Ok, so we didn't go to Rome the city. It was suggested by a friend that we visit a new subdivision called River Oaks. Her family just built there and we were discussing the layouts of our homes. I may have mentioned that if we EVER built again I'd make a few changes. I told her we weren't in the market to build because we currently live in a Ryan Homes Victoria (not to be confused with the Victoria Falls), that was built in 2008. It's a beautiful home with vaulted ceilings and an open foyer. What we didn't know at the time was how much of an energy sucker those pretty ceilings and foyer are. We also never realized how the layout of our home wasn't very functional for our family. I mean, it doesn't really leave much room to grow (not that we plan on growing). I'm not saying it's not a good home, not at all!
A few weeks ago I convinced the hubby to go visit the model home. The model, called the Rome, was absolutely stunning. It doesn't have the grandiose ceilings or foyer that we currently have, but it has charm of it's own. We both looked at each and kept repeating we aren't looking to buy, WE AREN'T LOOKING TO BUY. The sales rep was super nice and gave us some pricing info. We took it home and the wheels started turning. We made a few more visits and asked tons of questions. Then we made the decision to list our current house and relocate to a Rome.
So you may be wondering why we're moving from such a big house to a house that is a smidge smaller. It's easy! There is more usable space. We've selected Elevation E because it has front porch. I"m a sucker for a front porch. That elevation also includes a built in 2 ft bump extension in the loft. The bedrooms are larger and the master bedroom has two large walk-in closets. One of the bedrooms will have it's own bathroom. The kitchen and family room are larger, plus our kitchen will have upgraded appliances and a double oven. We're giving up some square footage by not adding on the morning room, but I'm fine with that. I'm excited about the composite deck that is an upgrade from what we currently have. Staining decks isn't fun y'all. The basement is a little smaller. However, the layout makes more sense to us. Our current basement is huge but awkwardly shaped. We've filled it up with couches and tables because we couldn't figure out what on earth to do with it. We will still have a large unfinished portion for storage. Plus, we're gaining a dedicated exercise room and walkout basement. We have a welled basement now that we hate.
Most importantly, the new neighborhood is smaller and will have less traffic than our current subdivision. We built when our subdivision was new and we're at the front. It quickly grew and so did the traffic. The new neighborhood will have roughly 26 homes and NO HOA (huge bonus for us). The models available there are the Pisa Torre, Venice, Rome (that we LOVE), Carolina Place, and the Corsica.
We're excited about the building process because we'll get to pick every single detail together. The standard features are way better than what was available when we bought before. Fingers crossed our Victoria sells quickly!
A few weeks ago I convinced the hubby to go visit the model home. The model, called the Rome, was absolutely stunning. It doesn't have the grandiose ceilings or foyer that we currently have, but it has charm of it's own. We both looked at each and kept repeating we aren't looking to buy, WE AREN'T LOOKING TO BUY. The sales rep was super nice and gave us some pricing info. We took it home and the wheels started turning. We made a few more visits and asked tons of questions. Then we made the decision to list our current house and relocate to a Rome.
So you may be wondering why we're moving from such a big house to a house that is a smidge smaller. It's easy! There is more usable space. We've selected Elevation E because it has front porch. I"m a sucker for a front porch. That elevation also includes a built in 2 ft bump extension in the loft. The bedrooms are larger and the master bedroom has two large walk-in closets. One of the bedrooms will have it's own bathroom. The kitchen and family room are larger, plus our kitchen will have upgraded appliances and a double oven. We're giving up some square footage by not adding on the morning room, but I'm fine with that. I'm excited about the composite deck that is an upgrade from what we currently have. Staining decks isn't fun y'all. The basement is a little smaller. However, the layout makes more sense to us. Our current basement is huge but awkwardly shaped. We've filled it up with couches and tables because we couldn't figure out what on earth to do with it. We will still have a large unfinished portion for storage. Plus, we're gaining a dedicated exercise room and walkout basement. We have a welled basement now that we hate.
Most importantly, the new neighborhood is smaller and will have less traffic than our current subdivision. We built when our subdivision was new and we're at the front. It quickly grew and so did the traffic. The new neighborhood will have roughly 26 homes and NO HOA (huge bonus for us). The models available there are the Pisa Torre, Venice, Rome (that we LOVE), Carolina Place, and the Corsica.
We're excited about the building process because we'll get to pick every single detail together. The standard features are way better than what was available when we bought before. Fingers crossed our Victoria sells quickly!
Out of all of Ryan Homes the ROME is by far the most functional and practical model to work with and customize. As you mentioned, the usable is amazing which is one of the reasons I fell in love with it. We created a beautiful celebrity closet for myself and a gentlemen's closet, put the double oven on the empty wall etc. check it out on my blog. We loved it but we wanted some wow factor which is why we sold it to buy our preferred layout. You are giving me something to think about with the high ceilings. The house comes with a two story foyer and two story family room. We are considering closing up a portion of the foyer which would require less heating but still keep the integrity of the open foyer. HAVE FUN, TIFFANY!
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