Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Sep 14, 2010 12:18 pm Hi All, I'd like to hear any thoughts on whether the dream of building matched the reality after it was built. I'm not talking about the almost inevitable problems you get building like delays, bad tradesmen and the like. I'm talking about the dream of when you first go into the project home(or architect's office), and sign off on the house you are going to build. You envisage a certain way of life, picturing yourself living in that home, entertaining etc etc. How does that match the reality 1 month, a year, 2-5 years after you actually move in. Did you find living in a new home better than you expected after the initial excitement died off, Or did it become just another "house". Do you come up the driveway each day and look at the home the same way you did when you first moved in. For those that built their dream home, did the dream home continue to stay that way, or does it become a movable feast-did your dream home change once you moved in or over time. I guess the reason I ask is that I have a certain high expectation of what it would be like to live in a brand new home, and I really like to know if people found reality matched the expectation over time. Land prices are high in my neighbourhood, and it's a lot of money to spend on something that 6 months after I move in, I'm stuck with the debt, but live in just another "house". Interested in your thoughts. Re: Was "the dream" of building a home what you expected? 2Sep 14, 2010 12:52 pm To me, I guess it depends how much of your "dream home" you are getting from the get-go - obviously due to budget constraints etc there is usually always things people want and cannot get, or compromises to be made.... But for me personally (and having only lived in my place 6 weeks) - I would say I am satisfied - the initial excitement has definitely worn off though - I think half the excitement in a lot of things is the anticipation... and once it's all complete, its contentment of finally being in, and being able to enjoy all the hard work..... Although if I could I would do it all again tomorrow.... if only I had the money I did have a VERY positive build experience however.... I hope I still have the feeling of contentment in years to come...! Building on the Sunshine Coast - Land settled 22nd July 2009 Building contract finally signed (after much deliberation on our part) 11th November 2009 Building commences 25th January 2010 - small local builder End of June - almost completed fit out 26th July - MOVE IN DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Re: Was "the dream" of building a home what you expected? 3Sep 14, 2010 1:54 pm we've been in our house coming up to two years now (moved in Dec 2008). I agree with a lot of what Moogles said -- there are somethings we had to compromise on with our "dream" house. But taking that into consideration, I still feel extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to do what we did (ie knock down and rebuild in our desired area). I think we have the nicest house in the street I love having all the space we do now; I still remember what it was like living in the dark cramped quarters of our old drafty house and am thankful for all our extra space every day. I love entertaining and decorating now, I never used to before. I love having a decent sized backyard for our kids to enjoy. The new house excitement wore off long ago, and it certainly isn't ne anymore, and it isn't always clean either. In fact cleaning a much bigger area than before is definitely not a positive! But I still feel very fortunate and love my house. And our building experience, though not without a few minor dramas, went fairly smoothly. hope that helps you a bit in your decision Art, good luck! "Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions." — Elizabeth Gilbert Living in our new house. Currently scaping the land. Re: Was "the dream" of building a home what you expected? 4Sep 14, 2010 1:59 pm oh I should also add that yes, our dream has changed a bit from before, we do want to move on again but it is mainly due to the area we live in, not the house itself. Having a young family we expected our needs to change. We now want to bring up our kids in a more regional area with better schools than our current inner city location. There is very little about the house we would change if/when we build again. "Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions." — Elizabeth Gilbert Living in our new house. Currently scaping the land. Re: Was "the dream" of building a home what you expected? 5Sep 15, 2010 9:07 am Thanks for your thoughts... I think it's just one of those things. The urge to build a house just doesn't seem to want to disappear, no matter how hard I try and suppress it. Re: Was "the dream" of building a home what you expected? 6Sep 15, 2010 7:47 pm Building was never my 'dream,' rather just how it all turned out. Considering that I wasn't expecting all my hearts desires and did not have all mapped out in my head before hand. I have been pleasantly surprised at how smooth it all went and how it all turned out despite being a complete cheap skate. So the place look lovely and open, boring as pie. But, it's going to look just ace when I decorate and put all my furniture in. All this stuff about blown out budgets, it just didn't happen. I saved so much money and braced myself for what everyone said was inevitable. Spose I should buy something nice now. Re: Was "the dream" of building a home what you expected? 7Sep 15, 2010 9:11 pm Yes, we are really happy with the finished home, as we designed the house from scratch to suit the block we built on and the need we have as a family esp with a 10yr gap between the kids and DH working from home there was a few thing we had to take into account. We took a lot of time to find the area we wanted to live in before we brought the land we spent a bit of time hanging around the estate at different times to get a good feel for the area. We would go to the local parks, shopping centres, macca's, local school fetes etc. We parked the car a few times and walked the dog around the estate as well. Which gave us a great feel for the area and the people who live hear. All this has really paid off we have great neighbours and we all meet reg for drink in the park and the kids kick the footy around but this will prob change to cricket soon So we are lucky we managed to get the dream home we were hoping for, we will be a lot happier once the backyard it done Cheers Lou http://take2-customdesigndownslope.blogspot.com 07-10-09 omg they have cut the block 14-05-10 we finally have the keys Re: Was "the dream" of building a home what you expected? 8Sep 16, 2010 1:38 pm As my first home.. It's been 7 months since the first move. I would have to say the reality has matched expectations. From the initial move with bare essentials, to gradually upgrading things around the house, it is a nice feeling to get things done.. and extremely satisfying. I guess it's all just small steps to building your dream home. Next step is just the backyard. . . buy some soil and grass. . and it will be a nice patch of green, rather than the lump of mud it is currently. I will qualify that with all the extra costs that's now involved with owning a home. Ever rising water/energy bills - Esp in Victoria. That hasn't been fun. Getting the smart meter rolled out in my estate in the next several weeks and I can imagine as told by a friend, everytime they see it blinking. .it's costing them money . .heh heh. Re: Was "the dream" of building a home what you expected? 9Sep 17, 2010 4:21 pm For me, been in 6 months but not quite "finished" yet. Back deck should get done this w'end and a nightmare driveway is left to do. The house ... I really like it, although it feels huge and extravagent at times we have loads of space. I still haven't adjusted to the change in size (going from 100 sqm to 450) is really odd. I've enjoyed planting an enormous number of plants and have enjoyed pottering around the yard ... something i hated doing before ... I get a sense of achievement every time I look around at all the work we've done in the short time and know that we picked every single thing to suit us. My little dog just loves it here..loves the yard, loves the house. We took a holiday for a couple of weeks and came back to "a house" rather than what felt like "home" though. That was kind of sad...maybe haven't been here long enough yet or because the old place I was in for 11.5 years. Built Liberty 42 - Handover 26th Feb 2010 forum thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=17243 We already paid for somfy motors for the blinds. The quote above was purely for “pre-wiring” so the blinds company can install the motors and blinds. That’s why we… 5 16088 go upvc window frames ensure insulation under colorbond. not just sarking, lighter color roof also not sure if you have seen this viewtopic.php?t=5823 last couple of pages… 4 110228 |