The Fun Times Guide To Homebuilding reader (Deb) wrote in not long ago wondering if I had a few more interior photos of the Frank Betz Palmdale craftsman house plan that I mentioned in my March 2008 post featuring a subdivision named Summerlyn.

The answer, of course, is yes...lots of them.

Deb...sit back and gather some ideas for your homebuilding project. This post is with you in mind.

 

In general, I find pantries and walk-in closets in new homes somewhat boring. In most new homes they tend to be strictly utilitarian and have little, if any, character and that's just fine for the average homebuyer. We were looking at some homes recently that had closet space, seemingly, everywhere you looked. There was nothing spectacular about the closets themselves, just that there were many of them within each home...with the exception of the walk-in closet within the walk-in closet in the Devonshire plan in Blackberry Run.

Seven Hills Master Planned Community

The homes are located in the Blackberry Run section of Seven Hills subdivision and it is a master-planned Cousins Properties community in northeast Paulding County, Georgia. My understanding is that there will be upwards of 2800+ homes spread out over 2000 acres and prices will range from the $170's - $600's, a wide range indeed. There are several sections in this huge subdivision, located just a couple miles north of our home, that will definitely have to be explored in the coming weeks, months or even years by the looks of the GIGANTIC size of the master plan. Seven Hills is "built out" about a quarter of the way so I've got plenty to look at for awhile.

The homes we looked at in the Blackberry Run section were Lots 332: The North Hampton, 290: The Courtland & 291: The Devonshire. Open this link and scroll down to see more info on the homes we looked at.

You need a checklist when building your new home. I've compiled my own personal list, although it is constantly in a state of change, and, below you'll find links to useful resources containing new homebuilding checklists.

New Homebuilding Checklist Links

Say Build

Ask The Builder

Home Construction Sequence Guide from Magellan

Sound Home Resource Center

A Building and Remodeling Checklist

Repair Home website Checklist

Our Family Place

A multi-use site featuring House Buying Checklists AND Homebuilding checklists

Quick Homebuilding Checklist

An open floor plan in a new home is like a breath of fresh air. The home that we looked into at The Park at Anderson Farm in Marietta falls into the open floor plan category. The homes in this neighborhood start at $750,000 with lots that list for $200,000+ an acre. This home is a spacious floor plan that made us want to pack up and move on in. It's a gated community of European and cottage style homes and is very close to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park and historic downtown Marietta, GA. This home has 5 br/4.5 ba with the Master Retreat on the main, vaulted keeping room with fireplace, study, family room, formal dining room, walk-in pantry and media room. The home lists for $989,000. It has a great view of the mountain as you drive into the neighborhood. It is prime property in an area of Marietta that I see new homes popping up where you previously didn't think land (to build on) existed, until you saw the bulldozers.