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katherineator

Critique Don Gardner Serendipity

Kathy
5 years ago

We have purchased the blueprints for Don Gardner Serendipity. I would like your thoughts on this plan, given that:

  • We are building on 3 acres of land, with the back of the house facing south.
  • We have grown children, who will not be living with us. I am 49, hubby is 52.
  • We plan on breaking ground in about a year.
  • We don't always like to watch the same TV shows, so we want two separate living areas.
  • I need a room for my crafts and elliptical machine.
  • My husband needs an office.
  • We want a back screened in porch.
  • We also need a dedicated guest room.
  • We would like to keep the cost to build under $400,000. We already own the land in Southeast Virginia.
  • We are pretty handy, so we could save money by installing kitchen cabinets, tile, hardwood floor, paint, trim, etc.
  • We are considering acting as the general contractors. We have done it before, not anxious to do it again, but would do it if we need to in order to stay in budget.
  • Part of the reason we chose this plan was because it seems to have a simpler footprint than a lot of other plans, so theoretically this would cut down on the cost to build and it would be more energy efficient.
  • Another reason I like it is because the kitchen isn't completely open to the great room. I like to see some definition between rooms without being closed off.

My observations from critiques of other plans on this board:

  • Some might say that this house will be dark. We currently live in a house with a similar kitchen situation where the entire back of the house is big windows and the kitchen is in the middle of the house. It is not dark. That said, the great room in this plan may be a little dark because it's large windows are under the covered patio. Perhaps we can offset this by making the windows on either side of the fireplace bigger.
  • Is this roof going to drive up the cost to build too much?
  • Could we save money by eliminating the arched windows and just making them rectangular?
  • I know that there are angled walls in the plan, but I checked and the great room seems big enough to handle furniture placement.
  • We don't mind walking from the bedroom through the kitchen to get to the laundry room.
  • I did check all of the walking areas to see what areas are left for furniture and it looks like we will be in good shape.
  • It's a little odd how there is a nice window in the peak above the front door, but it's in the attic. Not a deal breaker for us, but just something I thought was strange.

Since I wasn't able to find pictures of this house already built, I took the liberty of building a scale model, exactly the same size as the blueprints. It's not perfect, but definitely gives me an idea of how the house is in 3D. If I was even more ambitious, I would make little furniture to scale as well.






Thanks!


Kathy


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