When the idea of building a home became a reality, my first concern was what style would we agree upon? My husband and I have very strong opinions on decorating our current home and sometimes we don’t always see eye to eye.

As we searched with our realtor to find a builder and a lot, snapping photos of every front door, garage door, windows, trim – you name it – that we liked. The exterior design of a home is so important. I wasn’t looking for anything over the top, just a style that felt like “home” to us.

In the beginning I was drawn to traditional homes made of stone and brick while my husband was drawn to a Nantucket style home. This could be a serious problem.

For some reason the Nantucket style home just didn’t do much for me. All the neighboring homes in the area we are moving have very small porches or none at all. Part of me agreeing to move out of the city was based on a few things. 1. I finally get a yard to plant a garden and 2 – I want a front porch and a swing.

Those are my primary concessions. Yes, there are others…

Thankfully we found an amazing Chicago builder who understood my concerns and promised our home would be beautifully designed however we wanted. Of course my husband’s response was – At what cost?

After seeing so many features that I didn’t want – how was I going to communicate what we did want with the architect? That’s when I turned to Houzz and fell in love with Nantucket homes.

Traditional Exterior by Downers Grove Design-Build Firms Oakley Home Builders

Looking at all these beautiful options, how could we not want to build one? Look at this porch – with a swing!!

Traditional Exterior by Burr Ridge Home Builders Summit Signature Homes, Inc.

Southern girl finally gets a porch and a swing!!

Beach Style Exterior by La Grange Park Architects & Building Designers Fergon Architects, LLC

This particular home was one of the inspiration photos we sent to the architect. We love the detail on the window and for me it was all about that porch. In our original plans there was only one step leading up to the porch.

After seeing this particular photo, we knew our home needed to be elevated. So happy we made that change. You don’t realize how something as simple as adding two steps can dramatically change the look of the front elevation.

Traditional Exterior by Naperville Architects & Building Designers JB Architecture Group, Inc.

Below is the drawing of the front of our new home. It’s difficult to tell in black and white but I’m so excited to see it come to life. We’re in the process of selecting Cabot Stain for the cedar siding.