So this is where the fun really begins!
We went through all the items that were offered and included at the time we signed the contract for the home. At the time we started this process the morning room was included so we were pretty excited about that.
If you go to the Ryan Homes site there are many elevation options for the Carolina Place. Several were already built in our community as well. We both really wanted to have a front porch, which just doesn't seem to be a common thing here in the DC MD area. We chose elevation L which has the front porch and other craftsman like details including the unique garage door, shutters, and shaker siding.
EXTERIOR
Our outdoor color options are below. They have already created color selections for you (which is good and bad). I would have liked to select my own color combinations but they want to ensure things stay in the neutral zone and it ensures neighbors don't end up with the same colors. I found this difficult because I like this siding color but had to choose this door and shutter color which I didn't like. *I did read the HOA rules and I may be able to paint my front door later as long as it fits in their criteria. I'm not concerned with that right now though, ask me again in a month or two. :)
Our Choices
The siding will be mediterranean palm, the door is black fox, and the shutters are brown (I think). The color samples are laid over our stone selection. I was a little sad that the shaker siding couldn't be a different color (like i saw featured on another model home I saw online) but...life goes on. :)
INTERIOR
So many choices to make on the inside. We had initially chosen to have the fireplace in the living room until we walked through the model home in Odenton and saw how amazing those four windows looked and how much light they let in. It was a no brainer for us and we made the decision to remove it. Luckily, the money we weren't spending on the fireplace could now be used for other goodies! We decided to have the mud room/ arrival center added as well as the coffered ceiling in the living room and upgraded the bathroom counters to all have granite.
Nick, aka THE MASTER CHEF, really wanted to have the upgraded appliances which includes the double ovens. We are both so extremely excited and looking forward to eating and cooking in that big spacious kitchen (Did I mention we are living in a small one bedroom apt while our house is being built?)
Our kitchen cabinet, bathroom cabinets, wood flooring, carpeting, and granite options in both kitchen and bath, and tile selections are below. I thought it would be an easy task to pick out tile, but I was wrong. I am a visual person, so it was difficult to get an overall idea/picture of what things would like like together by looking at small samples.
These are all the choices for cabinets. Some are included and some are upgrades :)
This hardwood flooring was included (who wouldn't want real hardwood).
These are the options we selected below. Espresso cabinets with the lightest hardwood. We chose the thin hardwood instead of wide since it reminds me of hardwood you would find in older homes. The tan carpet on the left will be in all bedrooms and throughout the basement. The carpet on the right will be in the living room. Yes, it was an additional charge ($$$) to have the hardwood throughout the living room which we didn't realize until we went to pick out our flooring :( No worries though, saves us from having to buy a big rug I suppose. We also chose to have the highest rated padding for all the carpeted areas. Who doesn't enjoy walking on a nice soft floor. The granite selection is santa cecilia light and will be just for the kitchen. I made a last minute change for the bathrooms and chose the white one below- can't remember the name at this time.
These are the tile selections for the master bathroom. We opted for the frameless roman shower- no tub because I'm not a bath person and I really love the long vanity with big mirrors and double sinks when the tub is not included. Also, frameless was extra but we felt the overall appearance was more aesthetically pleasing than the frame so worth the extra $. There were many tile options but most I didn't prefer. The ones I really liked were extremely expensive and just not worth it to us. Our guest bath will have just the 6"white tiles in the shower and the tan tile below is the floor tile for both bathrooms. We also chose to have tile that is either the same color or very close for the laundry room. The small tiles at the top are the accent for the shower in the master bathroom.
I have been looking through Pinterest non-stop to get paint options and design themes for most of our rooms. The painters will only paint ALL walls egg shell white. If you know me you know I don't do white walls so there will be lots of painting in our future.
I am super excited about the granite and espresso cabinets but I am obsessed with subway tile. The model home in Odenton had a gorgeous tile back splash that I will emulate in our kitchen at a later time. It was too costly for their subway tile selections and also an additional cost to have them laid out in a herringbone pattern. It was suggested we do ourselves at a later date to save some money. I have no problem saving a little money.
Tile work and cabinetry are still many weeks away- I am just so inpatient with waiting for it all to be done and ready for move in!
