10 Most and Least Used Upgrades in our New Construction Home
After living in our newly constructed custom home in Texas for about 6 months, we thought about the 10 most and 10 least used upgrades we chose during construction. Choosing upgrades can be a major source of anxiety and pressure during the building process. Each upgrade choice comes with a price tag and may require sacrificing other coveted upgrade selections.
After 6 months, we considered whether we made good decisions and made good use of our upgrades or if there were upgrades we should have skipped.
You can also watch our YouTube video to see pictures of some of the things mentioned in this article, and get additional information.
Top 10 Most Used Upgrades After 6 Months in our New Construction Home
1. Motion Switch in our walk-through pantry:
Our pantry is a hallway behind our kitchen with an archway on one end and a pocket door on the other. The pocket door separates the pantry from the game room. We paid for an upgrade to have a motion sensor light switch installed. The motion sensor light switch turns on the under-cabinet lighting. This is a super convenient upgrade we use and appreciate every time we walk into the pantry.
2. USB Outlet Covers on the outlets in the Kitchen Island and Owner’s Suite Bath:
We wanted to do this during the build, but we did this upgrade soon after moving in. The outlet covers allow us to conveniently plug in our USB A and USB C devices like cell phones, tablets, or electric toothbrushes without occupying an outlet. Best of all, we can still use the two plugs for other things while the USB outlets are in use. The outlet covers were not expensive (we ordered them from Amazon), and an electrician installed them.
3. Touch-activated faucet in the Kitchen
The touch-activated faucet is great! We turn the water on and off by touching any part of the faucet with our hand, forearm, or elbow. This makes cooking and washing our hands a breeze!
4. Rear Patio Sliding Doors:
Patio sliding doors were not originally part of our build plan because we already have a door to the patio inside the dining nook. However, we decided to add these doors to our house because we liked extending the living room to outdoors. In addition, we knew that sliding patio doors required a structural framing upgrade that we wouldn’t be able to add after the house was built. We are so glad we did. We love to open the doors and bring fresh air and sunshine in! The sliding doors also come in handy when our guests walk in and out between the back patio and the living room.
5. CAT 6 High-Speed Internet Wiring:
All of our televisions are connected to the internet via the CAT 6 hard wiring. We also use other electronics that require a steady internet connection. Because we both work from home and use computers daily, reliable internet connectivity without Wi-Fi is a must. The CAT 6 hard wiring is a great upgrade that we use daily.
6. Double Sided Fireplace:
We designed our home with a double-sided fireplace between our Owner’s Suite bedroom and bathroom. The fireplace has a remote control that changes the colors of the embers and flames, and the output of heat. We can set the transparency so that it is visible from both or only one side. The fireplace ambiance is fabulous and it brings light into each room. We use this fireplace all the time.
7. Use of Two of our Bedrooms as Offices:
My husband and I work from home, so we knew we would need separate offices. However, we did not want to build a home with three bedrooms and two offices. We addressed this by ensuring the two front bedrooms had a closet and an operable window. We also built a bathroom near these two bedrooms. Thus, we satisfied the requirements for those two rooms used as offices, to count as bedrooms on our floor plan.
8. Pendant Lights in Owner’s Suite Bedroom:
We are so glad we put pendant lights in our bedroom! We installed Edison bulbs that we control with an app. Using the app, we can control the brightness and the color of the light. This allows us to turn on the light before walking into the room. In addition, we can get just the right amount of light when lying in the bed, without using the bright overhead lights.
9. Pass Through Between Owner’s Suite Closet and Laundry Room:
We love being able to walk from the closet into the laundry room. We use this shortcut all the time! It makes doing the laundry way easier. The closet to laundry room pass-through is also a shortcut to and from one of our garages.
10. Drive Through or Car Wash Shower:
No more cramped showers! This kind of walk-through shower is spacious and amazing! It is large enough for two shower heads and a long bench and is flanked by windows. Also, we have a shower wall with a window in it, where we can see the fireplace.
Top 10 Least Used Upgrades After 6 Months in our New Construction Home
11. Foyer Chandelier:
I like the look of the foyer chandelier we selected, and it would be weird if we didn’t have one. However, it is one of the least used lights in our house. We rarely turn it on. It is beautiful to look at but serves no real purpose as a light.
12. Great Room Fireplace:
Don’t get me wrong, I really like the fireplace in the great room. It creates a wonderful ambiance and works well if you turn on the heat. Because only the two of us live here, we don’t spend enough time hanging out in the great room to make good use of it.
13. High Cabinets:
Like many new construction homes, we have cabinets that are high up on the walls. I’m talking about those smaller cabinets that are closer to the ceiling in the kitchen, the pantry, and the utility room. These cabinets are so high up that there’s no way to really use them, except to store things I don’t use often. The cabinets look nice, but we don’t have enough seasonal or rarely used things now to make good use of these high cabinets.
14. Bar in the Game Room and Bar in the Owner’s Suite Bedroom:
We have concentrated our efforts on fixing up other areas of the house, and have not gotten around to these two bar areas yet. We still need to buy mini refrigerators, install other small appliances and décor.
15. Spare Refrigerator in the Pantry:
This spare refrigerator will come in handy when company comes over, or when our grandchildren visit. However, this isn’t something that we will get much use out of until we get in the groove of planning how to use the extra refrigerator space.
16. Floor Plugs in the Great Room:
Open floor plan means lack of walls, which means lack of accessible outlets in the great room. We upgraded our electrical plan to include two floor plugs in the great room. At the 6 month mark, we hadn’t finished decorating the great room, so we didn’t make much use of those floor plugs yet. Once we purchase lamps, and make more use of the great room, we will use those floor plugs more often.
17. Ceiling Fan Pre-Wire:
We moved in around Labor Day 2023. The weather in Texas is still warm, however, we get a great breeze. Because we were headed into the cool winter season, we didn’t think it was a priority to purchase and install fans. We decided to wait until springtime.
18. Outlets for LED Lights:
We had outlets installed near the crown molding in our game room and owner’s suite bedroom so that we could install led lights. We added outlets under our vanities in our bathroom for the same reason. Because we haven’t gotten around to finishing the décor in these rooms, we have yet to make use of these “hidden” outlets.
19. Barn Door:
I love the barn door that separates our dining nook from our game room. It is a rich brown stain with stainless steel hardware. We just don’t have many occasions yet where we slide the door over to close off the game room. We will use this a lot more during football season!
20. Soaking Bathtub:
The soaking bathtub within a platform in our owner’s suite bathroom was a must have! To my surprise, I haven’t taken many baths in it yet! When I speak with other people who put a large soaking tub in their bathroom, I hear the same thing. So, as for now, the tub is pretty to look at, and I’m glad I got it. However, it just isn’t used much.
I hope you enjoyed reading our top 10 most used and least used upgrades in our new construction home. Thank you for stopping by. Please come back for more new home construction and lifestyle tips by Ironfire Success! Best Wishes on Your Success Journey!
