His and Her Top Ten Things Learned in the Selections Process

Julie, an Ideal Homes employee, is sharing her experience of building a new Ideal Home. You can read her previous posts here:Post 1: Our New Home - The First StepPost 2: Designing Our Home - A Female and a Male Perspective My husband and I had our big Selections Meeting last week and decided to make a list of all the things we learned from the process. We each wrote our top 10 lists without reading our spouse's list. It's funny how they coincided. Top Ten Things She learned in the Selection Center 1) There are a lot of different shades of white, and I never knew how picky I could be about choosing the right one for my cabinet color. 2) You can be flying through the decision making process when something suddenly trips you up (aka the tub tile surround). 3) My husband and I have similar tastes (or my husband just nods and agrees to whatever I like). Either way it worked out for the best. 4) My husband primarily cares about the garage and the exterior of the home. These were the only areas where he had strong opinions and a list of wants. 5) Four hours go by quickly when you're making a lot of decisions. 6) After you're finished, you may drive your husband crazy with all the second guessing. Should we have splurged on this or that? Maybe I should have chosen another style? Did I choose the right shade of white? 7) You might even send your selections coordinator a few middle of the night emails saying that you think you've picked the wrong thing. 8) The selections coordinator then will tell you this is a normal part of the process and to get a hold of yourself (not really - they're all much too nice to say that). 9) There are a lot of options and your home will definitely end up being one-of-a-kind. 10) You'll walk away from the process being even more excited about your home than when you started. This is the point when you can really envision what it's going to be like to live in your home. Top Ten Things He learned in the Selection Center 1) Don't try to be a design hero. Julie and Melody pretty much had everything figured out. I saw one thing that clashed and it led us down a dark road of indecision. (aka the tub tile surround) 2) They have a small refrigerator near the front of the building. This came in handy. 3) Four hours to make selections is pretty short when you get down and dirty with the process. 4) For guys, it is better if you leave all the decorating up to your wife or S/O. This is like the wedding day times ten. They are kitting out their Barbie dream house. It's best not to get in the way. 5) Provide your input. I have certain request with electrical and other features that deal nothing with Julie's plans. These are simply to make my life easy. So feel free to voice up and get a few things to help you out in the future. 6) Leave the kids at home. Although they have a play area, this was a great way to spend some time with your spouse. 7) Plan ahead. The more Julie and I planned ahead of this thing the easier our choices became. 8) Lean on your design coordinator. This wasn't Melody's first rodeo. We told her up front if we were making any poor life decisions to stop us. She was great when it came to coordinating all the colors and options we had. 9) Don't rush the process. Building a house takes a while so don't get in a hurry to move to the next step. Savor the flavor. 10) Leave happy. You can walk out of the Selection Center excited, knowing you've just started the process to building a new home. Here's a photo of Julie and Melody making the all-important decision on the white paint color: