Drees Difference
Nashville Blogger Stacey Collins Gets the Keys to the Drees
Posted on Jun 01, 2023 by dreeshomes
Posted on Jun 01, 2023 by dreeshomes
Have you been following along with the home building story of Nashville-area blogger Stacey Collins? We can't get enough of her beloved live "whisper shop" video tours of the Drees Design Center and models around town.
Most recently, Stacey’s work was featured in Better Homes & Gardens magazine, allowing her to cross off a major bucket list item. Next up on that list was designing her dream home. Stacey and her husband Anthony tackled the project of a lifetime. While she has a knack for decorating, Stacey admits that curating all the selections for a brand new home is a completely different ballgame. Luckily, we have a whole team of experts to help guide homebuyers along the way.
We partnered with Stacey to document her Drees home building journey.
By Stacey Collins from Wilshire Collections
It is with much joy and anticipation that I finally get to write and share this article with you. Our new home build is now complete, and we got the keys to the Drees! Come see how our selections came to life as we made this house our home.
For those that might have missed the beginning of this story, here are a few blog posts to bring you up to speed:
We started this process with Drees Homes nine months ago, and have watched our dirt turn to dream along the way. It truly was such an incredible experience, and we both enjoyed it all. We recently got the keys to the Drees, officially closed on our new build home and are so thrilled! Let’s get into the fun stuff and show you around the different spaces as they looked on closing day.
One thing we did here was add beautiful trim work detailing. We knew the ceilings were so high here that it would make a HUGE impact and it sure did! Additionally, many of you have asked about space for Wilshire Collections, and it was very important to me to have an area where I could work and craft from at home as needed. Behind this little entrance, there is an office to the right where my desk will be and a bedroom to the left, which I can use as a craft space. It was the PERFECT setup.
I love the big spacious dining room and how you can access the butler's pantry right off of it, which will be great for entertaining. We love the trim detail in here too!
There are a few features in this room that we are so excited about .... wood beams being one! Love the instant character and warmth they brought to the room. We also love the fireplace, the built-in that I designed for that niche space and the big picture windows featuring a beautiful view. This will be an area we spend a lot of time in for sure!
You know one of my main wishes for a new kitchen was to have a BIG island. I’ve always wanted one where we could all sit and eat together – I call it my “cereal dream,” because I’ve always pictured my boys eating cereal there in the mornings.
When making our kitchen selections, I knew from the start that I wanted to do a wood hood for some contrast against the white. Let’s just say, I’m SO glad I went with my gut on this because it’s one of my favorite features in here!
I went with a classic matte subway type tile with a light gray grout. And of course that herringbone pattern behind the stove and hood makes my heart pitter patter!
Just off the kitchen is one of the areas that made us fall in love with Drees and this floor plan. The working pantry is an area that is meant for your small appliances, whether it’s to store them or put them on the counters. This will eliminate SO much clutter from our main kitchen, and of course, free up space for décor. This is also where our coffee bar area will be. On the wall to the left across from those cabinets is our walk-in pantry for food storage as well.
EEEEK … The hearth room! So many people have asked what that is, and here in the south, it’s like a little sitting area that’s usually off your kitchen. I can already tell you that this is quickly becoming one of my favorite spaces. We will have a sitting area by the fireplace, and our kitchen table will go behind that back by the sliding doors.
We were very excited to do this fun feature wall in our room where our bed and nightstands will be. It added so much visual impact to the space.
I have to say, the primary bathroom is a true dream come true! Every selection we picked in here exceeded our expectations, and I love how it all flows together. On my side of the bathroom, I knew having a vanity area to do hair and makeup was a must, so we changed up the original design a bit to make that work and I’m so glad we did. And the tub ... enough said!
The primary closet is another dream come true area for sure and was even more fun to see come to life since Anthony and I designed our spaces.
Our upstairs gameroom will be the perfect spot for movie nights and hanging out. I wanted to share this “dry bar” area that Anthony designed for the space. It’s right off the gameroom in a little niche area and will house a small beverage fridge as well as the microwave. Love this!
(Also known as the laundry room + storage + mud bench area)
Who would have thought the laundry room would turn out to be one of my favorite spaces, but it sure did! From the floors to the cabinet color to the brass hardware … I simply love it all!
Let’s take a quick peek outside! This back porch has gorgeous views, an outdoor fireplace and will no doubt become an oasis for us.
For privacy and safety reasons, I am choosing not to share the entire front of our house at this time. However, I do want to show you the brick, shutters and garage doors because I LOVE how it all turned out. The brick is called Alpine by General Shale and the shutters and garage doors are painted in a color called Ironstone.
And because I know people will ask, our wood flooring is Revwood Plus by Mohawk. It is a part of their luxury laminate line and features the color Soft Chamois Oak. We love it!
Main interior paint color are from PPG:
I hope you enjoyed this little tour of some of our new home build. What is your favorite space or area?
Last but not least, we can’t say enough good things about Drees Homes. They truly went above and beyond in so many ways and made the process enjoyable. Special thanks to our Builder, Jake! He surpassed expectations and always made things right when incidents did come up.
Were there some stressful times? Of course! I believe you would have that with any build. But, overall it was just truly a positive and great experience. We will forever be grateful to Drees Homes for helping us turn this dirt into a dream.
I hope that along the way you found an idea or got inspired by something for your own home. It is very vulnerable for me to share so much, but it’s also part of my job and I love doing so. If I’ve inspired or helped even just one of you, then I’m doing my job!
Until next time…
Stacey
From Instagram inspiration and Pinterest pins to your final floor plan, Drees makes it easy to bring it all together. We know your home is more than a dwelling. It’s an expression of who you are and what you value. Designing a custom home is a very personal endeavor, and we want to be here to help you every step of the way.