Will it be the "Van Gogh " Plan at The Impressionist Series, or the "Prairie Glen" at Homes on the Range? It’s truly a toss up. After all, you have chewed up and spit out all the model homes in your price range. and it has come down to two. You just can’t make up your mind between the two. They are comparable in pricing, square footage, amenities, and lot size. What will help you make that all-important final decision?

This is such an individual process, and, although you may you have tried to be practical in using all the data you have collected, the final decision tends to be an emotional one as well. Of course, it is important to consider the builder, its local reputation, and the new home warranty attached to each. To do this you can call the local state contractor’s licensing board to see if the builder is in good standing, study the new home warranty and even conduct a few door-knocks in each neighborhood to see how warranty work has gone to date. One of the factors many buyers overlook, however, is how their lives "fit" into the new home.

Buyers must "mentally move into" a house before they buy it, which takes lots of visualization, but can be taken piece-meal, room by room, for easier consideration. Take, for instance the entry foyer. Is it a postage stamp of tile which enters directly into a living area? Not a big deal, unless you want to have room for an entry table, coat rack, privacy from the front door, or a guest closet. (In smaller floor plans, builders make sacrifices for this area of the home for the sake of square footage usage in living areas).

Next, study the family room or great room. There is usually a focal point in this room, such as a fireplace or entertainment wall. Will your furniture be able to face this area, and if not, what are you willing to do to make it all work for the number of inhabitants that will be using the room on a regular basis? One floor plan I toured buyers through was set up with a kitchen breakfast bar bordering a modest family room. This looked great in the model home, which displayed a small sofa at one end of the room, and bar stools along the elevated bar. But the only item facing the entertainment wall was one occasional chair, because that was all that could fit and not block circulation in the room. Try not to let model home furnishers dictate how you may live, they are instructed to make each room look as roomy as possible with their placement of items, but are not always "real life" in their approach. Does a huge sliding door rob you of important furniture placement? Perhaps a change to a smaller, atrium door may work better.

Now to the all-important kitchen. Besides the usual appliances, look at the amount of cabinet and counter top space. When you entertain, (whether you like it or not!) guests and family members tend to flock into the kitchen as the "heart" of the home. No amount of subtle ushering seems to rid you of the kitchen dwellers, so why fight it? If your lifestyle includes lots of kitchen action, don’t underestimate the comfort and ease of usability for this room. If there is a kitchen island, check the clearance from any doors that will be opening towards it (refrigerator door, single or side by side, or pantry door) In some new home designs, the doors cannot clear this space, but you may not find out about it until after your refrigerator is in place! Open the dishwasher door and see how much room is left for "help" with the dishes. Do you have to twist completely around to put dishes into the dishwasher? Is there room next to the sink to pile dishes? Would adding a cantilevered top to the kitchen island, creating a bar top, give you some much needed "overflow" seating when you have a crowd for dinner?

Master bedroom wall space is a serious consideration. Should your full sized bed become a king-sized, how much room will be left on either side of the bed? Is there adequate room for armoires and dressers? Some buyers use dens for kids’ rooms until they move out, and in the meantime need room somewhere for a small desk. Think about whether this may be a requirement for you. Is there enough natural light in this room? Too much? Enough privacy when blinds are open? Is the master bedroom close to a major living area which may be noisy from time to time? This may only be a consideration to family groups and not to couples who love the convenience of having living and kitchen areas close by.

Model home furnishers tend to model twin beds in secondary bedrooms and somehow find some of the smallest dressers known to man. If you must, measure your own beds and furniture pieces, and study how they may fit. That cute crib on an angle with a simple rocking chair and small changing table may have looked great in the model, but how will a child "grow" in this room?

Bathroom areas must not only be functional, but practical as well. Many production homes’ master baths have separate "water closets" for the toilet. It’s great if there is a small window there for both light and ventilation. In fact, check to see if there are windows that open at all. Also make a mental note of where all the doors will go in the master bath area. Model homes usually do not display interior doors, so it’s difficult to see whether doors will conflict with one another, or block walking space or vanity space.

New homes are the stuff dreams are made of, for many of us. They are the pride of Thanksgiving dinners, fodder for our photo albums, statements about our lifetime accomplishments, and receptacles of the ups and downs of our lives. After all is said and done, however, you must answer the all-important question whose answer may say it all. Is this the home you want to wake up in each morning?

Also See: New Homes

Published: December 31, 1998

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