Building in a small village

For any readers who don't know me personally, you may not know that we live in a village here in Germany. There are about 3,800 residents in our little village. Moving from a largeish American town of close to 60,000 to our tiny village sometimes is a bit overwhelming.
Take for example our experience in building. We're trying to make headway in finding a building lot, as we have the house plans, and just need the lot. Our original plan was to build in the yard in front of my in-laws' house. They have plenty of land, and we could build without disturbing much of their view.
Another option would be to buy into the new development that is happening next to my in-laws' house. The current plan is to take a largeish lot of land and subdivide into lots for 3 duplexes, one single family, and two multiple family buildings.
Two weeks ago, we met with the owners of the building lots where the duplexes and single family home will be built. The first tip off that this was going to be an experience- they are the parents of Joern's friend Christoph. They welcomed us into their home, and immediately poured us copious amounts of wine. (In my opinion, maybe land deals should not involve alcohol.) After chit-chatting, we were introduced to the other man in the room, Mr. Builder (no joke, his name is Bauer which is farmer and builder in German.) Mr. Builder will be building the houses on the aforementioned land. Oh, AND, Mr. Builder is the brother of the landowner.
We spoke with the landowners about a deal in which we would get a small chunk of land directly on the border with my in-laws. They were willing to sell us the small chunk, which would allow us to build the house without really obstructing my in-laws' view at all. They then needed to shift all the houses over, which required a bit of work. Why would they be willing to do this? Because Joern was always such a nice boy (oy!)
Great! Good start. But, we are not sure now if we would be required to build our home with Mr. Builder, seeing as he is the brother of the landowner. Not that Mr. Builder is bad, he's very good. And, very EXPENSIVE! And, he does not like our house plans, so in his very German way, spent a lot of time showing us why our floor plans would not work (which they would.)
Now, our other issue becomes, if we are allowed to build on that land with a pre-fab company, or if we decide to build on my in-laws' property, we must put forth a request to build through the Town Council, which then votes on approval for our house (use of land, roof style, home style, and plans.) Guess who is on the town council? Yep, you got it! MR BUILDER!!!! And, to make matters worse, Joern got in a fight with the First Selectman of the town a few years ago. What a great way to make friends in the right places! Oy!
In Fairfield, although my father new builders, I didn't know any people who were selling building lots. I certainly had no relationship with any of the members of the board of selectmen. I had no experiences with the First Selectman other than voting for him. Life in a small town comes with its own set of unique experiences!

Finally, a kitchen I can see myself living with!

After lots of internet searching, I finally found a kitchen I like! Hopefully, Joern can deal with the fact that its wood- and not feel like he's in a Bavarian Oma's kitchen!

image from nolte-kuechen.de
I would prefer if it had crown moulding, instead of the very square tops, but we can always aks! The kitchen is cherry, and would look perfect with brownish granite countertops, and our dark wood floors! Hooray! I can't wait to go check out the kitchens at the dealer that sells this brand!

A little inspiration

Since meeting with Lelia this weekend, she's inspired me to really bring my inspirations together. For years, I've been faithfully ripping pictures from magazines and catalogs, saving them in a binder. Yet, I've never really gone through the binder. Since Lelia's house turned out so beautiful, I decided to take her advice and gather pictures for our meetings with various architects that are coming up soon. I also decided that since I pretty much know what our furniture will look like, I should put together some more mood boards so that I can pull together my ideas in a more cohesive way.
I've already done a mood board for the master bedroom, but I've since fallen in love with another bed, so it is time to redo that one.
For right now, I'll settle for a living room mood board.

Of course, we won't have two different accent chairs in our living room. I just can't decide!

Meetings and a visit

Last week was a blur of meetings. It all started on Tuesday, when we met with the sales rep. from Bien-Zenker, who gave us our second, official, serious offer on a house. She also brought with her an architect. We went over the details of the offer with us. Basically, since the house is from a pre-fab company, she gave us the price "Turn-Key Ready." I'm not so sure this is the best.
But the house would be beautiful! Depending on our lot, things could change. But, for the time being, we are planning a full cellar and a garage built in to the cellar. The garage would be a 2 car garage, and we are hoping on having one room in the cellar with windows that go to the ground. Right now, we are talking about a hipped roof. The price also included propane for heating, and heated floors. No worries, heated floors in Germany are really nice. The price was pretty much what I figured. We've pretty much decided that we'll hire out for the floors and painting, instead of having it completed by the house company. The only items not included in the price were the preparation and removal of the dirt in the yard, the connection fees for utilities, kitchen, and fireplace. Overall, we were really pleased.
Here's a picture of what we are thinking about with this company. Of course, there are a few modifications to their plan,and we will not have the aluminum on the top half, but at least here's an idea of what type of house we like most:

photo from www.bien-zenker.de
Our next plan with this company is to meet with another architect, who we've met before. I really liked her because she has spent a lot of time in America, which helps, she has an idea of where I am coming from. We'll work with her to come up with a plan for the interior, exactly the way we want it. This meeting should be within the next few weeks.
On Thursday, Joern picked me up from Parent's Night at school, and we headed to a neighbor's house, to meet with people who own some building lots next to Wolfgang and Hildegard and to meet with a builder they are working with. Our first step was to determine if they would be willing to change the divisions of one of their building lots, which would allow for us to build without blocking any view from Wolfgang and Hildegard. They are willing to change. Our next step is to ask the town if we would be allowed to build in a) Wolfgang and Hildegard's front yard, b) on this divided building lot if Wolfgang and Hildegard then give over most of their front yard to us (so that we would be building legally within the boundaries). If we cannot do either a or b, we can also build on one of their lots, which are sized for duplexes. We could build our planned house on a full lot, but people would then be allowed to build another half directly next to our house. Not my favorite idea.
We also talked with the builder. He is very nice, but tried to talk us into one of his plans. Joern was very firm that we know what we want. We'll meet with this builder, whose name happens to be "Builder" in German, in the upcoming weeks, after we find out what the town has allowed us to do.
The third, very exciting and interesting thing we did this week house-related was travel to Dresden. I have a friend, Lelia, who is American, living there. She and her husband recently built a house and she invited us up to see it and to talk about her experience with building a house in Germany. They built with a builder instead of a pre-fab company. Their house is georgeous to say the least! And it was so wonderful to see that she had fabulously colored, untextured walls! She told us that you can achieve American-styled walls here, and it basically boiled down to finding the right painter. The staircase was beautiful and what I consider "normal," with closed stairs and storage underneath. We spent a few hours at the house, touring, talking, and eating cupcakes. One of my biggest lessons- is that I need to be specific about what I want, have lots of pictures to show, and to not back down. We talked a lot about our experiences with German sales-people and their reluctance to help you if you ask for something outside of their sphere. She had a bad experience looking for subway tile, just like I've had similar experiences in asking for an oven large enough to cook one turkey one time a year. She eventually got her subway tile backsplash in the kitchen, and despite the German opinion, I think it looks beautiful! I learned so much from Lelia and her experiences, I am now even more excited about having our own home, now that I know I can get an American-styled home. Hooray! Thanks so much Lelia!

How exciting

We went to our friend Marcus' wedding yesterday. It was really lots of fun. I know you may be wondering "what does this have to do with our house?" though. Well, Marcus' brother happens to run a company here in Germany that produces wooden flooring. We really like the brother, and just happened to mention to him that we will be building a house soon. He was so excited and told us to make an appointment in one of their stores to see what materials are available. I am so excited because it looks like we'll be getting hardwood flooring. Hooray! We'll make an appointment in the next few weeks, because he said that you have to know the thickness of the flooring before you lay the slab for the house. So he said that the floors should come early in the planning phase of the house. I can't wait to see our options and to make a decision on our floors.
One thing I need to really think about though- flooring in the kitchen. I guess a lot has to do with our floorplan, but I feel if the kitchen is in open view of the dining room or living room, I would prefer one floor. But, wood in the kitchen isn't the best choice. I know its popular at home, but I'm just not so sure. I was comfortable with putting laminate flooring in the kitchen, and continuing that throughout the entire main floor. But wood? What do you think?
In other news: we have two meetings on Tuesday. We're leaning back towards Wolfgang & Hildegard's property. We're meeting with Bien Zenker and an independent architect. Joern wants to give his plans to the first, and we want to check the plans from the architect. I'm excited to see what Tuesday will bring!

Where we are right now

There are many reasons for my lapse in posting, but not to fear, we are still hot on the idea of a new home.
We've looked in to some new building lots. We're done negotiating with the farmer with the field next to Wolfgang & Hildegard's. We gave up once he offered us 40,000 Euro for us to buy his field in return for Joern's grandmother's entire house. I guess its time to move on from that thought!
There is a huge lot next to Wolfgang and Hildegard, on the other side, that has been bought by two different people. The lot has been subdivided into three lots for duplexes, one for a single family, and two lots on the street for multi-family homes. Wolfgang met with the owner of the duplex appropriated properties recently. We could purchase the land to build an entire duplex, and rent out the other side. I guess we should not rule out this option, simply because, financially, it could make quite a bit of sense.
We're also considering purchasing the apartment of one of our neighbors (in our building.) They are desperate to move, and the apartment is in top condition. For us, the positive would be that we would pay cash for the apartment, and rent it out, which would be a consistent income to put towards our mortgage.
We are still thinking about that 3 acre building plot in Neckartenzlingen. As I said before, I love the neighborhood, and I love the size of the property. Joern did find out that we would have to leave a path open for tractors between the building lot and the field, which detracts a bit. Plus, now that we know exactly where the building lot is located, we would have to put the garage (or carport for right now,) in the front of the house, which isn't exactly ideal.
Which brings us back to our first option. We are beginning the process of asking the town if we are actually allowed to build in Wolfgang & Hildegard's front yard. Obviously, the results of this application will tell us if this is even a realistic option, or if we need to continue our search for building lots.
We still have a long road ahead. I'm very excited though because in two weeks, we are headed to Dresden. I have an Americn friend there, Lelia, who buit a home not too long ago. I am particularly excited to see her, and to hear about her home building process in my language, and through the eyes of a fellow American. We tend to view things a bit differently sometimes.

That's about all for now. I still constantly daydream about our house, and am so excited to see where we are one year from now!

Exciting finds!

While I was home, I was quite busy looking at furniture with my cousin, Elizabeth. Not only is my cousin fabulous, but it just so happens that she's also an interior design student. So, my interior designer and I spent lots of time in many, many stores! Since it looks pretty certain that we will be buying our furniture in the States and shipping it, I was very determined to look at many options.
We spent two days in Westport, Connecticut at Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, and Restoration Hardware. Of course, the most fun was the decorating class at Pottery Barn, but spending lots of time at Pottery Barn is fun in itself!

Here are some things that we loved!

Brooks Slipcovered Chair from www.potterybarn.com

Malika rug from www.potterybarn.com



Azure chair from www.crateandbarrel.com


Axis sectional from www.crateandbarrel.com


Portman Framed Sleigh Bed from www.restorationhardware.com
Incidentally, I figured that despite my love of sleigh beds, a king sized sleigh bed would be far too massive for anything but the biggest of bedrooms. So, I decided that a sleigh headboard keeps the curved look of the sleigh without so much wood.

We also spent an afternoon in Milford looking in furniture stores too. We visited Pilgrim Furniture, Raymour and Flannigan (which was HUGE) and Ethan Allen (mom's favorite.)
I liked a bedroom set in Raymour and Flannigan, but I didn't write down the name. I hope it will be there when we get home.
We also enjoyed all the beautiful furniture at Ethan Allen. We had lots of time there, because we got locked in due to a storm! I found out a few days later that there was a tornado in the area of the furniture store that day. Elizabeth and I believe though that there was some divine intervention involved. I plan to make an appointment with the interior designer at Ethan Allen though for Christmas time.

We also spent time at the Home Depot, looking at countertops and kitchens, and floor samples.

We even drove out to Long Island to the Riverhead Outlet Center because they have Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware outlets. I am certain that we'll be able to get something for our new home at the outlets, the only challenge will be transporting the furniture from Long Island to Connecticut.

Its easy to see that we have lots of work and lots of decisions ahead. It is a lot of fun and really exciting though!