Trust Yourself

18 months ago, Mrs and I had decided on a house plan. After looking at what seemed like thousands of plans, we'd found one we liked and that fit our needs. And then we went to builders for estimates and found that they were higher than we expected, partially because the house had most of its square footage on the first floor - which meant a large foundation and roof. We decided to go with the builder who gave us the lower estimate.

And then that builder talked us out of the plan we'd chosen, and into a plan that would give us more square footage for less money - because it would be a proper two-story house, and it's cheaper to build up than out.

And now we hate that house. Well, kindof. Sometimes. It's not great.

So, we've been looking at house plans again. And yesterday, Mrs sent me a link to a plan that looked like it would fit what we wanted. It's a single story (mostly), with all the stuff we want, with a cute design and a decent layout. And, though she didn't realize this until I pointed it out, it's the exact same floor plan the builder talked us out of, 18 months ago.

And now we hate the builder even more.

3 thoughts on “Trust Yourself”

  1. aimai

    I really empathize. We fully renovated our house, a three story, about seven years ago. It was a two family that we converted into a single family. By the time we actually gutted and renovated it we had been over every kind of plan and worked with many architects but, in the end, there were only a few basic solutions to the puzzle of how to do it given the constraints of the plot (no expansion outwards). Every inch had been accounted for. Your first plan is probably the best one for you because it is the one that you worked over the hardest that most suited your needs. Extra space that is “cheaper” that you don’t like or want is just not as useful to you as less space that is exactly what you want. I bought and read about a thousand “small house” solutions books, all of which were gorgeous btw. Maybe they would help you get back to your original design? Just google “small house” and I think you will find the books.

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