Get a front row seat to our wishlist and how we prepared for the unexpected (budget, pandemic, price inflation..)  by prioritizing our wishlist so the hard conversations didn't have to be had during the hard times. 

As you can see, we did not hold back. Was it all possible with our budget? Absolutely not. Did changes happen through the build? Yes. But not in ways you might think and the changes were easy to make because we were prepared.

Looking at our Priorities, the Most Important items were things that 

1. were high on our list (materials to elude a warm, cozy feeling of home).

2. were the basic building blocks of our home (ie. rooms).
   Note: the square footage was not included because it was not important. We wanted everything to fit and have zero wasted space. The final square footage was what it was.

3. could not be added at a later date without it costing or requiring a substantial renovation (ie. the core building structure).

We managed to get all the items on the Most Important list because that is where we put all our attention, while keeping an eye on our budget. While prices did increase with a higher window and door package, the change to spray-foam insulation and adding a full metal roof, we took from other areas of our budget.

Moving down the list, to Neutral and Least Important, were items that could be added at a later date or excluded altogether. To allow for the increase in our budget ^ we changed our siding from expensive natural wood and stone materials to cost-effective Hardie products. We're also pausing on the built-ins, some of the fun things, and all the landscaping until we have the finances (cash or otherwise) since these items don't require completion to get a final inspection. We did toy with the idea of phasing the master suite 'wing', but after crunching the numbers with our PM, we decided to move forward with it. 

All that said, our plans never changed, only the materials and the timing of completing certain items. In doing so, it gave us everything we wanted the most, without even one argument in the process. Well.. ask us about our railings 😬