We are in the thick of our new build. If you are new here, let me catch you up to speed. We sold our old house to build on our land in September 2019. And we moved to a rental for what we thought would be less than a year. Well.. you know what happened in 2020. The world shut down. So… we put a halt on building because we didn’t know what the heck was going to happen. Fast forward to the year mark in the rental. We wanted out of the rental so bad and wanted to be here on our land. The next best thing to do was to build a barn, aka The Woods and Ivy Cottage, and live in it until it was the right time to build our house. The 40 x 48 barn will be Deb’s workshop, a place for storage, and a canning kitchen once we move to the house. Fast forward another year, and here we are building our forever home.
I give updates on social media on the progress every day. And, I will also be updating here shortly. Anyway, the electrical walk-thru will be coming up very soon. So Deb and I want to be prepared for anything extra that we want. I asked over on Instagram for electrical must-haves in a new-build, and I thought I would share here. (Pin this post to save for later.)
You all came up with some BRILLIANT ideas. We have the first one here in the cottage and it is a game changer. You will never have your electric toothbrush on the counter to charge again. And, it will never be out of a charge. And, we are definitely doing the second one listed below. I am going to have as many electrical outlets in the pantry that the electrician can do.
The number one answer was MORE OUTLETS. Just when you think you have enough, add more. Because you never have enough. That is our theory, too!
I hope this list helps any of you who are building or remodeling. Let me know in the comments if there are electrical must-haves that aren’t listed here.
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Sensor lighting, in bathroom and pantry
And any walk in closets! Have that in our Master!
That is a great idea.
I wish I had asked for a four-plug outlet where our nightstands are. We have a lamp, an electric alarm clock, charger for phone/kindle/computer and often need to plug in a heating pad. So we currently have an extension cord to manage all of that or get a power strip (which I keep forgetting to do!) I forgot to suggest the floor outlets yesterday!!! We have an open floor plan, and they are a must, because we don't like to use overhead lighting to read by. We have two, both are double outlets, as all our seating "floats" away from any walls.
Yep! The power strip gets so annoying. Almost everything needs plugged in nowadays!
Under cabinet lighting with a switch!
Good one!!
These are all great tips! BTW the font looks great, easy to read.
Yes, so glad we made that change.
Linen closet lighting, not just outlets. . A pantry that has a door with an automatic on/off light, just like a refrigerator. Sensor lighting on the stairs. It helps at night.
With the USB outlets be extra cautious with what design you get because if you get the one with the USB between the outlets it’s useless if you have apple 🍎 products and have the big blocks to charge with.
I have a light switch by my bed to turn the porch lights off and on.
Put outlets on the top of your mantles. That makes plugs easier to hide. If the outlets are on the sides they might not be covered depending on your decor.
I have never lived any place in which there were enough electrical outlets. I've even wished for outlets in the floors for floor lamps and was impressed the one time I was in France that the bedside sconces were wired in, which eliminated the need for outlets, at least for the lamps, and also eliminated ugly cords that are never totally hidden even with cord covers. Your planning is going to make everything so handy! I'm just as excited as you are, I think, to see your finished house.
Is your new build going extremely fast? It seems to be from what I can see here in the Pacific Northwest. Enjoy watching the progress, you both must be over the moon with excitement! Best of luck.