Month 7 of Building a Home – The Pulte Design Center Appointment
From the moment I signed the contract I have been looking forward to this day- the appointment with the Pulte Design Center! It is when you get to pick out all your custom options that really bring out your personal character. If you do not like options then this may be overwhelming. For me, I loved every minute of it. (The design center is typically an off-site office that houses most (not all) of the finishing options offered on new construction homes from a particular builder).
I arrived to the Pulte Design Studio, located in Estero, very prepared. I knew exactly the look I was going for and had a pretty good idea of the colors for most everything, so it was a matter of narrowing just a few options down. But if you have no clue what you like or want, no worries, the Pulte Designer walks you through everything. You get to explore a refined selection of today’s most sought-after features and finishes. From modern kitchens cabinets to stylish bathroom fixtures, flooring to lighting, and every single thing in between, you get to pick it out!
Once your happy with your choices, you’ll sign a lot more paperwork, confirming your choices and the final sales price of your new home. At this point, you’ll be asked to pay a percentage of these addons and off you go!
I left the appointment feeling like I just created my absolute dream home because it will be just as I imagined down to the little details! EEK!
This is the part of the process is where your original price goes up because the contract was just covering the basic floor plan chosen. I knew some things that were a must-have and then some things that I would choose to do without if my budget got exceeded. And YES, I had to leave some things off. But I chose to not upgrade the things that could be easily upgraded after. So for example having the taller doors is not something I could change later, so I splurged for those. And though this wasn’t an additional cost, it was the point where I had the opportunity to leave out all the wired shelving in the closets so I can at least save myself the time of removing them when I install the custom closets! I also wanted them to leave off the mirrors in the bathrooms because I want a more custom look with framed mirrors above each sink.
A few extras that don’t sound like much but made me happy to get to add were extra outlet in the garage and outside outlets on the gutters for my Christmas lights. It’s always about the small things!
The important thing to know about this part of the process is that your price is locked in here. Which is great considering the price increases that keep happening now with materials and housing in general. But that also means that if you decide to make any design changes it will come with a price tag.
So here is a sneak peek at my main color selections: