We had completed the process of selecting a floor plan, redesigning the kitchen, and choosing a plot. This is our first post in a series on the selections process for our home.

Selections was a fun experience overall. Prior to our selections meeting, Eric and I had really done our homework. It’s a good thing, too, because there were so many options available for us to include in our new home. As you’ll see, for the most part we chose practical upgrades over design upgrades, figuring we could always upgrade the design ourselves later.

We visited our builder’s design center, where we were welcomed into a huge showroom with samples of everything from ceramic tiles and flooring to appliances and fixtures. A consultant guided us through the process, though we had already done much of the work on our own and through our realtor.

The first step was choosing the exterior look of the house. We had driven through the neighborhood many times to get an idea of what we liked. There was a range in choice of brick from almost white to deep red. The vinyl siding choices were white and various neutral colors. We chose what they called the “gray” brick for the front of the house:

And champagne vinyl siding for the sides and back of the house:

Our shutter choices included black, blue, green, and burgundy. We chose black because we thought it looked sharp with the gray brick:

We also chose a black roof and a black front door:

We decided that we wanted a patio rather than a deck. The deck at our house in North Carolina had split in multiple places despite sealing it (though admittedly¸we had sealed it later than we should have). We also found that we didn’t use it much. We thought a patio might suit us better. We envision using it more once we get some patio furniture. We upgraded to brick (rather than wood) stairs leading down to the patio for a more cohesive look.

Fences in our neighborhood are required to be made of powder-coated aluminum per the home owner’s association, and we definitely wanted one built for our dog Libby (and James, who we adopted about a month before closing). Here’s what the fence looks like:

We requested two gates, one at the side of the house nearest the driveway and one leading out to the common area:

And these were just the selections for the exterior of the house! Next we begin to examine the options for the interior of our home.