My new hobby

Since this blog is a little wordy, with few pictures, I've decided to spice it up a bit. I have found a new, totally fun pasttime: creating inspiration boards.
I was always a bit confused about how to go about creating an inspiration board, yet have seen them in so many places. I even tried polyvore.com, but I didn't feel that it suited me that well either.
So, tonight, I tried just cutting and pasting using pictures from the web, and simply organizing them through a photo editing program.
Please be kind, this is only my first inspiration board, and I still need a little practice. I even tried to find a wall color, but somehow, with Sherwin Williams website, I could only email myself one picture, and couldn't download any pictures to get the paint color. Give me time, I'll be there :)
Items from top left:
Italian Cypress Paisley from Restoration Hardware in Eucalyptus
Morgan Duvet Cover from Pottery Barn in Espresso
Hudson Bed and Wide Bedside Table from Pottery Barn in Mahogany stain
Minna Table Lamp from Pottery Barn

Obviously this is only the beginning of my interior decorating experience. We'll see how it morphs in time!!

What a girl wants

In considering our new home, here is a list of things that I know I want. Yes, I will print this list when we actually get to the building part.
Kitchen
-stovetop that has touchpad/ no knobs
-an American-style refrigerator with ice maker
-a faucet with a spray attachment
-an undersink instant water-heater
-granite countertops
-completely integrated dishwasher (no messy stainless pannel)

Guest/kids bathroom

Master bedroom (suite)
-soaking tub
-separate shower
-underfloor heating
-non-ugly tiles (if you spent time in many German homes, you know what I mean)
-possibly a built in shelving space

Guest WC
-warm/hot water

Basement
-movie room

Maybes?
-hardwood flooring throughout

I am quite sure this list will grow over time, this is just the beginning. We'll see what happens from here.

It'll make your head spin

In the past week, we have been inundated with mail from home companies. We have so many catalogs and so many home plans, I feel like we're drowning in paper. Of course, to be a good person, I do feel the need to look at most of these catalogs and brochures. Sure enough, each company has at least one set of home plans that we like.
And of course, now that I've seen a few homes that may one day be our own, my mind has started racing with decorating. I'm mentally considering colors that I like, and spending time on the internet looking at kitchens and bathrooms. I'm reading up on flooring choices, and carefully weighing the options.
Last night, I couldn't fall alseep. This is usual for Sunday night. Normally though, my mind is racing about work, the kids, and the fact that I have to wake up in only a few hours. Last night though, the strain of thought was, do I want light blue and white in the master bath or beige? I wonder how expensive a fancy shower stall will be?
Oh my goodness. It is so exciting, but I can easily see that the actual process of building a home is overwhelming. Hopefully, I don't get too caught up in the whole thing, and can keep hold of the fact that this will be our home, and that there will be light at the end of the upcoming tunnnel!

Visiting the model house park yet again

We returned to the model home park yesterday. Compared to our first visit last year, our experience was much better. I guess last year, we looked like clueless kids. We had no idea. This time, we were armed with a few necessary items: a building lot and a good starter question, "How much does this exact model cost?". With the building plot and the question, we got really far.
Our first stop was Finger Haus, the house that Jörn fell in love with. I really loved it, with one minor detail, I believe it is a bit too small. The positives included the extremely open floor plan, the all-season room, the beautiful full bath, and the "command-center" which allows you to control a variety of electrical elements from a panel near the entry-way. We also loved the price, and the fact that the installation of geothermal heating was included.
The only downside to me was that living room and the guest room seemed quite "squishy." I feel like if we are actually building a house, we don't want to be space challenged in a few years. They do offer a larger version of the same house. I would be quite interested in this larger version.
We had a wonderful discussion with the company representative. He looked at the map of our building lot, and the pictures of it. He was able to draw up an rough sketch for how our home would look, and gave us lots of other useful information. I really liked that he wasn't pushy. Plus, he invited us to the company's "Open Door Day," which takes place in 3 weeks. We will be able to see how the houses are made, as well as attend some information sessions on home buidling. We're extemely excited!
After our visit to FingerHaus, we headed into a Weno (pronounced "vano") Haus. Unlike FingerHaus, which is a prefab company, Weno is a traditional stone house built on location.
Of course, there was some heavy marketing that made me giggle a bit, like the fact that these homes had a better "living climate." Some marketing tactics can only be used in Germany.
Despite the giggles, the house was beautiful. This model home was set up as a "two generation house." A two generation home is essentially a two family home, yet is geared towards two generations of one family living under the same roof. This was kind of the set-up Jörn and I had when I first moved here. Usually, each floor is very private, and include a kitchen, living room, full bath, and often at least one bedroom. These homes tend to share entryways and laundry. If each generation is respectful of the other, the set-up isn't bad, and allows a young couple to save a lot of money.
Obviously, we are not going for a "two-generation" home, so we spoke with the company representative about making this size home more tailored to our needs. It was so exciting to actually talk to someone other than Jörn about what I want in a home. We discussed floor heating for the bathrooms, a walk-in closet (which are now all the rage in Germany,) an open plan for the living area, and a few other specifics. It felt like we were actally embarking on something big.
We should be hearing back from an architect working with the company in a few weeks, and I am really excited to hear what she has to say.
After these two homes, we visited a few more, but they weren't that interesting. Some homes are far out of our price range, and some are way below our quality standards.
I'm sure this wasn't our last visit to the model home park, and we may visit others in Germany before all is said and done.
We left the park feeling quite uplifted. Like a couple of teenagers who have the world in front of them, for the first time in a long time, I felt like our lives are on the brink of something exciting and big. We have possiblities and hope.

Without me?!

Since Joern does not work in an office, his job provides some amount of freedom that mine does not. So, since work is slowing down a bit for the holidays for Joern, and he needs to use the time while he waits for me at work, he has been visiting some home companies.
His first visit was this Monday. He visited the home company his parents used 20 years ago to build their house. Unfortunately, his visit was quite discouraging. Turns out that building a house with them would cost close to a million dollars. Bleh! So, although I was sad that Joern went without me, I would have been really depressed leaving that company.
When Joern came to pick me up from work yesterday, he was in a great mood, and told me he saw a wonderful house, well in our price range. He went to the house park we visited in April. This time, he stumbled into a model home we had not visited. Turns out, the model was beautiful, and looked to be just about what we wanted. Joern had a very good conversation with the company representative, and had an excellent feeling about the company. We are looking forward to further meetings with the company, and plan on returning to the model home, with me, in January!

Previously owned or newly built?

Germans are much more excited about building their own homes than Americans. Most often, fist-time buyers are also first-time builders. Like with their cars, Germans seem to still enjoy the ability to tailor-make their homes to their specifications. Yes, many Americans purchase newly built homes too, but they are usually purchased as a part of a sub-division or planned community. American new homes tend to be pre-planned, and the buyers get to choose carpets, flooring, cabinets, paint, etc. In Germany, there are few opportunities to purchase a new-built like Americans can, here, a new-buiid tends to actually involve working directly with an architect to plan your dream home. Unfortunately, most people cannot afford their dream home when they are in their 20's and early 30's, and most home building ends as a compromise.
Here are a few of the new-built homes we've seen on the internet that we like so far:

image from: www.innovahaus.de

image from: www.weberhaus.de

image from: www.schwedenhaus.de

image from: www.bostonhaus.de

Because I know we would not get to have every detail we would like, I would not mind buying a previously owned house. The problem here though is that in Germany, frequently, only extremely old houses are extraordinarily cool. We looked at a house that was built in the 1600s, although it required tons of work, then end product would be incredible. If you buy a house from the 50's, 60's or 70's, you end up with a very compartmentalized home. They tend to be very dark and have little natural light. Some though are also quite nice:



all above images from: www.immobielienscout24.de

As you can see, we really have lots of decisions to make. So far, we only are certain that we want a yard and a single family house. But, many, many previously-owned and new-builds fill these two criteria! Fortunately, we have lots of time to decide!

Welcome to our new blog!

Well, it seems like we're really beginning a new chapter in our lives. What better way to celebrate, than with a new blog? Since this blog probably won't be updated as much as my regular blog, I thought it would be best to simply devote an entire new blog to our new home adventure.
Let me start with a brief introduction.
Joern and I have been married for 7 1/2 years. On Christmas Day 2008, I will celebrate my 7th moving overseas anniversary. Although my move to Germany was not my first experience living overseas, it was by far my most challenging. I spent a semester in Dubin my junior year of college. My first two years here, we lived with Joern's parents. Its not as bad as it sounds though, we had our own separate floor in their house. For the past five years though, we have been living in a small, but beautiful apartment. Part of me would like to live in the apartment forever. It has only one bedroom, but it is perfect for us. The apartment is full of natural light, and cozy. I feel immediately happy when I walk through my door.
We do need to move on though for a few reasons. We would like a dog, and you cannot have one in our building. We would like a yard. Most importantly though, we would like to have kids soon, and right now, we have no room for a little one. So, we have decided it is time to start our search for a new home. We're of course extrememly excited and a little nervous. There is so much out there, and so much to learn before you buy a house. I hope that we can make the best decision, as this will be our home for quite a long time!
I hope you enjoy following along on our journey to owning a home. If you find as you read this, that you have any experience you would like to share, please feel free to post a comment. My comments will be open to everyone, because we will gladly take all the advice we can get!