Darren and I spent 9 hours straight yesterday at the builder’s home gallery design center to personalize our new home. For me, I think the most exciting part of this entire process of building a brand new construction home is the freedom that we can select all the details for the house – from the kitchen sink to the bathroom faucets to the wall paint colors…etc.
From the day we signed the contract for the house, we were assigned to a design consultant, Trisha, at the home gallery. As a former wedding/event designer, I am very familiar with visualizing and designing a space so it wasn’t too overwhelming when it comes to verbalizing our “wish list” to Trisha. Before we had our home gallery appointment, I had already put together my Pinterest boards with all my inspirations. We were also very lucky that Trisha has an interior design degree and has extensive experience with assisting clients in designing their space, so our process was very seamless and enjoyable (at least for me)!
Based on my boards, Trisha knew that I wanted a “farmhouse/barn” style home, so all of the kitchen, bathroom, and lighting fixtures are of that style. I originally wanted a white cast iron farmhouse kitchen sink, but after speaking with friends and families who have one, they all recommend the stainless steel one instead as it will be easier to clean and take care of, so that’s what we will have!
For the faucets and showerheads, we also selected the one that fit our farmhouse style. My favorite faucet is the single lever for both hot and cold water because it’s so much easier to get the right temperature than having 2 separate levers.
Ahhh… toilets! Who knew there are so many styles to choose from. I personally like the square one on the left, but the standard toilets that come with the house are the ones with the rounded corners (in the right photo). I wanted to upgrade it but Darren was like: “It’s just a toilet!” Plus the square one is going to cost $800 to $1,000 each to upgrade, so we are going to keep the standard one! 🙂 But we will definitely get the vanity/sink in the powder room instead of the standard pedestal sink.
We decided to go with wood-like porcelain tiles on the main floor instead of carpet, but for the 2nd floor we have to keep the carpet (per the builder’s requirement), and we upgraded it to a plushier one.
This was our final selections for the flooring, quartz countertop, tile backsplash, grout color, white kitchen cabinets… we cannot wait to see them all come together in the new home. We are super excited!
