It Gets Expensive Here ... and FUN!

I am a few days late on this, but I wanted to provide a look into the upgrades that we are currently planning for the new house.  I do have pricing and would be willing to share it with you if you're someone considering Ryan Homes in the same area ... that way you can have an idea of what to expect (although I understand their pricing could change rather frequently, so only use this as a guide). I am going to keep that out of this post otherwise.

This is certainly where things add up and add up fast, but it is also the FUN part! We could possibly add to - or remove from - this list during the time between now and when our house sells, but from what I understand from our consultant, once we sign papers to start building, we have 14 days to lock in all of our upgrades or we then incur a fee for each change made thereafter. This is another reason I wanted us to start talking about this stuff NOW - it gives us a lot of time to go back and forth on decisions and really get a grasp on what we truly want for our new home.

First, I was VERY excited to hear that 9' ceilings now come standard in the Florence model. This is an upgrade we had planned to add on anyhow, so knowing that it is included in the base price was very exciting! Additionally, it is believed that drywalling in the garage is included now as well (whereas otherwise it would be $450 to finish, and we'd just leave that as a project for Kevin to do at a later time).

Structural Upgrades

• Partial Brick Exterior
• Morning Room - This required no further discussion between Kevin and myself - we knew that this was a must for us. This includes the morning room itself plus two additional windows on the side (add'l cost for these) that would otherwise be a solid wall.
• Finished Basement - Again, no brainer for us. We come from a finished basement and it is a must. We couldn't do it by ourselves for the price, so we'd prefer it to be all done when we move in! BONUS ALERT - We're being given an incentive of a FREE FINISHED BASEMENT!! So this is now 'included'. Helllooooo savings! =)
• Full Bathroom in Basement

Kitchen Upgrades

• Gourmet Island
• 8" double bowl sink - Standard is 6" and I come from an 8" and must have it!
• 42" cabinets - Includes an upgrade to cherry cabinets. Currently deciding between Cherry Bordeaux or Cherry Spice, both dark. We could possibly downgrade a bit to 30" cabinets ... but I worry about how that would look with 9' ceilings.
• Granite Countertops - Includes granite on the gourmet island as well
• Upgraded Appliances - This includes stainless steel dishwasher, range, and microwave.
• Upgraded Refrigerator
• Gas Range Hook-Up

Main Floor Living Room Upgrades

• Marble Fireplace - We are still going back and forth on this. Right now we're also considering upgrading to a stone surround fireplace with stone hearth. Not sure where we'll land on this, so I am showing it as we first decided for now.  UPDATE:  We ended up going with the stone surround fireplace with stone hearth. 

Owner's Suite Upgrades

• Owner's Suite Upgraded Bathroom - This allows us to have a garden tub surrounded in ceramic tile, separate from the shower (with two walls of ceramic tile and glass walls).
• Added jets to garden tub
• Upgraded vanity cabinets
• Granite countertop in Master Bathroom

General Upgrades

• Garage door opener (seemed a bit crazy to me that this is an 'upgrade')
• Upgrade vanity cabinets in all other bathrooms
• Interior door hardware - All hardware will be oil rubbed bronze
• Recessed Basement Lights
• Recessed Kitchen Lights
• Floor drain in garage - Perfect to allow all that snow that falls off of our cars to just drain away. 
• Faucet fixtures in Bathrooms - All bathroom fixtures will be oil rubbed bronze
• Upgraded Kitchen faucet
• Utility tub in basement storage - I am big on having a place to rinse out paint brushes, wash the dog, etc.
• Pine Railing with wooden spindles on staircase
• Ceiling fan rough-ins (2) - Morning room and master bedroom
• Celing light rough-ins (3) - Bedroom #2, #3 and Dining Room

Additional Upgrades Not Yet Priced

There are still some things that we will be adding that we don't yet have prices for. This includes:

• Additional coach light on the end of the garage (only one is included and would leave it looking unbalanced)
• Special wiring for hung televisions and entertainment components (DVRs, etc)
• Flooring upgrades (hardwood in dining room, foyer, and main floor powder room; ceramic tile in kitchen, laundry, and morning room; carpet upgrades throughout remainder of the house)
• Customized finished addition in basement - We are still awaiting the quote on this, but are having it done regardless (we know the price range, just not exact number). When they finish the basement, there is a portion of it left unfinished for storage. There is quite a hefty amount of storage, and while I would never complain about extra storage space, we can use some of the area in a better way. So we're having a section off to the side be finished off, with glass French doors installed in the middle. Basically, one part of it will be a poker/game room and the other part will be Riley's play room. Once we no longer need a play room, it will most likely be converted into a workout room or office.