HPG-2212-1: The Hampton Avenue

We moved to North Carolina from Idaho in 2010 due to a military permanent change of station. In the military, moves are anything but permanent. We began looking for a house with 4 bedrooms and a bonus, in the fall of 2009.

It was important to us that we had a home that would accommodate a growing family. We currently have 2 year old boy/girl twins, and wanted them to be able to have their own rooms when they got older, and have another bedroom for a nursery for a future child. We also wanted to have a bonus room for out-of-town guests since our family all lives out of state.

It seemed that all the houses on the market were only 3 bedrooms with a bonus, and despite having more square footage than our home in Idaho, they had less usable space, with only a small family room. (Our home in Idaho was a 3 bedroom home, but had a large family room, and small office, and a living room.)

All the 4 bedroom+ homes we saw had only the master on the first floor, and the rest of the bedrooms upstairs. Because we have little ones, we wanted to have the bedrooms on the first floor, with the master on one side of the house and the bedrooms on the other. We finally decided that the best option would be to build a home. Something that we had done in Idaho. With mortgage rates being so low, it was a good time to be able to build.

We began meeting with builders and looked at a few builder spec plans, but did not see what we were looking for. We finally began looking on-line through thousands of plans, and discovered House Plan Gallery's HPG-2400 Morgan Ridge home plan and the HPG-2212 Hampton Avenue home design

Both plans being very similar, offered exactly what we were looking for. The size of the breakfast areas could accommodate a dining room table and hutch which would allow the flex-space to be used as a study. Most people never use their formal dining rooms but once a year, so to us it seemed like a waste of space.

We decided after comparing both plans and costs, that the Hampton Ave was the one for us. We love the exterior with the front bedroom with the bay window and the stone accents. The two covered porches are great for sitting outside and enjoying the evenings.

Thankfully, we found a great builder who did an awesome job building our home and being responsive to all of our requirements. The team over at House Plan Gallery was also very helpful, especially when right before we were to break ground, the building department decided they wanted a reverse set of plans before they would issue the permits.

We had to reverse the plans due to placement of the septic tank on the lot. House Plan Gallery had someone come in on a day off to reverse the plans and got them to us later that same day!

The process of building this home went much smoother than building our first home in Idaho did. The house turned out beautiful and we are very satisfied. The house has plenty of space for our family.

The twins share a room currently, and we use one bedroom as a play room, and the other is an extra guest room that will eventually be turned into a nursery for another child. The bonus room is complete with a bathroom and shower and is perfect when grandparents come to visit, which they do frequently. The kitchen has plenty of counter-space and cabinets.

The Hampton Ave is a great house plan, and we continually get great comments from family, friends and neighbors on how nice the house is. Several neighbors have even told us that this is their favorite house in the neighborhood. (I'm sure thats next to their own!)

We are very thankful and blessed that we could build such a wonderful home!