A Custom Look On A Budget

All homebuyers have a budget. That is just reality. At DH Custom Homes we don’t see this as an obstacle but a challenge. Our challenge is to provide our homebuyers the custom features and luxuries they want and stay within their budget. We did this successfully with the home of Donn & Lucy Streiler. This couple wanted to downsize and had a clear idea of the features they wanted in their new home, features like 10-foot ceilings, wood windows, custom millwork, upgraded flooring, exposed beams, French coffered ceilings and extension to the porch and garage spaces. We started with the Durham floor plan and our approach to accomplishing customization was to focus on the main living areas and find suitable less expensive options in the secondary living areas as you can see below:

In the breakfast/hearth room we incorporated a 10-foot coffered ceiling with simulatedexposed beams that we created through the use of 5/4 inch overlays.   The 10 foot ceilings are also in the kitchen,great room and dining room. The secondary rooms, such as the laundry room, foyer and bedrooms all have 9-foot ceilings, which add a nice architectural feel as you move through the home.

The Streilers wanted a cottage-style home and liked the craftsman style woodwork, including door pediments, baseboards, window casings and sills. To do this throughout the home can be expensive, so again we concentrated on the main rooms and combined traditional colonial door casing and base molding in the other rooms.

Using wood windows throughout the home would not allow us to stay within budget so we used them only in the main living areas and used less expensive vinyl windows in the secondary rooms. Since all windows are vinyl-clad on the exterior it is not noticeable and the homeowners achieved the look they wanted.

The final product was a home the Streilers love. By incorporating some upgraded features only in the main living areas, the homeowners were able to put their budget toward other upgrades like kitchen cabinetry and outdoor living spaces. We enjoyed working with the Streilers and are pleased to be able to give them the home they wanted. To see more of the Streiler home visit our portfolio. And to see the video of the Streilers discussing their experience with DH Custom Homes first hand.