It would cost a few grand, but a large built in shelving space where you could put a TV, books,toys etc etc in that bedroom 5 will I think add a ton of value and really make the buyers feel like it is more of a custom home.

That or making the closet in that room a walk in space would also appeal much more than another 2 door reach in. You lose a ton of functional access with reach ins.

Here is the latest. I've tried to address as many of the issues that we've collectively brought up. We got rid of the study and inserted a dedicated laundry room (moving the W/D) away from the pantry/mud room, and distributing the space throughout. We also moved the front door left, and pulled back the hallway wall, which will give the user the ability to walk in the front door and either cut into the hall or walk straight past the dining room table and into the family room. Finally, we also added a kitchen bar for seating and mud room right off the garage. I think the only change from here will be HVAC returns in each room (12"). I really wish I could have made the study into a dedicated dining room, but the space on the left side of the house and space for a laundry room somewhere else just wasn't there. It's not perfect, but I think this should be appealing to our end user. Any last ideas before we go to engineering and submit for permits?

Front elevation is kind of lacking. Be prepared to spend some good money on landscaping to distract from the basic of all basic ranch style elevation.

Also, I would make sure your entry furniture staging is nails. You're still opening the front door into a wide open space. I would add beams or something to draw eyes up and left/right vs walking straight into a square room. Suggest a change in flooring at the front, light fixture there, something.

Dedicated laundry is good idea… really spruce that up with some nice tile (herringbone laid or something).

Pendants over the island. Really blow out the pantry too. Cabinets with built ins. I think putting the microwave in there would be better for a butler pantry style room. Maybe even add a small vegetable washing sink or a separate dish washer.

Honestly, for a nice "pro kitchen" look, the high end ovens with burners on top are really in right now. We have the dual oven KitchenAid with 6 burners and a griddle and we get tons of compliments on it. You can get them in cool colors too that will really make this thing pop.

I grew up in the pink with gray (sink, toilet, tub) version of that bathroom. Exact layout.

I didn't read it all, but one thing that we did in a remodel is setup the cabinets for a built in Whirlpool Sidekicks. I love the space and they constantly get compliments of a high end look. Plus with that many bedrooms, they'll need a lot of groceries. If the cabinet surround is big enough for Whirlpools, it will also fit the Frigidaires IIRC.

I'd slide them in 18-24" so that there's a countertop on the corner. Then I'd probably be 36" to the stove. I like the fridge on the edge also as it keeps a lot of other traffic out of the kitchen proper, but that will be a bit of a pinch point with the L IMO.

That is a great idea. Maybe that far back wall. I don't really like the mud room concept but have time to think on it.

That is interesting that with kids you don't like mud rooms. We absolutely LOVE IT otherwise backpacks and shoes and other crap ends up all over the entire house. Having that dedicated space really knocks down on crap

Sea Speed said:

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That is interesting that with kids you don't like mud rooms. We absolutely LOVE IT otherwise backpacks and shoes and other crap ends up all over the entire house. Having that dedicated space really knocks down on crap

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Depends how you look at it....

It's also just another place for a bunch of unneeded crap to end up and start piling up...like a junk drawer.

My wife and my workbags go in our room. My son's backpack goes in his room. Our shoes go in the coat closet by the front door (shoe rack in there). Etc.

But, for a flip, yes, I'd agree most people want a mudroom.

Hmm. Let's do a poll:

We have shoe rack and backpack hooks and coat hooks. There really isn't a way for other stuff to get left there. Now the kitchen table and computer desk on the other hand, that is a constant battle.

It also sounds like you have 1 kid which is much easier to manage. We have 3 and this home looks to be built for several as well.

If you're going for a custom kitchen look, I think you need to figure out how to do a full size fridge and freezer in the kitchen and then there is no need for a second fridge.

I wish I would have realized just how much you were going to be willing to do to this place I w ould have thought much harder about it a couple weeks back

Sea Speed said:

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We have shoe rack and backpack hooks and coat hooks. There really isn't a way for other stuff to get left there. Now the kitchen table and computer desk on the other hand, that is a constant battle.

It also sounds like you have 1 kid which is much easier to manage. We have 3 and this home looks to be built for several as well.

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If you knew my wife, it'll be the same no matter how many we have. I mean people would always tell us wait until you have a kid and all their toys, your house won't look this nice. Well, he's almost 3, still does.

And location wise, there are always exceptions, but I'd say standard family in Timbergrove is 1 or 2 kids. They still want more rooms for things like an office, guest room, play room, etc. But don't see a whole lot of families of 5+ in the area

I worked around not having a mud room by putting some IKEA wardrobe cabinets in the foyer. It's a real neat, clean solution since the kids learned where theirs shoes, jackets an stuff go and that if they don't use them they're going to get called right back over to put their crap where it belongs.

Sounds like the mud room needs to stay. I would have been in the minority there. Thankful for y'all's input.

I'd do a door from bedroom 4 into the bathroom. As is, none of the bedrooms outside the master connect to a bathroom.

Lose the pocket door from mud room to pantry and put the pocket door from kitchen to that area instead.

This way, when the mudroom is full of junk, you can close it off easily. When you're home and using it all (most of the time), pocket door is open.

Or keep the one into the pantry.

A well organized/design mudroom/pantry could be absolute nails. Nice decorative tile. Built-ins. Sink in the pantry, microwave in there maybe with a window... It'll be an awesome little preparation area for the day.

I feel like Bedroom 5 is the most likely "bedroom that's not a bedroom" candidate in this floor plan to be used for some other use whether that be home theater, play room, game room, home office, etc but the door to access this room is too far down a hallway away from the main shared area of the house as if it were exclusively a bedroom.

We submitted for permits via a permit runner on November 3rd (a Friday) and received our WCR letter on November 7th (the following Tuesday). It was a super fast turnaround but I'm not super happy that it cost us $326 for the city to tell us they would provide water to the house.

The expectation is that we should receive comments back from the city on our plans within 30 days. Then make some changes, resubmit, and wait another 30 days or so for our approval. So we should be able to break ground in January.

If you ever need vinyl windows for any of your flips, I work at Trophy Windows and would be happy to help a fellow Aggie!

lance @ trophywindows dot com

Lance, I'll keep in mind for my upcoming townhome development I am working on.

GoodOlAg05 said:

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If you ever need vinyl windows for any of your flips, I work at Trophy Windows and would be happy to help a fellow Aggie!

lance @ trophywindows dot com

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I'll shoot you an email this morning!

Red Pear Realty said:

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Oh, and for giggles:

https://www.har.com/homedetail/1622-haverhill-dr-houston-tx-77008/3254103

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Looks like our favorite $1M+ homes on Haverhill are struggling....

I guess putting outdoor grills in your living room and using highschool stadium astroturf doesnt appeal to buyers?

Great example of why sellers have to be careful with who they choose as their horse. That house had multiple offers. Looks like they choose poorly. And the months of October, November, January, February are never kind to sellers. I know I sound like a broken record telling folks that but it's still true.

Our plans were APPROVED on 11/30/23. I was really expecting at least some comments on this, so I'm not quite ready to go break ground tomorrow, but I'm going to accelerate some conversations and see what I can get done quickly. BAM!

We have liftoff! Foundation guys came out yesterday and got started framing up for their pour. At the same time about a dozen parakeets landed on the tree right beside the house. That's a good omen, right?

Going to pour a slab over the grass or trench and compact after the form boards are in place?

They're going to trench it. They've got a lot of work to do!