At the end of this blog post, I have an amazing tool for you: "The Date Night You Need Before Building Your Dream Home". Are you wondering: What... a date night? Rachel, what does a date night have to do with building our dream home? I totally get it - when we think about building our dream home, our first thought isn't - "Yes, honey, but first - we gotta schedule a date night." But, maybe it should be?!
I have worked with couples updating, remodeling, or building a new home for ten years; and the ones who enjoy the process the most have great communication with their spouse. Yes, there are many other factors that come into play, but when you and your spouse are committed to enjoying the process, keeping open communication, and frankly - putting your marriage first - let's just say you won't be one of the 12% who consider divorce when living through a remodel or new construction (yes, that really is the statistic).
Your marriage is way more important than a bigger or prettier house, and this initial date night is just the first step in keeping your priorities straight throughout the process.
So, what is this date night all about? It is your first chance to set aside time to talk about what you are dreaming about for your future home. There are ten questions to spark conversation. Questions like: What are your top three wants/needs in our new home? What activities, get-togethers, and family traditions do you want to see happen in our new home? And what colors, materials, style choices, etc do you want to see in our new home?
As I work with clients, I've found that often the time that I am meeting with a husband and wife team is the first chance they have had to discuss certain things. I have actually come to expect this. The truth is, we are all busy - so we usually have to set aside time to discuss the decisions that need to be made for our homes. And... when building a new home, we don't know what we need to discuss, well - until we know. If I am bringing something to the table for a couple for the first time - that means I am doing my job & we will be making decisions before the contractor is calling on a random Tuesday morning asking for a decision {aka - major stress onset on a random Tuesday, that could have been avoided}.
Some other questions you will see on the date night prompts include: How will we make decisions for our new home? How, when, and in what ways will we communicate? It is a beautiful thing to consider how you will manage the building process together. For example: Will one of you be primarily responsible for the timeline? For communicating with the contractor? For meeting with your designer? Will one of you gather samples, and then present them to your spouse? Will you both shop for samples? Will your designer do this for you?
The last prompt you will see is "Our Scripture/prayer for our new home." I invite you to choose a bible verse or two that you will return to as you build your home. Consider writing a prayer over your home - asking God to bless the process, keep those who are working on site safe, thanking Him for the opportunity, and whatever else is on your heart. A bible verse I suggest is: "As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." - Joshua 24:15
Alright - you now know why a date night is important, and what questions to discuss. All that's left to do is print the below & get that date night scheduled!
