2009 Parade of Homes

Today, we went out to the Parade of Homes to look at some houses with Abby, Mark, Eugene and Lindsay. We're not in the market yet for a house, but we figured we would go and see what's available, since the Parade of Homes only occurs once a year. We look at a look at several builders, subdivisions and homes and it has given us some insight on the home buying process. Here's what we learned today...

1. Looking at homes is exhausting, especially in 100 degree weather.

2. After a while, all the homes start looking the same.

3. You can definitely notice the difference in the quality of the materials used by each builder.

4. Guest bedroom closets are starting to become walk-in closets. Some were nearly as large as the master walk-in closet - Crazy! I don't understand this at all.

5. The new trend: Connect the laundry room and the master bedroom closet together - At first I thought this trend was stupid until Andrew and our friends started to show me the usefulness of this feature. When I saw this in a house, all I could keep on thinking about is the washer and dryer keeping me awake. Is that bad??? After some consideration, I take back my initial thought and I definitely see how useful it would be. Pretty smart feature after all!

6. No one likes smooth walls. Everything is textured...Grrr! The only builder that likes smooth walls seems to be PMC Homes.

Here are a few pictures from the tour.

We loved this house in Millicent Ponds. It was built by PMC Homes.

We loved the patio at the front of the house.

The chocolate walls were so unique.

The formal living room.

I would be such a happy camper with this kitchen. It's perfect!

The living room. I love the size of this room, as well as the stone fireplace. The neat thing about this fireplace is that it goes to the outside as well.

The game room.

The master bedroom.

The mud-room - one of my favorite rooms.

A laundry/craft room!! They had me sold on this house when I saw this :).

The patio

Here are some pictures of features that we liked from other houses.

Gotta love these lamps.

I was in heaven when I saw this closet. A place for my shoes, plus a mirror :).

I love the storage area underneath these window seats. Great use of space!

Another game room. It was huge! I'm pretty sure that this was in one of the Shaw homes.

Another game room. The think that I liked about this one was the high ceilings.

I loved the formation of the his/her sinks. Very different!

A built-in bookshelf. My books would have a home :).

I loved the outside "look and feel" of this home.

I ADORE corner stone fireplaces. I would love to have a fireplace like this.

We still have several months before we are serious about buying a home, but the Parade of Homes has given us a great idea on what floor plans we like, as well as what part of town we would like to live in.

What does our future hold? I guess only time will tell.

-N