This is my little family below! Aren't they cute? My husband, Zack, and our daughter, Paisley.
We are currently building our first home which is quite the
The wonderful Samantha is letting me sponsor her this month as well as guest posting. So today, I thought I would share with you five ways we are saving money during this whole process. Sound good?
1. Metal. That's right metal. Since this is our first home we decided to build a metal home instead of brick, siding, etc. A lot of people call it a "barn" which is funny but little do they know it is what is on the inside that counts. The only difference our home will have from your "standard American home" will be the exterior walls. The walls, rooms, etc. on the inside will be built just as if you would build any other home. Of course you can always add rock and brick later to the outside like in the photo below.
Photo Credits
2. Flooring. If you live in Oklahoma you are blessed with allergies. Allergies that never leave. EVER. It's not awesome at all but it's life. Carpet, in my opinion, is THE WORST thing to have in a home for bad allergies. They reside and thrive in carpet. I love carpet but honestly it just isn't ever really clean. Plus with a one year old I am just asking for stains. I also love wood but to do that and tile throughout our whole home would cost us a little over $20,000. So, obviously that wasn't in my budget. The first time I saw stained concrete in a home I immediately fell in love. It was gorgeous, they are easy to keep clean, and it is totally a DIY project. The good thing about it too is that you don't have to stick with the same stain for all of the rooms. Behr offers a wide variety of colors to choose from. We save even a few more thousand dollars by staining the floors ourselves.Photo Credits
3. Insulation: Something I never would have thought about until my Dad approached me about it. We are going to use spray on insulation. It is a little more expensive but in the long run will save us money! We thought about going with Icynene and here are a few benefits that it provides:Photo Credits
Up to 50% possible savings on heating and cooling costs.Greater indoor air quality. Improved protection against allergens and pollutants.Noise reduction.Moisture management.***All information from Icynene.So who wouldn't want that?
4. DIY Projects: This is where the amazing world of Pinterest comes in! The new home if obviously going to be a lot larger than our previous home so we aren't going to have much furniture to occupy our space. It is amazing how much things like a headboard and kitchen table can cost! This is where the hubby participates in my honey-do list. ;) Pictures and links below are a couple of things that we will be making for our home.
Farmhouse Table Photo Credits
DIY Headboard Photo Credits
5. Painting: I hate it. And most people have someone paint their new house for them because they hate it too and it will look more professional. It's messy, it takes awhile, and lets face it-hard work! BUT it is amazing at how much painters charge! I could totally decorate my house for what they want to charge me. So, a big money saver is: paint it yourself. Or do what I am going to do-host a paint party. Free meal {or two} for helping Zack and I paint. Any takers? It will get done faster and you will have more fun doing it.Photo Credits
Also, I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to participate in my little giveaway I LOVE Target a little too much and wanted to share a little love with one special reader! I get a lot of things for our home from there and I will be giving away one $25.00 gift card. Enter the Rafflecopter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Winner will be verified so please enter honestly.Open to US residents only.Winner will be mailed gift card with delivery conformation.
I will contact the winner via email within 48 hours after the drawing. Thanks in advance for supporting and following my blog! :)
Special thank you to Samantha for letting me guest post on her blog today! I hope you enjoyed. :)