The Plans...

Like Brian mentioned in the previous post, we struggled from the beginning trying to find a plan that we loved, even if it only needed a few changes.  We originally selected a ranch house plan that we were in love with.  It was perfect and only needed a few small changes.  However, when we contacted a builder for a price quote, we found that due to the size of the basement and the amount of roof, it was WAY out of our price range.  That was so disappointing, but we switched gears and started looking at two story plans again.  Between the two of us, we must have looked at hundreds of plans.  We even tried drawing our own floor plans based on what we knew we wanted, but we are not architects and so we struggled there too.

We finally found the builder we ultimately ended up selecting and he recommended an architect to us that was so helpful.  We worked with Heather Hall with H Squared Home Design to find the perfect plan for us after a few changes!  We started with a stock plan she had and made some minor modifications that kept us within the square footage we wanted to stay in. 

Here are the final plans!  Introducing "The Swayney"...

Basement (we'll finish this in the future - this is what it might look like when finished)

1st Floor

2nd Floor 

Brian also talked about the lot in the previous post.  We looked all over southern Wake County looking for land that might work for what we wanted, but nothing we found was appealing.  We really wanted a larger piece of land within Wake County that wasn't so far away from everything that we were going to have to drive a long time to get anywhere.  I had been over to Alexander Woods for some playdates with a friend in my Mommy group and really liked the neighborhood.  I suggested to Brian that we should drive through and see if there were any lots available.  We really liked the neighborhood and they had opened a new phase and there were many lots available, several of which could allow for a basement.  After a lot of thinking and working with our builder, we finally purchased Lot 47.  It is the largest lot in the neighborhood at 3.5 acres, so I think we'll have enough space! 

And just a couple weeks ago, the developer put this sign by our lot!  We can't wait to break gound!