From the Ground Up: Designing Your Dream Home
Interior Designer Jodi G. shares her home building experience with LiveAbode
What is it like to design and build your dream home? We are excited to launch a 4-part content series, following interior designer Jodi G. on her journey from design through the building process and completion of her new country home.
Meet Jodi G., a designer from Northern Indiana who recently shared her home design process with Royal® Building Products and LiveAbode. Jodi, her husband and two daughters are excited to complete and move into their “forever” home—which has been a labor of love more than 10 years in the making.
The Inspiration
Long before getting started, Jodi kept a file of design ideas for her dream house for more than a decade. Her inspiration was drawn from a number of places—travel destinations, design websites, magazines and favorite stores such as Anthropologie and Restoration Hardware.
“This home has been the culmination of over a decade of planning—drawing inspiration from favorite projects and scouting trips abroad as well as in the states—primarily California, rural Pennsylvania and the coastal Southeast,” explains Jodi.
Jodi’s top online inspiration sources included:
- Houzz
- Royal® Building Products
- Andersen® Windows
- Restoration Hardware
- Veranda
- Magnolia Market
- ELLE Decor
- Country Living
- Southern Living®
Jodi took photos whenever she found something interesting and began forming an image of the “must-haves” for her new home.
The Design Process
After years of planning and researching, Jodi knew she wanted a traditional Georgian-style country home on the water, with a straightforward layout. She was drawn to a primarily white / neutral color palette for the exterior and interior design.
“I have always loved historical properties and wanted a palette that would resonate and a design which would assimilate with the home’s Midwestern rural setting,” states Jodi.
Other “must-haves”:
- Dormer windows
- Celect@reg; 7″ siding
- Celect® Board and Batten
- Celect® PVC trim and accessories
- Deck and pond outside
- Skylights
Although Jodi and her husband had purchased the property years before, the wheels were finally set into motion in 2015 when they began the build process. As a designer, Jodi had existing relationships with all the vendors and subcontractors that she already knew she wanted to work with, but she offers this advice for those who don’t have existing relationships.
“Hire a great team. Your builder, designer and architect selections are critical. Don’t settle for less than people who make you feel listened to, bring ideas to the table and follow through on commitments. Having the right resources will make all the difference when you hit a snag or two which will inevitably happen in a project as large as building a home dependent on so many variables outside your control,” recommends Jodi.
Overall the design / architecture process took about 6 months and the site prep took a little over a year, in early 2017 they were ready to begin building.
Check back for our next article in March when we will learn more about how Jodi involved her family in the design and building phase for their dream home.