Last spring, we purchased a total of 42 acres to share with our extended family. (We own 15 of those acres.) After months of soil tests, subdividing, permits, loans, designing houses, and building a driveway … we have finally broke ground on our house!

We spent the last 4 months working on and tweaking our house plans. We finally got it down, and I’m so excited!

I’m not a fan of open-floor plans. My husband is. As a compromise, I wanted to have a prep kitchen to keep a lot of the crossover noise from the kitchen and family room to a minimum.

I also wanted to have a screened porch with a fireplace on the north side of the house. The way the plans were shaping up, we decided on an indoor/outdoor, two-sided, wood-burning fireplace. It’s gonna cost a pretty penny, but it’s our one splurge!

We needed a quiet family area for homeschooling, so we included a loft area upstairs. And with all the bedrooms upstairs, we put the laundry room up there, too!

Erik needs a dedicated office space, so we made sure to add a spare room downstairs. We also discussed having a root cellar and a space for storing bourbon, so we found a way to put that in the plans. Because it’s under our stairs, it can also be our safe area during severe storms.

We were a little concerned with whether we could have a cellar or not, due to the high water table on our land. When they started digging, we waited hopefully to hear the news.

Last month, we finalized decisions on house colors and doors & windows styles. We can’t wait to watch the progression of our new home!