Blueprints

We started off the dream of building a house awhile ago and the cost was just too high for us to pull the trigger.  We drew up plans, went to open houses, threw plans away, met with different builders, the whole process.   

I was getting frustrated one night when we were looking through plans and couldn't find one we wanted.  I loved the fact that our current house was one story and the kids were just around the corner from the living room, but our master was at the other end of the house.  I also loved how open our main living and kitchen area was because we like to host ALOT.  Between friends and family, athletes, the kids friends, etc., we are always having someone over.  

Then our cousin, who is also our realtor, stumbled on land that wasn't even listed yet.  7.3 acres closer to the school my husband coaches at.  This would bring Corbin's daily commute from 42 minutes one way to 7 minutes one way.  Our son also wrestled around there and the girls were starting to as well. This was starting to be ALOT of driving.  

So we jumped on it, listed our house and that's when we had to get serious about our blueprints.  We drew up about 100 different versions before we finally settled on the one posted below.   

A few things that we kept in mind:

How can we maximize our space for the least amount of money?

What ways can we save money now and in the future? 

What are our most important needs/wants?  

So first, we came up with a plan with the least about of exterior jet outs.  This was going to cut down on the exterior cost. 

Next, we chose to go with 26 gauge metal roofing which is going to save us 23% on our house insurance over using an Architectural shingle. 

Lastly, our wants.  We wanted a large main area, large pantry, large laundry room and even after it was all drawn up, we made some changes in the middle of construction.  

We did save some money by drawing it up ourselves because we didn't have to purchase a plan and then modify, we just sent our drawings to an engineer who put it all together for us.

This was just the beginning of the Burch Barndo.