You do NOT have to go over budget when building a house. It’s not inevitable. No matter what you hear from family, friends, or complete strangers (and even home build professionals), it is NOT inevitable that ‘everybody goes over budget.’ Yes, MANY people do go over budget.  Probably, the majority of people go over budget. […]

You need MORE than just Google when building your dream home. Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely LOVE Google and couldn’t live without it (TBH). I use Google ALL. THE. TIME. And when it comes to building a house, I think ‘How To’ posts are great to gather as much info and knowledge as possible. […]

Hey! Welcome to the Before You Build podcast! I’m your host Carrie Barker (a.k.a. Caroline on Design) and in today’s episode, I have actually switched gears. This episode was supposed to be about home exterior design trends that we’ll see in 2024. However, I decided on a whim to talk about home exterior design classic […]

In this episode, we’ll cover what the heck a ‘design fixture’ is (because this can be a confusing term) and I’ll share a list of curated design fixtures boutiques that I offer on my website and how YOU can easily shop these curated boutiques to design your own dream home.  Believe me … this is […]

Are you feeling overwhelmed when you think about choosing paint colors for your new home? Are you unsure where to even start? Don’t worry … I’ve got you covered in this ultimate paint guide for your new home! Below is a roundup of my top blog posts all about paint. We cover it all … […]

Going significantly over budget is one of the top concerns (actually, THE top concern) I hear from my clients and readers who are preparing to build a house. I completely understand this because it was also my biggest fear when I was building. However, what if I told you there ARE ways to stay on […]