We were out driving around today, first going to a BWW in Clermont (free of tourism), and then to the Home Depot there. It's actually not crazy far for us, and it's always interesting to go to a part of Florida that's actually hilly! In any case, we were at the Home Depot to get a fan for our patio, and a few replacement lights for downstairs, as the default $10 builder specials were starting to get on my nerves.
On the way home, we drove by the new school where Simon will go in the fall, and then through the Hamlin Groves development. It's the one next to us, but it's also where the "town center" concept will be for Horizon West, the special planning district here in the most western part of Orange County. It was literally all abandoned orange groves a year ago, but the build-out has begun.
We stopped to look at some new "urban cottages" going up there, built by Taylor Morrison. We've driven by them a few times, and we were intrigued because they feature detached garages with a covered walkway, and they have an option for an in-law suite above the garage. All of the floor plans have this amazing, lots of windows section in the middle where you can look down from the upstairs. Really beautiful, ranging from 1,800 to 2,500 square feet, and kind of a cross between townhomes and regular single-family houses. They're the most sensible units ever. If that weren't enough, they're going to be walking distance from the retail there, including the grocery store. For reference, this is the thing we loved about our spot in Snoqualmie.
I'm not gonna lie, because of the walkability, the one thing we lack now, and couldn't find in Horizon West when we started looking two years ago, it's fantastic. They've sold 20 units in 12 weeks, and I can totally see why.
Now, dialing back my enthusiasm a little, the idea of moving again, and trying to sell this house, makes me cringe (mind you, our house "new" right now is priced about $30k higher than it was when we bought it). Also, part of our enthusiasm comes from the fact that the designers and home stagers do a pretty amazing job and fill us with ideas. We're not happy with our design decisions either, though much of that was a function of budget, which we already went over.
Logically, what I think we're really after is decorating our own house, which frankly we haven't really done. We have furniture that we mostly already had. Half the house isn't painted at all. Our secondary bathroom and half-bath are all standard and uninteresting. The kitchen could benefit from a backsplash. I don't think we'll revisit flooring until we destroy some of the carpet we have, but there are ideas there too. Some things we can't change, like the size and placement of windows (and wow, one of those cottages had a three-pane sliding door that was amazeballs).
At risk of sounding uppity, I think we might have to consider consulting a professional decorator. I know I'm sure as hell not creative enough to figure it out on my own.
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