Our trip was eventful, to say the least. Upon arriving in Halifax, we immediately went out to the property so Laura could have a look.
After initial impressions had been made, we retired to our motel for the night.
It's funny how three hours time difference can play with your sleep and eating patterns. On any given day, Laura is in bed by 8:30pm. This is because she gets up early and can usually be found at work by 6am. Because we were in Nova Scotia, this meant that Laur's normal bed time was 11:30pm! Crazy! Even crazier was that she did not wake until well after 9am the following morning! Except for the last night, this was to be the norm for the duration of our visit.
After breakfast, we once again toddled out to the property to have another look around. We walked down to the creek, then back up to the circle, where Laura and discussed possibilities.
After a brief meeting with the builder on-site, we followed him back to the office, where a rather surprising development took place. Laur wasn't convinced our house plan was appropriate for the land. Neither of us felt visually attached to the plan - yes the interior met our needs to a T, but the exterior did not appeal to us. We decided there and then that we would not use our (expensive) plan.
So, the builder handed us a book of plans, whereupon Laura set to leafing through the pages. Our needs centred around the master - it had to be large, main floor and with en suite. We were thinking to the future, when both of us would be crippled old ladies, moving about upon our decrepit legs.
We wanted lots of space for the boy to grow into, lots of storage space, room for the dogs, and a fireplace.
All of the sudden, Laura stopped. "This is it," she simply stated.
Wow! In the span of seconds, we went from shingled two-story with loft to modern shed roof design on a walk out basement.
This blew me away... I had proposed a very similar kit house to her some time ago, which she had flatly dismissed with very little conversation. To say I was surprised would be an understatement.
The builder had a look, calculated some quick numbers and we surmised that it would tentatively fit into our budget. A little surprised that we would abandon our custom plan so quickly, he cautioned us to think on it.
We took the plan book back to the property where we both agreed that this was what we'd been looking for - big, bright southern exposure; large dining/living room; large main-floor master with en suite; large, simple, closely-located room for the boy. We'd put it on a walk out basement, in which we'd rough in a third bathroom, and where Laur would initially have her office. Once the boy is a bit older, he would swap spaces with Laur's office, and she would then be upstairs.
Where I was once somewhat doubtful, I am now very excited. Although colours have yet to be decided upon (I'd like to incorporate the distinct colour of the soil, sky, water and trees), I can see this house on our property, peeking through the alders and over the meadow.
Brace yourself... it's different.
First floor plan
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