ROAD TRIP AND LOTS NEW MODEL PICS!!!

So as you know we discovered a Victoria falls model out in Rochester. Rochester is about an hour from us so we decided to take a road trip out there and check it out. The Victoria elevation that we went to see is the 'E' while ours is the 'D' so the outside looked a little different but once we got inside it looked really familiar. So this one has all the options and cost about 400k, it was beautiful! check out the pics below and a lot more in the "Model Pictures" tab!

Here's how the day went: We called ahead to let the SR know we were coming and asked if they could print out all of the options that were in the house as well as all the paint colors that where used. The outside of the house being elevation E is bit different than ours but the back is essentially the same. Here's a few pics of the outside and the trek deck on the back.

When we walked into the house from the garage office, we where immediately impressed by the size and openness of the kitchen, family room and morning room space. The kitchen was amazing.... the main cabinets where Rushmore Square Maple Glaze Butterscotch and the island cabinet color was Expresso... a combination that looks a little washed out in pictures we've seen of other kitchens but in real life it looks really striking. The floor was sugar creek cherry and looked great with the cabinets.

Some other first impressions:

- We loved the pendant lights and were so glad we got them last second. - We want to get a fan in the family room.
- We thought this model looked really great without the windows on either side of the fireplace ... maybe we didn't need to get them.
- We thought the two tone cabinets looked so great together... maybe we should've got our cabinets like them.
- We loved that the house was raised up a bit. The first floor is about 5 feet off the ground. Our lot is on a slight hill so we're hoping for at least a few feet of elevation.
- We love the kitchen arrangement with the double oven and cook top and are really glad we got that.


Ok, the next thing we checked out was the staircase, and just like in all the other Victorias we've seen the staircase is a center piece and the upgrading oak staircase with direct steps and balusters looks amazing.

 Next up was the living room which we have converted to an office. we're glad we got the office... but maybe we should have got 4 recessed lights to bring some extra light in there...

the dining room had both of the bump outs and we definitely think ours, which doesn't have any bump outs, is going to be a little undersized. I guess we're ok with it as most of our dining will be in the morning room area. The bump outs would have been nice, we just couldn't justify spending another 7 grand on a room we'll rarely use.

We headed upstairs next. We noticed that the foyer light looked really great and was another upgrade that we wish we had. Walking into the master bedroom we noticed that it was a little narrower than we had expected but not bad. the two closets where nice sized and should give us both plenty of room for all our stuff. One of the closest even has its own window. The master bath looked great too. It would be so much better if they could figure out a way to get rid of that access panel.

Walking across the open hallway to the other bedrooms is a cool experience... the other bed rooms and full bath are pretty standard and basically met our expectations.

 Going back downstairs we headed for the basement. So this is where a lot of money was spent. Just about the entire basement was finished, there was a full bath, large sitting area and a separate theater room that was really awesome with a projection screen and recliner movie chairs. The basement was also an extra foot deep, 9' instead of 8'. they also had several framed windows in the basement that let in a lot of light and made the space look a lot more livable.

Heading back upstairs we checked out the last room, the laundry which is extended. We know we need the extra storage space in the garage but the extended laundry would have been nice. The Rushmore color cabinets were in the laundry room and looked great once again.

Now this Victoria Falls being the model was beautifully decorated. They matched the furniture with the decorations and the paint colors fantastically as they usually do. We can only hope we can do as great a job on our home.... By the way the paint colors you see in all the pics where from Sherman Williams:
1) believable buff
2) Latte
3) Languid Blue

We ended the day with a trip to the local Melting Pop restaurant (our first time) :)