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Modern in Granbury, TX - Part I
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Last August my wife and I decided to buy a house in the DFW area in preparation for our transition from the Navy to civilian life. We are currently stationed in Guam, and this has made this task even more difficult to accomplish. After an exhaustive search of homes currently on the market, we were frustrated to find that the only homes readily available were traditional, tract-style, suburban homes (aka "McMansions"). This was definitely not the style of home we wanted . . . even if this was to be our first home. I was not about to settle. I am a huge admirer of modern homes, especially mid-century modern homes designed by Richard Neutra, Pierre Koenig, etc. So, my wife and I decided that we would find land and have a modern home built. Sounds easy, right? Not quite. It took us almost 3 months of looking at properties until we found the right one (with the assistance of my mom!). Anyway, we purchased a 2 acre piece of land located in my hometown of Granbury, TX, ~ 25 miles from Fort Worth. The next challenge was finding someone to design our home!
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Builder
My wife and I already have a builder out of Fort Worth, but thank you for the offer. I will be posting some images of our land this evening.
Way to go...
I envy what must be your tremendous monetary commitment to the ideal of living modern in a sadly unoriginal part of the country. I mean no offense to those of us who live in the DFW area and strive to break away from the McMansion mold, but, it's just so depressing when you look at every.single.development. that goes up is a cookie-cutter, cheaply built, glorified tract house.
I had plans like you of buying a plot and building, but, sadly, I lacked the necessary funds for such an endeavor, so I had to give in and buy and older 80's home that I am currently in the process of what I call "Operation: Modern on the Inside" I'm redoing as much as I can within my meager budget. Hopefully, I can make a mark on this property that others will see and appreciate.
Once again, great job and I wish you luck. Hope to see some pics as the construction progresses!
-Neil
Building a modern home in Texas
- Luckily for us our land is 2 acres. There are only a handful of homes in the development already. We are trying to design a home that will have a modern look, but fit in (and not distract) with the other homes in the development. On the monetary side
- it is quite a leap to build your own home (modern or traditional). The whole process has been very smooth to this point. I attribute much of this to our architect, Jon Delcambre, and our builder, Don Ferrier. They have made it much easier, especially for us being overseas. We are really excited about the whole project.
Don't give up!
You're VERY lucky having chosen TX. It seems to me that 1/3 of the modern styled homes you see in US arch mags are from TX. If you look in the regional forums, you'll notice which has the most traffic.
If you think you have it hard, try MI or anywhere else in the midwest. I have the added luck of building in the city with the most DIFFICULT zoning/building board/group in MI.
Your weather, your cost of living, the likely cheaper labor cost down there... be glad you're not in LA or NY.
Since I plan to be my own GC, one strategy I learned thru my research was that most all SIP providers (my house will be SIP) were one time custom builders. Most in my neck of the woods are perfectly willing to erect the "shell" for you and let you do the rest.
Good luck
SIPS
Thanks for the positive comments. We are also using SIPS for our home (exterior walls, roof). Good luck with your project!
Designer/Builder
I live in Dallas have a design/build construction company if you are interested in hearing more please email me.
info@coleconstructiongroup.com
Now lets see some pics of the land so we can all have an idea of what it looks like.