BH&G Building a New Home: 5 Important Lessons We Learned From Jill Waage

Today's Inspiration comes from Better Homes and Garden's Style Spotters Jill Waage.

1. The big three: Siding, Roofing, and Stone

We spent days debating between a gray-ish taupe or a beige-ish gray for the siding. Did the stone facing make the taupe siding look too green? Did the gray make the brown stones look too brown? What about the roofing color? Once we put all three side by side, the combination became obvious.

Lesson: Always choose exterior materials at the same time.

 

2. The kitchen Island

Mere inches seem like miles when you’re talking about storage and workspace for an island. First, we had to prioritize: More storage or breakfast bar seating? In the end, we came up with features that gave us both. Although we didn’t want a huge island (How do you reach the center to clean?), we were able to gain more storage by making the layout T-shaped with a raised end cabinet and still had space for plenty of stools.

Lesson: Think outside the box when you’re outfitting the island.

3. Bathroom floorplans

How many times do you think you can re-arrange a bathroom? Well, for the three-and-a-half baths in the house, we went through no less than 10 iterations. And that doesn’t count the pencil sketches or iPad doodles. Or the versions our kitchen and bath designer worked over in her own head before showing to us. However, going through those iterations did get us to a clever arrangement for the master bath that is far from where we started. And allowed innovative bath products to shine—a tub with music, a shower with digital controls, and a really cool way to watch TV.

Lesson: There is more than one way to design a bath. Don’t feel hemmed in by conventional layouts.

 

4. The TV placement in the living room

This could be the most discussed wall in the entire house! With the changes in television sizes and formats, the design of a media wall isn’t the standard proposition that it used to be. We knew we wanted to showcase its spot in today’s family life, so we turned to our designer for help. She came up with a configuration for the TV, fireplace, and shelving that is sleek, balanced, and modern. And feels right at home in the open floorplan.

Lesson: Because electronics will continue to change, think about flexibility. And remember that finishes and paint colors can help integrate a television seamlessly into a room.

5. And the easiest decision? Black cladding for the windows. We loved it in theory and we’re loving it in reality. Some things you just know.

Lesson: Trust your instincts.