Tour it Thursday: A Standard Texas Built House With Some Upgrades

It’s another addition of Tour it Thursday! I hope you are enjoying this series. Remember, next week you will be able to link up your favorite rooms or home tours. I’m so excited to see what you link up! I love to look into other people’s homes, don’t you? So this week I thought I would share with you what is considered to be a pretty standard build in our area. There are some upgrades, so not “total builder grade”. I’ll try to point out things that could be added to put it over the top, as well as what is “standard” around here in Texas. Hope you enjoy it!

Sorry again, for the pictures. My battery wasn’t fully charged at this point, and so I was at the mercy of my iPhone. So this is a pretty standard living room. The standard for our area includes a half to ¾ wall of stone or brick fireplace. The ceiling fan is pretty standard, as is the built in shaded window on the door. Texas builder grade homes usually feature tile or carpet in the living room, sometimes wood floors (via real or engineered). Most living rooms will have crown molding in them. Some upgrades for our area in this living room would be: a gas burning fireplace (vs wood burning), the transom window above the door, the trim around the window and the recessed lights in the ceiling. Almost every Texas house has a door off the living room or breakfast nook that leads to a patio.

Here is one side of the kitchen. The cabinets in Texas tend to be dark wood. Most houses around here feature 12x12 tile floors and granite countertops as standard. Tile backslashes are popular and can be upgraded by selecting more expensive tile. This kitchen had glass windows and a plate rack which are usually upgrades.

Another view of the kitchen. Slide in ranges with a microwave/vent combo are pretty standard around here. Most feature a kitchen island. The more high end homes feature gigantic islands that have extra storage and seating and sometimes a sink and faucet. You can see the standard breakfast nook off to the side with a basic chandelier and a laundry room off to the other corner.

Texans love a good breakfast bar! Most standard homes with fit 3 seats, sometimes 4. The added pot lights above this one is probably listed as an upgrade. I would love to see a little bead board or board and batten going on below the bar along with some fun corbels for character. 

Here is a simple bathroom off one of the rooms. You can see here that this mirror hasn’t been trimmed out. The cottage doors are pretty common here, as is the dark hardware (brushed nickel is also common).

A hall bath. Most have a cabinet above the toliet, a 3 light fixture, and a tub with surround shower. The window above and the trimmed mirror are probably upgrades.

Tile around a tub top is super common around here—as is the giant frosted window above the tub. This is also the one of the most popular ways that people around here like to break into. This was a jetted tub. Garden tubs are standard, jetted are upgrades. This home has a nice trim around the window, and a nice tile edge which are most likely upgrades.

The entry way foyer. The wood doors with a window are usually what most homeowners have. The wrought iron spindles are probably upgrades. The trim in here is super nice. Not all builders trim out their windows. The hanging light fixtures are also more of an upgrade then what you usually see. A more expensive home would probably feature board and batten or bead board on the wall, or bead board trimmed out on the ceiling. 

Most houses in Texas tend to be brick or brick veneer. You do see some stucco. This is a common light fixture size, although this one has a bit more character than most. Above the door they have placed a wood plank to add to the design, as well as the metal hardware to make a standard garage door more appealing. 

I love builder grade houses. I love that you can add so much of your own character if you choose to. It’s almost like an empty palette for a brand new home. If you do some of the character adding on your own, then you will notice some savings. There is nothing like the smell of a new house, new carpet, new paint. 

What do you think? Is this pretty standard for your area as well?