My Countdown

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Number 5...My cabinets and french doors (and prices for MZ...)

The 2 things im excited about in the house are my frech doors on the study/bedroom hybrid and my beautiful cherry cabinets! 
Ive always wanted cherry cabinets so I am super excited about them...and making the 42" makes a HUGE difference!  I also LOVE LOVE LOVE my french doors!  I have ALWAYS wanted them too for some odd reason.  I love old victorian homes and they just remind me of class and elegance.

Now...
I know MZ was blogging about her difficulties with non-standard and standard request in one of your posts.  I got to tell you....I had a DAMN time trying to get Ryan to do ANYTHING that wasn't already written in thier paperwork.  Everything I asked wasn't even anmything completely abnormal or anything that other bloggers hadn't asked for and GOTTEN!  So I feel you o the frustration with that.  Our SR basicly flat-out said no to most everything I asked for (spa shower install, seat in shower, potfiller...etc) without even checking with anyone.  It drove me bonkers!!!  Im still not happy with the whole process but whats done is done and I know next time to built custom and not go through big box builders of any kind.

I wanted to share how much my 2 NSO's cost us...
Now these are my cabinets.  This cabinet cost us $475 to raise it 6 inches!  I was also going to add glass doors through Ryan but that would have been anothe $700.  So they will be added after we close for 1/2 that price.

BUT ...I think it makes it look amazing.  This is a bad picture, in person it looks great. 

Once we add the granite (and get rid of the crappy counter that are on it now) and get the glass doors, it will look a lot like this.



This is taken from my (originaly) formal living room.  We then opted for it to be a bedroom because that's how we could turn the powder room into a full bath, but the door on the bedroom would just be a plain wood door and made the entry way feel very boxed in.  So I kept it as a bedroom (just adds a closet) and put the study French Doors on it instead.  This cost us another $700.

And out of all the requests I had, these are the only two they would do.

7 comments:

  1. Its really interesting how different your options experience was. Our SR priced out everything we asked for: front porch on the model we were looking at before the ravenna, sink in garage, railings on porch, one of those instant hot water heater things, extra windows in non-standard places... The prices tended to be high, but she always costed it out for us. I recently found out that the SR changed halfway through, and that people had trouble with the new sales rep. For instance, he told the homeowners that it was not possible to put a full front porch on a venice. Two of the venice's here have a full front porch. Boy was that dude pissed.

    I think the best advice is that if you really want something, push for it. The blogs are a great way of knowing what options are available, and that makes it really hard for Ryan to say "we can't do that."

    PS - kitchen looks great!

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  2. First of all: YOUR CABINETS ARE GORGEOUS!!! I love them!!!

    I am so sorry your Rep was not .... accommodating. I know someone who totally re-did one bathroom and ADDED a half bath were a closet once was. I know some models are open to custom plans. But perhaps not all.

    You're home is gorgeous though. I love it!!

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  3. WoW!! Thanks Newbuildnoob!!! Your kitchen is absolutely beautiful. I love the cabinet raised like that, looks great. Did you do that in order to keep the micro above the gas range for code purposes? I had asked about that haven't heard. How will you change out the doors to glass and match right? 4 days WOOHOO!!

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  4. I really wish I would have thought to have the bedroom with the study french doors!!! My hubby wanted the downstairs living room into the bedroom for elder guests, but I loved the french doors and insisted on a study. Ohwell :( LOL. We did one custom upgrade, which was added a floor outlet in the family room. We figured we are going to have to "float" our sofa, and we didn't want to run a cord under the carpet, so we added a floor outlet, I think that was $275. Not too bad. but you are right, to change anything it was a bit of a process.

    On another note, I love your idea to raise the cabinets 6 inches!! Again, why didn't I think of that!!!!! LOL

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  5. Thanks everyone. I shouldnt sound so negative (I always sound more pissy in writing than what I actually mean). I actually liked our SR a lot. He was very nice and we got along great. It was just irritating when he didnt even bother picking up the phone and checking with...IDK...Santa Clause for all I care before he gave me a no on almost everything. LOL But I like most all of it. They did "fix" my banister but its a mess now. I have capped holes on all 4 sides of the bottom post and it just looks sloppy. I will be discussing that with them on Wednesday.

    @the Bukers...You may still be able to add the french doors and they may not charge you (if you want them). I made changes even after we broke ground. Good idea on the floor socket. I wish I did that now in hind sight.

    @MZ No...I just LOVE the look of the raised cabinets rather than just straight ones. No code issues. I actually am swaping out the standard stove and hood that comes with the house with my new induction range. It cook with "magnets" so the surface just gets warm to the touch even on high heat. You can actually cook with a paper towel between the pot and the burner. We also have the mathing microwave to mount as well.

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  6. I love the french doors! There was a time when I thought that may be my reality, but not this time. If we ever finish the basement, I will change the basement door to a "15 light" door. It's about as close as I can get to it. haha I am with you on the counters! As much as I want the granite, I do believe there are other options (including granite) after closing for MUCH cheaper. I forgot what blogger posted this, but she found granite to be installed after closing for WAY cheaper then through Ryan. So rest assured, you will get your way and it will be less expensive to get it.

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