Fireplaces...Foyer...And More

#12 - When we bought our existing house we were thrilled that it had a wood burning fireplace.  Thrilled until we realized it was a lot of work just to get a fire going and then you had to keep a constant eye on it to keep it going...needless to say we rarely had a fire burning.  When we remodeled our family room and kitchen we put a propane tank outside the house and converted it to a gas fireplace and now when it's a little chilly we just flip it on and instant fire.  So, that said, one of the requirements for a new house was to have a fireplace in our family room...almost all Ryan Homes models have that option...we were thrilled...when we were walking thru the Avalon model and got to the basement and discovered that there was a georgous stone fireplace there...well lets just say it took our breath away.  For our family room we went with a formal look with white mantel and black granite surround and hearth.  For the basement we went with the Bucks County ledgestone and we love the fact that the mantel is a big piece of stone.  This area will have to love seats and an ottoman for a nice cozy reading area.

#11 - Grand Foyer - Our first house you walked thru the front door right into our family room.  Our current house you walk thru the front door with the closed in stairs right in front of you and hallway to the back of the house.  We will now have a real foyer to walk into...A Grand Foyer!!!  We love that the steps are off to one side of the foyer.  We are thrilled that we went with the upgraded stairs...thanks to our sales rep for explaining why we really should make that upgrade.  The stain on the stairs and banisters looks fantastic and we love the look of the turned banister at the base of the stairs.  We LOVE the windows surrounding the front door and the huge window above that with all the trim work around it on the outside.  As you know, one of our favorite pictures is the foyer from the second floor hallway.


#10 - Collaboration - Huh...what does that have to do with a feature of a new Home...collaboration is what is making our house into such a wonderful Home....My wife and I collaborated with our sales rep who collaborated with the Main Office and our PM who collaborated with all the suppliers and contractors and worker bees and us to make this house into what it is going to be.  Without that collaboration it would just not be the same...but I must say, the collaboration from all of our eFamily has been huge as well...we got many, many, many ideas from all of you and hopefully you will be able to see those little pieces in our wonderful Avalon.


#9 - Community & Neighbors - The area we live in is just that...an AREA.  From the beginning our neighbors have welcomed us in.  We have had the wonderful pleasure of meeting almost everyone in our cluster of homes.  This new neighborhood is part of a larger community which has the feel of small town USA...with community events(parades, crab feasts, music festivals,etc) happening all the time.  We are sooo looking forward to being part of an active community again and not just living in an AREA.