9 Things You Have To Choose When Buying A New Build

Following on from my recent post what requirements we have for our new family home, I’d like to share with you today, what you need to consider deciding when buying a new build house. I mentioned a few times lately that we are going to relocate. Mainly for work commitments.

So right now we are in the middle of purchasing a new built house in County Kildare. We are moving from the North West part of Ireland to the East part of the country. That actually comes with an advantage though. The weather is 30% better. I love my sun. It makes me happier. Some people probably can’t understand how the weather can affect your mood but it’s true.

The housing estate is being built by a company with several different house types available. But that doesn’t mean everything is laid out for us. Only after a couple of weeks I noticed, how much we still have to pick and get customised.

1. Kitchen

Probably the most important part of the house. In saying that I am not the biggest cook but the kitchen is beautiful. It’s very open. The kitchen is included in the house price.You get to choose extras. For example, it doesn’t come with the appliances like the dishwasher or washing machine. We picked that package because we end up needing those anyway. You get to choose from three different style kitchens.

2. Flooring

A certain part of the downstairs flooring is included in the house price but only the kitchen I think. The rest we have to price ourselves. Our new house has underfloor heating. Tiles would be the best to put down but because I want to have the same floor in kitchen, living room and dining room, I am going for a kind of wood looking style. Plus, putting the same floors downstairs everywhere is cheaper.

3. Bathroom Tiles

Luckily this was included in the price and we had one company to go to. Five different shades to pick from. To mix it all up, I picked three different shades. We have a bathroom in the master bedroom, then there is the main bathroom and there is also an ensuite which won’t be in use. It basically acts as the guest room. The downstairs toilet will have the tiling that goes through the whole downstairs area.

4. Light Fittings

If it is going to be your “forever home”, I would suggest to go for some really fancy ones. Lights that will last you forever. As there are so many rooms that need lights fitted, it can be quite exhausting. I have some sort of idea, based on the house we currently live in.

5. Carpets

Another thing you need to think about. Again this is not included in the purchase price of the house. It’s probably one of the most expensive things to buy,depending on what type of carpet you choose from. Personally I am happy enough to just have the landing with carpet and the whole upstairs the same way we have it downstairs but I guess the other half gets a say in this, too and he prefers carpets upstairs. I do want to mention that it’s easier to maintain laminated floors rather than carpet but that’s everyone’s personal choice.

6. Blinds/Curtains

Having kids, blinds are important. It darkens the room and makes them sleep easier. In our current house we have blinds as well as black out curtains. I haven’t decided yet if I am getting black out curtains in Matthew’s new room because the last two weeks he is afraid to fall asleep in the dark. He now sleeps with his bedside lamp on which is not that strong.

7. Internal Paint

I am actually not sure how many choices we get regarding the colours of the internal paint. We have chosen one already. Every house is pretty much grey themed. This must be the new style these days. I want to be careful not to have too much grey in the house.

8. Wardrobes

I actually love the build in wardrobes. They are grey. (Are you surprised?) No, but seriously they look amazing. The master bedroom has sliding wardrobes and they have actual shelves in them. What annoys me with our current build in wardrobes is, that everything has to be hung. I had to get shelves from IKEA that can be hung to actually have some sort of shelving in place.

9. Fireplace

Then there is the fireplace which comes in three different styles. Based on a show house, I went with the one that looks best with grey flooring.

It builds up doesn’t it? I didn’t think I had to choose from so many things. Choosing isn’t actually the difficult part, it’s the fact that there are so many different choices. We got there in the end though. Left to do is choosing the carpets and light fittings.