Final Selections

February 2013

Since getting the runaround for 2 months, we finally nailed down the lot and the tentative close date – May 1st, which was kicked back from early April. I’m totally pregnant, due in June and I have a sneaking suspicion we’re going to be moving and packing with a preschooler and a newborn, crammed in our current house, which is going to be insanity. Which has become normal.

Our overall plan in the house, was to get whatever we could afford up front and make sure they were things that would be basically impossible to change out later, and weren’t things we could DIY. Mainly structural, electrical, and plumbing options.

We stuck with the base choices in flooring, counters, and cabinetry:

Clockwise from left: Scottsdale Maple Cognac Timberlake cabinets,
Armstrong Carlisle Mocha vinyl flooring, Shaw baseline carpeting
(blah beige), Carrera Envision formica counter top.

The exterior colors we could choose from were on 30 pages of pre-approved choices, and as long as you don’t match your neighbor, you’re free to choose. I originally wanted a peanut butter colored siding they have that I’ve seen in another neighborhood, with a black door and black shutters, but it wasn’t an option. We ended up with a bisque color siding, green door, and the black shutters.

We are going with base model selections because we have young kids, who are sure to destroy all the things! Not to mention, we are DIYers, so we definitely plan on doing much of the upgrades ourselves, and will save a lot of money that way.

We definitely plan on changing the carpeting within a few years with some textured berber, the vinyl in the bathrooms, kitchen and foyer (and the carpet in the dining room) with some type of wood flooring, and possibly the staircase. The counters we really want are quartz with a farm sink, so we’ll also be doing that down the road. Far down the road. And, white cabinets. Which, we just did!

I included the general cost of our upgrades because I kept googling for options when we were looking, and could never find any info. Hopefully this will help you out if you’re curious! We purchased in the Southeastern PA area, so know these prices will vary by region.

Original upgrades:

Full Covered Porch $9,000
Powder Room Rough-In – Basement $1,200
2 Side Wall Family Room Windows $990
White Bathroom Cabinets $400
Ceiling Fan/Light Rough-Ins $625 ($125/each)
Recessed Lighting Package – Kitchen $1,400
Fairfield Maple Spice Cabinetry (1 upgrade from standard) $400
Total $14,015

Adjusted upgrades after switching lots:

Full Covered Porch $9,000
Powder Room Rough-In – Basement $1,200
2 Family Room Window $990
White Bathroom Cabinets $0, originally $400
Ceiling Fan/Light Rough-Ins $625 ($125/each)
Recessed Lighting Package – Kitchen $1,400
Fairfield Maple Spice Cabinetry $400
Scottsdale Maple Cognac Cabinetry (2 upgrades) $0, originally $2,200
Total $12,225

We opted to scrap the 2 extra windows in the family room, because we would just be looking at our neighbor’s house instead of the side yard, so we felt it wasn’t necessary any longer. I learned there were no ceiling lights in any room but the kitchen and dining room, so the electrical rough-ins were a great investment because lets face it, I’m not trying to add those later. Also, there’s nothing other than a florescent light in the kitchen, so the addition of recessed lights was also a must. The cabinetry upgrades were great, and given because of the lot bump.