Saturday, December 24, 2011

Decisions...Decisions and then some more decisions!!!

Ever since deciding to buy a house our life has been full of choices and decisions. Resales Vs New constructions, Town house Vs Single Family home, Heartland Vs Ryan homes, Washington County Vs Allegheny county. If these selections weren't enough, our options increased by multiple folds and the decisions got harder once we signed the zillion initial property papers!!!

The two weeks, since signing have been a whirlwind of activity. While the process itself is exciting, it has been frustrating as well. The most challenging and perhaps the best part of this procedure has been selecting what the interiors of our home would look like. Who doesn't want to have all the fancy upgraded stuff in the house???... if I had a money tree I would get it all!!!...but deciding what is worth the buck has really started testing our decision making ability to the limit.

Currently my husband is spending most of his free time, finalizing all the options we can get within our means.





After multiple late night discussions some of the things we have agreed upon are:

  • Elevation C with siding. (This elevation with partial stone finish  is gorgeous, but also way more expensive than the siding.)
  • Hardwood floors on the first level.(I liked the hardwood they had in the model home and am considering going with it-->see model home picture below). Carpet in the rest of the house with ceramic tiles in all the bathrooms and laundry room.
  • Granite(santa cecilia) counter tops in the kitchen with maple espresso cabinets. (If you put granite counter tops in the kitchen, Ryan homes gives upgraded kitchen faucets as well. The model home kitchen cabinets in the picture below are maple cognac)  
  • Stainless steel appliance package except the fridge. (We didn't like the fridge they are offering in their package so decided to get our own).  
  • Morning Room as a part of the promotion. 
  • Finished Basement.
  • Master bath with double sinks, shower and tub with granite(wheat) counter top and ceramic floors (we haven't met with Rusmur Floors yet so have not made a choice on the tiles).
  • Recessed lighting in the kitchen, basement, great room and master bedroom. 
  • Drainage system in the garage. 



We initially decided not to get the Fireplace installed through Ryan homes as we felt that we could put it in later. However, Nishant changed his mind after reading several blogs and fireplace reviews, unfortunately by then we passed our deadline for making structural changes to the house. So, we are going to try and have them put in a gas line so that we can install a ventless gas fireplace later else we will have to settle for the electric fireplace. If a fireplace is something you really want, its better to get the vented one through Ryan homes coz the fireplaces we saw at Lowes and Home Depot did not look authentic at all. If there are other stores which carry better ones please let me know! On talking to several home owners we found out that though gas fireplaces hike the bills more than the electric ones they tend to be more efficient than the electric. One of my colleagues stated that her husband only allowed her to use their gas fireplace when they had people over! LOL!!!  
We still have to decide on some more options and are still to meet with Rusmur Floors next week. We met with Guardian and the Ryan homes rep this week.. will write about that in my next post!
On a different note Here's Wishing  Everyone a Merry Xmas!!!




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