When my husband and I were house hunting for a new home more than 10 years ago, I picked my town in part because I loved the beautiful historic and Victorian homes that line the streets. But despite all the beautiful older homes in my town, I knew I wanted to purchase a brand-new home.
When my husband and I were house hunting for a new home more than 10 years ago, I picked my town in part because I loved the beautiful historic and Victorian homes that line the streets. But despite all the beautiful older homes in my town, I knew I wanted to purchase a brand-new home.My husband and I aren’t handy, so I knew that purchasing a charming vintage home that may require updating and some fixes would be quite expensive for us — everytime something broke or when we wanted to add our own touches to the home, we would have to pay a contractor to do the work for us. Plus, it is likely that while gorgeous, the older homes in our town aren’t as energy efficient as newer homes are — so buying one of my town’s historic homes would be more expensive for my husband and I, as well.
My home’s beautiful living room bay window, which looks out onto the street.
New Home for My Family
I was lucky that at the time we were in the market for a home, brand-new single-family houses were being built right in the middle of our town. In buying a new home, a big plus for us was that my husband and I got to choose all the finishes and features that we wanted in our home — we picked the carpeting, the flooring, the cabinets, the countertops, and things like the exterior finishes and colors on the home. It was nice that when we moved in, everything was sparkling clean, with that wonderful never-been-lived-in, sparkling new look!
The eat-in kitchen in my family’s home.
In our home, we also put in extras like additional space in our eat-in-kitchen’s dining area, a fireplace in the family room, and a whole-house air filter (to combat my husband’s and my allergies). We were also able to upgrade the downstairs half bath to a full bath, giving my home three full baths! (Which I am sure will come in handy when my daughters hit their teens.)
Unexpected Pluses to a New Home
Since our house is newer, an unexpected plus is the home’s open floor plan. I love how the open floor plan makes our home bigger than it is, and how it allowed me to keep my eye on my twin girls at all times when they were tots — even when I was cooking dinner in the kitchen.
Perhaps the biggest plus to our new home is one I didn’t expect — since nearly everyone who purchased a home in our neighborhood were young couples looking to have children, my kids now have many classmates their same age on our block, so there is always someone to play with! It’s been wonderful, because the girls have become part of the same Girl Scout troop (that I co-lead with a neighbor), and the moms on our block have become close and enjoy moms’ nights out, etc.
Are you interested in purchsing a new home? Check out the helpful information and tips at BHI’s Start Fresh Buy New website.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.