How To Choose The Right Appliances For Your Leland’s Cabin

Log Cabin Homes

Did you know at Leland’s Cabins, we customize every home we build? Because we start every log cabin home from scratch, the sky’s the limit on customizing your Texas cabin. Our ability to customize means you can plan out the rooms to fit your preferences.

So where do you start in planning the kitchen of your dreams? A great place to start is with your budget. The same goes for purchasing a pre-built cabin. What is your overall budget? How much of that budget can be allocated to upgrades and customization for the kitchen? How much of that budget has to go to appliances?

The possibilities are endless. How do you narrow it all down? Here are a few things to think about.

Determining Your Budget

A guiding factor for any build is the budget. What can you afford? Ultimately, only you can answer that question based on the bigger financial picture of your life. Consider your current debt and future debt as well as your long-term savings plan. What number will allow you to still put away enough money to retire comfortably?

A great reference tool to help you take a look at some of the basic numbers involved is this mortgage calculator. The calculator will help you figure out how much you might end up paying per month. It’s a good place to start if you’re not sure where to begin.

Keep in mind that determining a budget when buying a home doesn’t start and stop with the total price of the home itself. There are other budgetary considerations that make your new log cabin a home. Things such as adding that fenced-in backyard for the dogs, kids, or grandkids to roam around in, or increasing the square footage of the living room so you have more room for entertaining. Or choosing a deluxe appliance package because you want to add a luxurious touch to your cabin.

Often, these additions are dependent on you saving and planning ahead. Include these amounts in the total you’re saving toward the home, in addition to the 20 percent down payment.

Once you have your total number, you can begin to allocate bits and pieces of it to the things that matter most to you—the things that make a house your home.

Prioritizing Your Budget

How do you decide where to allocate those extra dollars you’ve included in the total of your budget?

Every person is different. Your strengths, core values, and beliefs—the things that make you, you—impact everything, including how much you’ll enjoy your home. If you are a visual person who feels most at peace in a space that’s very put together and precise, then you’ll want to keep that in mind as you choose the right cabin layout and possible upgrades.

If you’re a messy, creative type who would rather prioritize more space to create, then keep that in mind as you choose your cabin and think about customization. Maybe an extra bedroom is in order so you have the blank canvas you need to create away from the noise of the general living areas.

If you’re a chef who works through your frustrations baking and cooking, then you’ll want to focus on making sure that the kitchen is perfectly set up to make your pursuits seamless. While we can’t make sure you really did remember to add that dash of salt, what we can do is make sure your new kitchen has a natural flow and feel to it that most suits you and your style of cooking.

Back to Appliances

Now that you know what you value most, what do you think about the appliances? Do you have appliances you’ll be bringing with you? If so, then we need to make sure we measure those to ensure they’ll fit in the cabins you’re choosing. If they don’t, then we can help you decide what is more cost-effective: whether purchasing new appliances or further customizing the space will be in your best interest and align with what you value the most.

If you don’t want to bring appliances with you, we offer two appliance packages for each cabin model. Check out the appliance package options that come with The Lodge. The two standard packages we offer are either a black or white matching set or a stainless steel set of appliances. Both are Frigidaire brand because our customers have had the best success with the longevity of these appliances. After deciding on which pre-built cabin you’d like, we can offer you the specifications of the appliances you can purchase that come in the cabin.

If the standard appliances we offer aren’t quite what you were looking for, let us know. We can always check availability and prices for you on other model appliances. For example, if you’d like one of those refrigerators with touch screens built into the door to replace the old-school magnetic pad of paper where you write your grocery list, then let us know. We will talk to our appliance supplier and get you a price.

Choosing Appliances

No matter where you purchase appliances, there are things to consider before you buy. A few of those considerations include:

• Capacity — is the refrigerator/washer/dryer/dishwasher/oven large enough for your typical use?
• Overall size — will the appliance fit in its designated spot? If not, is it in the budget to customize that area to make it fit?
• Consumer reviews — is that dishwasher known for being really noisy and taking forever? Check online to see before you buy.
• Reliability — do other consumers report frequent issues with that line of appliances? The average life expectancy of most standard appliances is 10 years.
• Affordability — is the total price within your predetermined budget?

Many household appliances these days rely heavily on computerization. A washer now has its own little computer inside of it, regulating the spin cycle and how much water goes into each load. The natural vibrations that come from washing and drying clothes wear on a computer’s memory system. So while today’s appliances are much more efficient (using less energy and water), they don’t typically last 30 years.

Look for the appliance that might have fewer bells and whistles but a better track record of reliability. Is the washer you’re looking at part of a brand new, first generation line of appliances? Consider going with a less up-to-date model that will last you for years to come.

Our Display Center

Come visit Leland’s Cabins for yourself. See our display center where you can tour each of our cabins built to our standard specifications. Seeing it for yourself will help you decide what’s a budgetary priority and what isn’t. You’ll have a better idea which appliances you should be looking at and which ones just won’t fit the lifestyle you prefer to live.