It all began when I got an email sometime in July from our Carlisle Homes sales consultant that there was a mistake in the quote. He said that Amberley 25 should be in our contract as it is the one that actually fits. This got me really worried as we thought that Amberley 27 is the biggest single storey house design that fits our lot given the talk that we had with several builders. We were really wanting to build a bigger house than 27 squares but because of out lot's shape, we can't. If he was saying that only Amberley 25 fits then this means that we will be forced to build a smaller house which is not good at all.
I emailed him back saying that we never considered building Amberley 25 and that he assured us before we bought the land that Amberley 27 fits. I spent most of that night looking at Carlisle's house design catalogue trying to see if there are other house ranges and designs that might fit. My husband thought that Matisse 29,Maison 29 and Winslow 29 might, with some modifications. They are all from Carlisle Homes' Affinity Collection which are considered luxury range. They include a lounge, powder room, spa in ensuite and butler's pantry. We did not consider them before because we thought they were too expensive.
The next morning, our sales consultant confirmed that we can really build Amberley 27 and there was just a confusion in their team. We told him about my sleepless night and the stress he caused me and that I found other house designs that we would love to build considering their design and their extra features and that even if we are building their lower house range, our planned upgrades are similar to the luxury range already. He did some siting plan for us and said that he thinks the Matisse 29 and Winslow 29 are workable but he will need to confirm with his office because the fit was too tight.
My husband and I went to Geelong straight away after the meeting to view Matisse 29, which we didn't like so much. Then, we visited Winslow 29 which I liked, but he didn't. He thinks that for the higher price that we will pay to gain an extra 2 squares for a lounge, spa, butler's pantry and powder room is not worth it because we will lose the spaciousness of the Amberley 27 and the study nook that the kids need. We had a cold war about this for several days!
I stopped all my house design planning activities which he knows has been my obsession and preoccupation since we bought the land. I also started looking at other builders again like Mainvue, but they told me that any of their Amalfi version won't fit our land. Carlisle also updated me that the only way they can fit Winslow 29 to our lot was by cutting its width a little. This was when I've given up on any thought that we can build anything bigger than 27 square single storey house.
And then, I came across Porter Davis and its Advantage range and saw Forsyth, a 35 square house double storey house. We are not really keen on building a double storey house but I like its floor plan and the $238, 900 starting price for double storey house. When our cold war ended, I immediately convinced my husband to come and visit the display house in Mernda and also to have another look at Carlisle's Broadway 27.
The moment we stepped inside Forsyth, we knew that we need to pursue the dream we left behind in our home country and build the house that we have always wanted, our dream home. And so, our pursuit of Forsyth began!
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