Return to site Q & A With Homeowners Alex & Debra Arbit April 21, 2020 Q&A With Homeowners Alex & Debra Arbit Alex and Debra Arbit are the proud homeowners of our recently completed Modern Minnetonka Two-Story. In this interview, we asked about their inspiration for building a dream home, the process, and their experience working with our Swanson Homes team. What is a dream home to you? We love to pack as many humans into our home as possible. We love to be the house that everyone wants to hang out in and feel comfortable. We wanted to build a home that is cozy, sticky and tells our story. What were you looking for in a builder during your builder search? How did you go about this process? We went on many Parade of Homes and Artisan home tours to get an idea of the floor plan and layout. We tried not to focus on the furnishings and to instead focus on the actual logic of the floorplans. We took notes and thought about what we wanted to incorporate (and what not to incorporate) and found that we loved Swanson Home’s designs because they made the most sense to us functionally. We also lived in a Swanson Home before we started building and noticed that whenever we needed to redo something in our home, we almost always got some kind of compliment from the contractor, so that was very encouraging. Lastly, we loved that Swanson Homes has an in-house design team. We liked the idea of streamlining the design and building process to get the project done quickly and efficiently. What’s an example of a design detail in the home building process that you went back and forth on and how did it turn out? In general, we went back and forth on where to put carpeting. For the lower level, we were really torn. We knew this area was going to be mainly for the kids and were worried about them having shoes on (for the sport court), high traffic areas wearing down, and of course spilling! In the end, we chose to carpet the entire lower level. We know spills will happen but we wanted to prioritize the space to feel inviting and warm for movies and sleepovers. In all, we are happy with our decision! What’s one standout custom design decision you made? Having our custom bench in the entryway. When guests walk in they have an immediate spot to sit down and take their shoes off. We like that people are easily able to bring in and hang up their coats on the hook -- way better than using this space as a closet! Any design regrets? Looking back we wish we would’ve built an even bigger garage! Having that extra storage space is an easy thing to take for granted! Do you have any advice for future home buyers/ builders? Yes! One of our favorite parts of the house is actually our neighborhood and neighbors. We feel that the culture of the neighborhood is so important when raising a family. We were so particular about where we wanted to live and once we found this neighborhood we were patient and persistent to buy the perfect teardown home. Our advice would be to narrow down on the area you want to be in and get to know the neighborhoods best you can, this will make all of the difference when you are looking to build a forever home! What was your favorite part about working with our building team? We loved the fact that we had a chance to build from our imagination. The Swanson Homes team took every opportunity to make this process fun for us while educating us on the developments along the way. We thoroughly enjoyed working with this team! To view more photos of the Modern Minnetonka Two-Story: Click Here Additional Features on the Modern Minnetonka Two-Story Carbon 6 Interiors breaks down the interior design details on their blog! Get the Interior Details Read the Arbit family's experience working with Carbon 6 Interiors! We asked about their design inspiration, artwork and styling tips, and their experience with the Carbon 6 Interiors team members. Read the C6 Interview SUBSCRIBE Previous 5 Reasons to Make Our Dream Home A Destination on your... Next Functional Floor Plan Meets Flexible Design Return to site