Phase 4 was all about getting the big-ticket materials ordered before dry-in. Here’s what we spent on trusses, windows, doors, and our custom iron front door.

Phase 3 of our custom home build brought the house vertical with block walls on both stories. Here’s exactly what we spent on block materials, labor, machine rental, headers, lintels, and the concrete cell pour — a total of $58,215.

Phase 2 of our custom home build took us from an elevated dirt pad to a finished foundation. Here’s exactly what we spent on footers, rebar, stem wall block, concrete, prep, and our final slab — a total of $46,100.

After five years of dreaming, planning, and designing, we’re finally building our forever home. Follow along as we share the vision behind our custom Florida home — timeless design, intentional choices, healthy home decisions, and the story behind every detail.

Building a custom home involves many costs before construction even begins. In Phase 0 of our Florida forever home build, we’re sharing the real numbers behind our architectural plans, engineering, permits, impact fees, septic, well and pre-construction expenses totaling $88,102.50.

After five years of planning, we’re finally breaking ground on our forever home. Here’s a look at the first stage of the build — site prep, grading, fill dirt and creating the house pad.

After five years of dreaming, countless plan revisions and more research than I’d like to admit, we’re finally building our forever home on five acres. I’m sharing the decisions, splurges, budget finds and healthy-home rabbit holes along the way.