I met with a builder on Monday night. He wanted to know things like my favorite window manufacturer, and whether I preferred composite over tile roofs, and what type of wood I like best.

Let’s see…..roof – waterproof? Windows – glass? Wood – uh…..huh?

He needed to know stuff like that so he could give me a fair idea of budget and cost breakdown. He was very nice and patient with me. I’m sure it was painfully obvious I didn’t have a clue what I was doing, and he could have very easily taken advantage of that. But he didn’t. He wrote out a list of general categories I need to consider and said he usually breaks it all down into budgets. By this I mean that I will have a ‘budget’ for specific things. Windows. Flooring. Kitchen appliances. Lighting. And my personal favorite – I get to have a front door budget. I kid you not. It was on the list. A budget for just one door. Wow.

I’m in over my head here. Oh, not that this is a bad thing. But there’s so much I don’t know. I am building this house because I am head-over-heels in love with it, and finding the dirt to build it on was an amazing bit of luck. But still, it’s more than a bit overwhelming. I can see that I’ll be spending an inordinate amount of time in stores and pouring over catalogs, staring blankly at oven ranges, weighing the pros and cons of Korian versus tile for the kitchen counters, pondering the benefits of two vs. three-car garages. And that doesn’t even take into account colors and patterns…and oh wow. Landscaping. Oof.

There’s been an amusing twist to all this house-building euphoria lately, though. I’ve been getting the condescending nod and smile when I’ve talked about buying/building a house by myself in the past few years. But since I actually bought the land and it’s been more final, the comments are starting to come a bit more often and a bit more pointed. In fact, just today I was asked “Are you sure you want to do this? After all, what if you get married?”. The implication being, of course, that I should wait to buy or build until I have a man on my arm to yea or nay.

Sigh. I wonder if single guys get this question when they break down and buy a house? I wonder if their friends and acquaintances look over the floor plan and under the guise of being well-meaning, pester the poor guy with questions like gee, where are you going to stash all the babies you’re required to produce, and what if your future wife doesn’t like the floor plan, and shouldn’t you wait to get married and consult her before you pick out what color to paint the walls, and how can you possibly do this because what if ,what if, what if?

I usually don’t let this sort of thing bother me, and sometimes it has made me laugh in the past. But I have to admit that lately it has started to get more than a bit annoying. Sigh.

Ah well. I’m going to my very first Home and Garden show this weekend. I figure a few of these and I’ll my head will be swimming with ideas…..and at the very least, maybe I’ll be able to recognize window manufacturers two out of three times, and not return a blank stare when asked if I prefer oak over maple for cabinet doors. And the next time someone asks me shouldn’t I be waiting to do this because ‘what if’, I’ll just smile sweetly, thank them for their concern, and then blithely bore them to tears with a discussion of my current 15 favorite shades of white paint for the walls. Ah, revenge