A Model Home with Great Ideas

Hello everyone!

Since my husband and I plan on moving in the next few years, we like to look at new homes being built to get ideas of what we want in our next house.  It's also good to see what you can get for the money and an idea of good areas to live.  We found a new subdivision not far from our current home that was beautiful!  Unfortunately, the homes were a lot bigger than we need and were well above our budget.  But, it was fun to see what was out there and get ideas to incorporate into our current home or our next home.  I took some pics to share with you because I knew you would enjoy the tour as well!  This home wasn't huge on exquisite decor but huge on pretty architectural elements and other ideas to have built into your home.  Those are what I'm highlighting here.  I'm not sharing the entire house.  I"m only sharing rooms where I saw something that peaked my interest.  

Here is the home exterior.  Really gorgeous right?!

We liked that it was on a flat lot and was a ranch style home.  There were stairs, but they led to superfluous rooms that you don't use everyday.  

We loved the different roof pitches on the house (which I think makes the biggest difference on giving the home curb appeal) and the mix of siding with brick.  

As you enter the home there is a beautiful large foyer.  I love a foyer as opposed to just walking directly into a room.  

This foyer was unique because of the beams, wainscoting, and triple lighting that was used to accent the space.  

Just off the foyer, was the dining room.

From this angle you can see how beautiful the trim work is.  It was everywhere in this house!

I am picky about windows too.  I loved these.  They had panes on the upper half but not on the lower.  I thought those looked old fashioned to me (which I like).  Notice the extra trim at the bottom of the windows too!  Details people!

Straight back from the foyer, was the family room.  I loved it's large square size so you can float furniture in the middle.  The over sized stone fireplace, built-ins, and beams on the ceiling added extra pizazz.  

Notice the trim work around the wall of windows too. You don't even need draperies here!

Here is the view from the kitchen.

Another thing I liked about this house was the open concept lay-out of the kitchen and family room.  I don't currently have that and like the open feel of this space.

Here is the beautiful kitchen.

Did you notice the smaller cabinets up top have lights in them?  Love that!  I also love the huge island.  This is great for entertaining.

The kitchen table was unique because it was actually 2 large tables placed together!  It sits in an alcove with a built in bench seat around it.  I like the added storage space it provided.

Back on the other side of the kitchen, is this beautiful hallway that leads to the "superfluous" rooms I mentioned.  This is where the stairs are.

I'll share where that hall leads in a moment.  

Next, is the very practical and private screened porch off the kitchen and family room.  Love that too!  I liked how the floor was covered in brick pavers.

Now, one of my favorite things in this house and was a neat surprise was this amazing barn door on sliders over the pantry.  This is something I definitely want!  

And, to go along with the country vibe in this house, you must include some planked walls right?  I think they took a cue from Fixer Upper!  Check out the hallway that leads to other rooms in this house.  Isn't this a pretty hallway?  

I like the built in storage bench and lighting.  It looks like they used outdoor lighting in here too.  This is off the garage so it's being used like a mudroom space.

The stairs you see above lead to a bonus room and bathroom over the garage.  I didn't get all the pics I wanted because the real estate agent started talking to us at this point.  But it also had a game table area that isn't shown in this pic.  I love the weathered wood planks they used on the back wall for this masculine space.  

So, what did you think?  Get any neat ideas for your own home?  

It's fun to tour these homes for free and get ideas on everything from color schemes and furniture placements to lighting and architectural details.  We can all enjoy this on the computer too, but seeing it in person, and actually walking in the spaces gives you more clarity to whether you like it or not and how it actually works in the space.  

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~