kitchen, for example. And I would put a light and outlets in every closet, no matter the size. I would have added two outlets on each side of the garage. I would have had them put an outlet box on each side of the front door instead of just one side. I would have had them soundproof the master bedroom. I would have had them brace the laundry room floor, move the outlets and hookups for the washer and dryer down a few inches, etc.
Luckily, we don't have to have everything perfect to be happy. :)
Not knowing what we could have gotten until after we're done is one of my "fears" I know it seems silly but even if I didn't want it, it would be nice to have known I could have gotten it!
DeleteI'm a perfectionist, but despite that fault in me I manage to be happy and not perfect so I have to agree - and thank you for the reminder!
Tammi, you are right, it is ENDLESS. Once you are in, you will do what Tammi and I do and say there is sooo much more you could have done...You can't possibly do it all! Everything will work out and we have a lifetime to make the home.......ours!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, I hope the feeling of making it ours re-ignites soon. It's the quiet after the storm of making our selections now and I feel.... I'm not even sure.... it's an odd feeling.
DeleteDefinitely reach out to the community.. there are many MUST-Haves that we have all found out would make lives easier that RH doesn't include.. My Wife and I Upgraded the hell out of the house because we wanted to eliminate as much "honey-do" work. There is so much you can DIY though.. It's a marathon though not a race.. balance what you NEED with what you want..and be truthful with it. No use spending all the money if you aren't going to be comfortable financially.
ReplyDeleteThank you for that advice. I will reach out to my soon to be neighbors!
DeleteDon't we all wish we had a personal money tree! I think everyone is always excited to post about what they did get rather than what they had to do without. We made tons of concession (here are a few things we wanted: bigger home/floorplan, a bigger yard, the media room in the basement, to upgrade to the second level granite, to get wall ovens and cooktop). Of course there are things that made us willing to give them up (e.g., great school district, wonderful neighborhood, upgraded flooring, etc.). I think everyone just has a great reason for choosing 1 thing over another, so it seems like we should have everything!
ReplyDeleteI keep rolling those things around in my head. It gets easier by each passing day to remind myself why I made one decision over another. I think I'll get there before we close! At least I hope so! LOL
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