Have you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall of your clients’ house as they kvetched, commiserated, and rejoiced over their in-progress custom home project? Well, maybe not. But it might be fun-and informative-to be that fly in the home of another builder’s client. Thanks to the Internet and The New York Times, you now have that opportunity.
Since last December, the gray lady’s Web site, www.nytimes.com, has been running a blog written by the buyers of a custom home under construction in Anna Maria Island on the west coast of Florida. The blog is called Dream Home Diaries (www.dreamhome.blogs.nytimes.com), and I’m totally hooked on it.
The soon-to-be proud homeowners have generously shared their journey from falling in love with a small town to choosing kitchen appliances and cabinets (a recent installment) with complete strangers all around the globe. We’ve followed their search for a home site, their almost instant bonding with their builder, their rockier quest for a suitable architect, their problems with permits, and their efforts to deal with long-distance decision making (the couple live in the Northeast). I look forward to every new entry.
While the blog gives lurkers the vicarious thrill of building a beautiful custom home by the beach, custom home pros like you can get an inside look at the other side of the bargain you make each time you sign a contract to build a house. Both the pressures and the pleasures of the building process are on offer here, though the drama’s kept in check by the clients’ so-far solid relationship with their builder. If you happen to be surfing the Web, I recommend you check it out.
