After securing our patch of land, the hunt was on to find which builder we would get into bed with. After spending countless hours surfing the internet over countless bottles of wine we were adamant we were to build with Carlisle Homes - we had even chosen the home we wanted to build (without even having set foot out of our living room, red wines still in hand - the effects of a good drop of vino, right?)
That weekend, we continued our hunt (completely sober), popped the cherry and broke our display home village virginity.
It felt really good.
However, you know that feeling when you're alcohol intoxication leads you to sleep with someone you think (at the time) is a 10, then you wake up next to them in the morning and they're barely a 5? well, that's how we felt about Carlisle Homes. Ok, ok, they weren't that bad - but we found that their floor plans weren't in line with our vision. We then went onto view display homes for Porter Davis, Henley, Metricon and JG King who really impressed, but given their big ticket asking price (mainly due to their steel frames) we were yet again back to square one and back on the hunt.
And then we waled into a Boutique display home in Cranbourne East... There were fireworks, sweaty palms, euphoria - it was love at first sight. The architectural facade drew us inside, it was intoxicating.
Her name, The Barcelona.
Because Jamie and I don't have functioning ovaries, we don't plan on having children any time soon. Basic biology tells us that two sausages don't make a baby. Our little fur-ball Cavoodle Bella sufficiently satisfies the craving to have messy, loud, obnoxious children... for now ;)
With this in mind, we decided on the 22 square Barcelona - a humble three bedroom plus study beauty.
The selling point was the openness of the floor plan. The spaces interconnected with each other with such flow and ease - just seamless. The kitchen was a delicious experience - the walk-in Butler's Pantry, an absolute dream! The sheer length of the kitchen bench in addition to the length of the walk-in butler's pantry was incredibly generous. And given my Filipino heritage, will cater for the massive banquets I will be catering to feed our extended family and friends.
We were lucky enough to sign our PWC whilst Boutique was running their "Entertainer's Promotion" which would provide us with a plethora of kitchen upgrades - and this amongst other stand-out features of the home really solidified our decision.
We also loved the fact that the Ensuite to the Master Bedroom was a seperate space. We'd seen so many many display homes with floor plans where the Ensuite/Master Bedroom shared the one space with just a bulkhead to distinguish between the two spaces. Like, really?
So, after having fallen in love with the Barcelona, we found ourselves practically sprawling all over the sales consultants desk, wallets open and shirts unbuttoned.
We're were getting into bed with Boutique Homes.
Sign us up.
