House update #5 . . . and house thoughts

During the entire process of designing and building this house, I have continually reminded myself that these are such telestial (worldly) decisions. It has been tricky because on the one hand, this house (1) is not going with us to heaven after we die, and (2) it could easily be destroyed in a natural disaster in the blink of an eye. On the other hand, we want to be wise stewards of our resources and want our home to be a blessing to us, our families, and those who come into our home. We want our home to be welcoming and a place where people can feel the Spirit of God. So in the midst of spending an inordinate amount of time on these choices, I am trying to keep both an eternal perspective while also trying to make decisions that will be smart in the long run. I know it seems ungrateful because it is a privilege to design and build a home, but it is also very challenging.

My brother recommended the book The Paradox of Choice, which I listened to on mp3 and found very interesting. One of the premises of the book is that after a certain point, increased choices and options do not bring increased happiness or personal satisfaction. Anyone who has felt paralyzed by a decision--whether it be choosing a jar of pasta sauce or a paint color or a pair of boots or a health plan or even a career--can attest to this. In order to find personal satisfaction in this world of overabundant choice, one has to learn to be a satisficer instead of a maximizer. The author describes a maximizer as someone who looks and looks for the perfect item, possibly finds it, but then keeps looking or doubting whether that choice was the best. A maximizer is not content with his/her selection if he/she even find it in the first place--they are looking for an elusive "best." A satisficer, on the other hand, looks for an item that meets his/her parameters, and once that item is found, the choice is made and then he/she moves on, content with the decision made. We are all satisficers or maximizers in different areas, but most of us tend to be more one or the other. In some respects, I am a maximizer: for example, I am convinced there is a perfect whole wheat bread recipe and keep trying different ones in my quest.

When we have been working on the house, I have been very conscious of my desire to be a satisficer, and overall I think we've done a pretty good job of it. We make a choice and move forward without looking back. When there are so many decisions to make, you have to do your best to make the right choice in a short amount of time and then move forward in confidence . . . while also remembering that it's just a house, just a temporal thing with its only eternal significance being the relationships and experiences that occur there.

 The front entry sans banister.

Checking things out. This is the great room (living room? family room? can't decide its name) and the kitchen/dining area on the right of Michael.

So  bizarre--they installed the drywall around the dryer duct but chose not to fix it first. Now they get to fix it after. Laziness never pays.

We had a big problem this weekend--the kitchen island was just not in the right place and I would have been staring at a column while doing dishes instead of looking out on the great room (among other issues). We are going to have to have the lighting and the plumbing moved. Not cheap and very frustrating, but better to fix it now. Our builder wasn't thrilled when I called him, but oh well. We went over early Saturday morning and chalked out how we'd like the island to go--we decided to switch the placement of the sink and dishwasher and shaved a foot (sob!) off the island length. We also measured the distance we want the island to be from the other walls. Hopefully it will turn out well. Love your choice, right?

 The back.

 The front.