Okay, so the last you saw the house mockup, it looked something like this.
But the more I thought about it, the more I worried about the front of the house. I was afraid that I would have some pretty serious regrets with the design as-is, despite it being exactly what I wanted and asked for. Basically – I was experiencing buyer’s remorse before I even bought it.
So we’ve changed a few small things to the overall look – here’s the low-down.
- The double door was nixed. While that was a huge part of what I loved in our original inspiration image, once we added the roof above it, I think it lost a lot of the appeal. Plus, it was a 6 foot door on a 20-foot-wide house. It left very little space on the inside for actual living when you took the door swing and traffic flow into consideration.
- The entrance was moved to the right side of the house. This was a form vs. function decision for me – I initially chose form because I felt that having a centered door was a “must have” for me. Several of you actually mentioned some legit concerns with having a centered door in the comments, and after really thinking it through, I knew you were right. So we sucked it up and moved the door to the right side of the house. Now, the entrance will be a small dedicated entry area open to the living room and the staircase. And the rest of the space is actual usable living space. It will be so much more practical for us.
- The windows were adjusted. Ryan and I debated how to handle the windows on the front of the house. Should they be spaced apart? Should they be centered? Should they be together? In the end, we decided to make them centered between the door and the left side of the house and together. I think this will give us more bang for our window buck. And I think that it is also more true to how it would have actually been built in an old farmhouse.
We didn’t actually get a new visual representation of these changes from our draftsman, but I used my horrific abilities on PicMonkey to give myself an idea and confirm window placement.
(You’ll need to squint a bit to get the idea. A graphic designer or home planner I am not.)
I actually love the three windows, but I think it will be a little too much on a relatively narrow home (since the house is only 20 feet wide without the garage).
So, here’s another look at how it will look. Only better, obviously, since it won’t be a wonky version. Plus, we’ll be adding landscaping and window boxes and shutters and it will be a better color.
So basically, we will all drop dead from the cute.
The truth is, the house planning and design process is not simple – everything feels like a huge decision and I think it’s important to be honest with yourself about what will work and what won’t. Even if that means some last-minute changes.
Thanks to everyone who has shared tips and ideas in these house planning posts. I truly read and consider them all. It’s like crowdsourcing a house. I”m taking all your best ideas and using them to make this house better.
I was wondering about the porch too, just saw the comment. House planning is so exciting though even if it’s a lot of decisions, right?
You made the right choice. Double doors are beautiful but not very practical!
You are right. And I actually prefer the door we chose now anyhow. All’s well that ends well.
Oh! I actually really like the new look! I can see how your intial design would’ve caused some issues, but this solution totally still says farmhouse! Love it!! I’m seriously so excited to follow your house building process!
I think adding a porch that you can sit on would be very cute and very “farmhouse-like.”
I think it adds tons of curb appeal and so much function.
Yeah, a porch is definitely something we considered but ended up nixing. Our last house had a great front porch and it made the front room really dark – natural light was a must-have for us. But we will have a huge covered porch on the back, where there aren’t as many windows to block light. So we’ll spend lots of time there.
The neat part about your design is that if in a few years – 5, 10, even more! – you decide you’d like to add a bigger front porch, you can do that rather easily given your current layout. Whether it’s directly on the front or on the garage side, or even encomassing both and making a more wrap-a-round porch, I can see that being a neat project to do down the road if you decide.
That’s a great point!!
I really like the new look!! I don’t know how you can make all these decisions!! I can’t even decide what plants to put in a planter!!
I think it’s just a matter of necessity. I try not to dwell on the decisions too much. But some things are definitely more challenging than others.
Hi Kim. I Like the changes you made, I think you will be happy. Just a thought, have you thought about extending the overhang on your garage on the front side of the house and adding a porch? That way you will have a covered porch to sit under and watch Henry play, as well as endless decorating opportunities. I am going to look for a picture, and if I find one I will try to send. Just a thought! Love your blog:)
A front porch was definitely something we thought about and ended up nixing. Our last house had a great front porch that we never used (preferred the back porch) and blocked a TON of great light in our living room. So we decided to remove the front porch and add a huge long back porch (covered) – which is where Henry would be outside and the view is anyhow.
I actually think the idea of a porch on front of the garage is a great idea to avoid blocking the light in the front room. But I’m not sure we’d really use it enough to justify. Definitely something to consider, though. (Or maybe something for down the road?)
Thanks so much for your thoughts – love hearing what other folks have to say.
I like the change! Double doors would be beautiful but I agree that it really needs to be on a wider house so you have more room on the inside. I am looking forward to seeing things progress this year because I THINK we’ve decided to begin the process ourselves – though we will definitely not be building it ourselves as we just don’t have the time/ability. We hope to do some of the more finishing work ourselves to help save $$ but we’ll see. Right now it’s in the dreaming stages, where we have yet to hear the outrageous cost of what we’d like to build. I”m sure once that happens we’ll have sticker shock and change courses, but in the meantime I’m dreaming and following along on your house-building journey 🙂
Oooo… how exciting! Hope it all comes together for you. I’m actually working on a budget post right now but I know costs are different everywhere and labor is such a huge part of it, too.
Looking forward to your budget post! I’m in Iowa, so hopefully “similar” costs – but I am finding that it’s a bit more expensive to build where I’m at. Terribly frustrating, really, to look at lot prices here and then look even one county over where you can get so much more for so much less. But we have kids in school, so it’s important for us to stay in the same school district that we’re in now. Therefore I think we’re going to have to suck it up and pay more for the lot we want.
LOL–I’m so excited about watching your crowdsourced house go up 🙂
Now if only people could start helping us pay for it …