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I love this house even more than the 2012 dream home. It seems a lot more open and spacious. I love the art room, how creative! What is your favorite room?

I like it all

I love the open floorplan! My favorite "room" is either the kitchen or all the outdoor living space! That deck is so huge and the grill, table, etc. are perfect!

The entire main floor has my attention.

The geiorgia room and the craft area are pretty neat.

More than one!!! Love the kitchen > dining > living

I have been following cream and green house for about 3 years, and I think this is my favorite house so far. I said the craft room was my favorite but now I'm thinking its the georgia room. I showed my fiance the house and he said that if we win he gets the georgia room. NO way is he getting the georgia room to himself, lol. and the retreat room is nice LOVE IT

My favorite room is the garage.
(Scene number 3333, from the movie, "Life on the Farm", starring The Pink Panther.)

Take 20:
"Dear, where did you park zee car, our beloved Jimmy...up in the garage or down on le Rue?"
"I don't remember...look down onto le Rue, my darling."
"Eet is not on there, my love. But, not to worry, I will bring eet down to you."
(sound of french slippers scurrying up a dozen steps to the garage in the Georgia night rain...)
"Hoh! sacre blu, thees is a montagne! And I am soaked to the skin!"
(drives the truck through the neighborhood to reach the front yard.)
"Dear Monique, here ees Jimmy." I think we will leave her on the street from now on,
and use the garage for storage, oui?"
(sound heard from a pedestrian with a Brit accent who is walking by...)
"Brilliant!"

This message has been edited. Last edited by: TangoW,

very cute Tango

my favorite room is the kids room - my twins would love to share that room - and the alone time space on time is brillant for kids! love the colors too

I took the home tour this past weekend. I have two favorites, I think.

Maybe it's just the geek in me, but I liked the hallway upstairs that's a study area. I could see setting my computer up there, being able to look out onto the back lot and trees. I was very fortunate in that I spaced myself right during the tour and was able to get some "people-free" shots in some of the rooms.

Pic:


My second favorite would actually be the guest room. I have to be honest, while the master bath was really nice, I didn't really get wowed by the way the Master Bedroom was done up (the striped walls would make me go ugh)- the guest room seemed more relaxing to me.

Pic:



Here's a tip if you're able to get down here to take the tour, too: If you don't want to prepay for the tickets, and are a weekend visitor, show up EARLY on a Sunday, "pre church crowd". Tours start at 11am and there are up to 20 people per tour, once every 30 minutes. We showed up right at 11am and BARELY made it on the next tour list 30 minutes later. When we were coming out, there was already a 3-4+ hour wait for those walking up. Get early, or plan on leaving your name and just walking around Serenbe while you're waiting for your time slot to come up.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Greg 30127,

thanks, Greg for making this MB lots of fun and interesting.

Other visitors---please join in.
shoeshineboy

wow greg. that's awesome you got to tour the home, and your pictures are great. Do you live in that area or did you specifically make a trip to go see the house?
I love painting and that craft area would be a nice place to do it.
I was looking at the other green houses before this one and this is definitely the best so far in my opinion. its seems a lot more open and free.

quote:

Originally posted by purifiedwater:
wow greg. that's awesome you got to tour the home, and your pictures are great. Do you live in that area or did you specifically make a trip to go see the house?

Thanks for the comments.

I live about an hour North of the Green Home near a town called Powder Springs, just West of Atlanta. It really wasn't bad getting down there. We avoided the Interstates as there's almost always work going on the weekends on them and took the back roads down there - it's almost a straight line South of where I live, only there are numerous small turns to make. Only got lost once (maybe twice). It's definitely OUT THERE in the sticks even compared to me. I like the community of Serenbe a lot and it's pretty self contained, but after leaving we drove A LOT of miles before we saw a grocery store or even a gas station. I'm sure there were some around (maybe), but it did seem country.

Here's another shot - this one of the Kitchen. I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to get one with no people in it - there was one woman who put her face down near the countertops to look at the recycled glass pieces in it and just stayed there... staring... for like 5 minutes. I was afraid she died! LOL.

Side view of the home and part of the lot...




Sorry - it's kind of dark. I just quickly adjusted these for online sharing so they're not OCD perfect. There were thunderstorms that just BARELY missed us a few times there during the day, too - one was just about on us when I took this and it got dark quick. I was standing next to a whole long line of landscape Ivy and all I could think about was, "Snakes... Snakes.... SNAKES!" (can you tell I don't like Snakes? LOL).

This view gives a good one of the passive solar panels on the roof, as well as the ventilation at the top of the house that you can control with a remote control. All of the other windows crank open too, so I would guess in the Autumn if you open everything, with the cross ventilation going on, the house might be extremely comfortable w/o using the air conditioning.
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This message has been edited. Last edited by: Greg 30127,

nice pics, greg! did you get a peek at the unfinished/unfurnished rooms on the entrance level? what are they like?

quote:

Originally posted by 22petite:
nice pics, greg! did you get a peek at the unfinished/unfurnished rooms on the entrance level? what are they like?

No, I didn't. Initially, they shuffle everyone in the tour group into that entrance hallway and it's very tight since there are up to 20 people per group, and everyone's trying to fit those tiny shoe bootie things on their feet. There was a guide there (there are people in several of the rooms to answer questions) and she was pretty much shuffling people up the stairs to the main living level as soon as folks were ready.

From what little I saw, the entrance area was a mud hallway type of setup with places to hang things, a small storage dresser, and a couple of doors that led to (?) behind that gal. So I didn't get to see those.

Thanks for more pictures Greg. That kitchen is beautiful. Good thing I like the country, lol. But I do hate snakes... I love how open everything looks and all the outdoor rooms. when you were in there did it seem like as open as the pictures make it look?

Greg, thank you for your observations on the tour and the additional pics.

Favorite room: All above the foundation should cover it.

quote:

Originally posted by purifiedwater:
I love how open everything looks and all the outdoor rooms. when you were in there did it seem like as open as the pictures make it look?

In all honesty which I've probably said this already, the rooms overall are very small (by American standards). All of the bedrooms are too small to comfortably fit a king-sized bed (they all had Queen sized ones in the showing). Really the only "open" room that felt roomy, was the main living/dining/kitchen room. I mean, it's a nice house - it's just if someone is the type of person who wants one of those 18x20 ft Master bedrooms - they're not going to dig this place.

Was finding time to adjust more pics I took, so here's one of the main room I just mentioned:




I'm going to say this, though - I didn't dislike any of the rooms in the place overall.... except ONE. This was I think a half bath on the main level, and I gotta say, whoever came up with the idea of a window 10 inches from where you're sitting, at the same level as your rear end.. well...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Greg 30127,

Greg, I had not seen this pic. I did note the lowest window does not have a means to open it. Only the middle window. The three windows were obviously for appearance from the outside. Good thing there is a window cover for each window. Quite sure the homeowner will keep those roman blinds down. Thanks for pointing this room out.

humbleshoeshineboy, take 21

The Green and Dream Homes are concept/idea homes. The Green venue this year is: living more outside, opening up the inside and allowing the passage of air up through the third floor openings and cupola for ventilation.
The 2012 4000 square foot dream home/lot was appx $1.3 Million.
This 2012 2300 square foot green home/lot is appx $500K---
$325 per sq foot for the dream, versus $230 for the green.
Building "up" instead of out is one way to make square foot costs cheaper. It appears to have worked in this Green Home.
But there is the issue of living in small rooms in the Georgia climate in which the reality is, "living-in will be two thirds of the total time, living-out will be one third. This very hot and humid climate is often prolonged, and, frosty, wet and/or cold is a ninety day tour in winter. Help me out...is there a fireplace in this home? Why not?
GA residents dash for the Florida panhandle in summer, more than winter.
The designer stated he tried to achieve a feeling of a 4000 square foot home with this 2300 square foot home design. I think he achieved a lot. The interior design was well thought out and gets the hssb seal of approval
Can you stand the three level dwelling concept? (disregard the goofy garage location)
Three level may be the coming thing.

quote:

Originally posted by TangoW:
humbleshoeshineboy, take 21


But there is the issue of living in small rooms in the Georgia climate in which the reality is, "living-in will be two thirds of the total time, living-out will be one third. This very hot and humid climate is often prolonged, and, frosty, wet and/or cold is a ninety day tour in winter. Help me out...is there a fireplace in this home? Why not?

To answer a couple of your things here....

This is ONE fireplace that I saw in the house. It's in the sitting room that's off from the patio that's just outside of the dining room area. Here it is...




Regarding "outdoor living" and how it relates to this home: Well, I dunno. You're in a heavily wooded area (Mosquitoes) on a sloped lot, covered with pine straw and stack stone (Snakes), in a high head/humidity area of the country. Here is the shot I took of the outdoor sitting area that's just outside for the main living room sliding doors - as you can see, it's a small flat area with some seating which is nice, but not huge for outdoor living....



And here is the small seating area that's off of the Master Bedroom sliding door area, really just a few feet away from the area above. The steps belong to the dog house, which you probably wouldn't use for as I said, it's a hilly lot with no fences, so really it's a decorator's thing, not a practical thing...





And please forgive me, as I really hate hate HATE to sound paranoid and harp on this, but honestly, Copperheads are not uncommon in this area; so far this year alone I think they said there have been over 190 Copperhead bites in the metro area being treated in the hospitals, which is getting close to breaking a record of 200 for the entire Spring/Summer a couple of years ago - and we're just a couple of months into the season. The hilly, wooded, pine-strawed lot with stack stone everywhere is a Snake heaven. I honestly could not see myself opening up the many sliding doors throughout this home to allow the air in - unless I wanted some uninvited visitor to walk in with it (even without Snakes, Raccoons, Opossums, and other critters abound in this type of environment). All of the windows however, are set up perfectly for cross ventilation.

As I said before, I'm not going to refuse the house should I win it. And most of it is nice. But after having toured it, I can see where some of it really is more designish instead of practical, and I would not consider it to be "outdoor living" in it's environment, though you can get good breezes in it. And yes, they should probably have included one more fireplace in the main living area.
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This message has been edited. Last edited by: Greg 30127,

Great stuff, Greg. Thanks, too, for the fire place location. It has been said here before, doing something different each year does produce enigmas. It's a hoot.
btw...the chairs located as they are, doubled up in front of the fireplace? The decorator fell out of the car, the sponsor of the furniture fell in.
But, the fireplace is a plus to the house. It appears I am painting a sympathy flag for Linda.

quote:

Originally posted by TangoW:
Great stuff, Greg. Thanks, too, for the fire place location.
btw...the chairs located as they are, doubled up in front of the fireplace? The decorator fell out of the car, the sponsor of the furniture fell in.

Well, across from the two chairs you have a small L-shaped sofa and table, so I guess their intent was that the chairs were part of a conversation grouping area. Due to the sliding doors that go out to the patio and another set, I guess it's hard to place furniture in that small room.

Personally, those two chairs are gonna go if I win the house - I'd just as soon sit in the sofa and watch the fireplace that way.

Thanks Grg for all the pictures and added thoughts. I wish I could tour, but just a little to far away. I was fortunate to tour the Sonoma Dream home, but no others.We purchased our tickets ahead of time, so no time conflicts

wow greg, I didn't even think about all the wildlife you might let into your house if you kept everything open. I've never been to Geogia, but from what everyone's explained it sounds like all that outside space probably wont be utilized very often, I'm pretty blessed to have San Diego weather. They should make a house here.

Thanks for all your pictures and insights on how small the rooms actually are. I guess they did fit a lot of rooms into the house. They could have used their space for bigger rooms instead of more rooms. But from the pictures I still love those little rooms like the georgia and retreat room that aren't actually needed in the house.

I think the idea of this year was to build "up" to save on costs, and as such, the rooms could only be so big otherwise it wouldn't have turned out to have as many rooms as it does. Remember, even though there are lots of rooms it's only a 3BR home, essentially. But you have that hallway upstairs for homework stuff, a fairly decent sized laundry room upstairs, etc. They probably could have knocked out one of those family room downstairs and converted it into another bedroom, though - three family/gathering rooms might have been one too many.

If they ever build a Dream or Green home in San Diego, you can bet it's going to be a small home... realty in your area is VERY high compared to many other places. Remember, Atlanta's realty market completely tanked during the recession because that was so overbuilt and over done here right before everything hit - we have areas in the metro here now where homes that were once $750,000 are selling for $399,000 OR LESS currently. A friend of mine who had a typical 3BR/2BA ranch home worth $195,000 not long ago, recently discovered it's now worth $129,000 if that, currently. Places like San Fran, San Diego, NYC etc., were hit like everywhere, but not as much, and building new stuff in those areas still costs a lot.

The Green Home here is valued in the neighborhood of the $600's without the furnishings, but I asked a Realtor I know about it and she said it "might" get around $500,000 if someone knew how to market it right (minus furniture) in the local market. If it were in the more convenient and nicer North metro side, it would get more. One bit of info I haven't been able to find out is how much association/community fees are per month in Serenbe. I know there HAS to be some sort of system set up for it there, as the underground utilities and extensive natural landscaping and all of that costs **** to keep the way it is.

I could almost see them doing an Urban Oasis giveaway in San Diego, though - condos are cheaper everywhere just about nowadays.
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This message has been edited. Last edited by: Greg 30127,

HOA fees for the green home will be around $828 according to the serenbe website.

http://www.serenbecommunity.com/hoa.html

quote:

Originally posted by Greg 30127:

...I asked a Realtor I know about it and she said it "might" get around $500,000 if someone knew how to market it right (minus furniture) in the local market.
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Linda made a remark that she loved the interior before the decor was placed in it. That speaks to proportion and style in the design. She likely had no say in the final approval of this home's footprint by those whose size 3AAA shoes were left in the cement, but whose Wellingtons are well-worn. Such a Green play on warts.
It's a national showcase. She darted the board. We take what we like and save the rest in the garage.

wow, that's a huge HOA fee. I just realized the outside couches in Gregs picture are white or whitish fabric. Whoever wins might have to be doing a lot of cushion washing... lol

I checked out the link WRT the fees and it indicated that's an annual fee - sounds extremely reasonable. Incidentally, is the development in that honeymoon period where they artificially hold down fees until most/all of the units sell?

Thanks, Greg. Have really enjoyed all of your photos and comments. Not able to check it out, personally. Thanks for taking the time for all of us -

Thanks for all the good information.

quote:

Originally posted by purifiedwater:
wow, that's a huge HOA fee. I just realized the outside couches in Gregs picture are white or whitish fabric. Whoever wins might have to be doing a lot of cushion washing... lol

Like astroluvr said though, that's the yearly fee, not monthly. I was shocked how low it was after finding that out. I was expecting something like $400-$600 a month for the larger homes considering the amenities in that area, buried utilities/landscaping, and the fact they're going to open a charter school and all of that. I did notice on the HOA site though, that when you buy there, you have to "donate" 10% of the price of the house to their arts center, or something like that.

this from site, serenbecommunity.com/qa.html

Who owns the open/green space and how is it funded?
The open space land will be deeded to a Serenbe land trust, which will be established separately from the HOA. A 1% transfer fee will be assessed on all home sales to fund the land trust and Serenbe Center for Arts and Culture."

Divide that annual fee by 12 and it is just $69.00 a month. Sounds good to me.