A BREAKTHROUGH (or two)!!!

I finally found the architect's son; he's an architect/designer as well. His father passed away a few years ago. I told S, the architect, what we wanted to do, and asked if he had the plans. He's not sure, because they "cleaned house" some time back and got rid of a bunch of things. However, he has a cabinet the size of a refrigerator that contains some of his dad's work; his mother has a similar container at her house. This awesome guy is actually going to dig through these cabinets to see if he still has the plans. He can't do it this week, because he has some personal business to attend to, but he hopes to have news for me in a couple of weeks. :)

If he can find the plans, he will tweak them for us, so we can have the changes we want. On the other hand, if they no longer exist, we can Start. From. Scratch. And his prices are VERY reasonable. He and I would collaborate with D, the builder, to recreate them from photos, memory, etc. D is offering this part of his services, as well as advice, for free. We feel truly blessed for this generosity.

S and I talked for over 30 minutes today, discussing some of the things Wonderful Husband (henceforth referred to as WH) and I would like. Keeping the front elevation as is (I emailed a picture)? Yes, please, although we want stone instead of brick. Basement? Not a good idea, due to the high water table in the area. I was a little bummed about this, because we really want a media room and wine room. Solution? Apparently, a current trend is to put a media room above the garage. Wine room? Under the stairs. Of course, that's where I want the (small) library/reading nook. Ohhh, the possibilities... I am giddy!

I emailed back and forth with D, and explained that we wanted to get plans squared away before purchasing a lot, so we could get HOA approval before making an offer--some neighborhoods might not want a 1980s style house. D said to get the lot first, and adapt the house, because it would be less expensive. I asked him how would that work? I explained my concern that we'd get stuck with a lot we couldn't build on if they ended up not approving the design, and he asked me to call him this Friday so we could discuss. He also recommended another builder, due to the size of the house. I asked him if he would be able to help us-- even though what we want isn't as "grand" as the custom homes his company builds, I really like their green building concepts, values, and vision. He said he may be able to, and we'll discuss. :)

I'm feeling quite positive about all of this, and would like to ask my readers to put their positive thoughts and prayers out there for this to work. Thanks!

I Found the Twin!

I remembered the subdivision in which the Merewood's twin was located, but I didn't remember which street. I finally had the time to call D, the homebuilder's-son-who-is-now-a-homebuilder, and we caught up with each other a little (I left work shortly thereafter and had a little wrecky-poo with my car, but that's another story and I'm okay).

He gave me the name of the architect, and also gave me the address (as best as he could remember) of the twin, so I could reference both addresses when I call the architect for the plans.

I love Google Maps!

Twinsie!

Personally, I like "my" version better. From what I can see, The Twin sits on a smaller lot, and there isn't much to the backyard.

Interestingly, according to the Harris County Appraisal District, it's also smaller, living space-wise, by about 300 sf, but has a rec room. I'm confuzzled, especially regarding the rec room. Where in the hell would it be?

It would be nice to have a rec room- Wonderful Husband and I want a "media room," which we had in Merewood. It was originally our formal dining room, but the parentals turned it into a media room my senior year in high school. If memory serves, the original owner used that space for a pool table and hunting trophies.

I'm torn- I'd like a formal dining room- I LOVE to entertain, but we also want a space that helps us celebrate our love of cinema and video games. Hmmmm... maybe we can have a basement put in? Is that even done in Texas? CAN it be done in Texas? We could have our media room AND a wine cellar. ;)