A New Home Perfect for a Growing Family

Our newest floorplan, the Cordova is perfect for a growing family. When designing this home, we took into account all the things our homeowners tell us they want:

Large bedrooms with walk-in closets (up to 4 bedrooms upstairs)
Fabulous kitchen with an island for casual dining, plus a huge pantry
An open concept with great flow between the family room, kitchen and eating area
A separate office or formal room (perfect for a piano, visitors, etc)
Handy mudroom with cubbies to corral clutter
Upstairs laundry room (no more hauling laundry up and down the stairs)
And plenty of storage mixed in throughout the home!

The first Cordova home is now being built at Thanksgiving Meadows in Lehi. Here is a sneak peak at the main floor of this awesome floorplan...



Click here to see the floorplan for this new home in Utah.

Make a Monogram Wreath for Less Than $15

I was inspired by Miss Mustard Seed's post on HGTV where she created a fun spring time monogram. It was such a cute, fun addition to her spring decor. I decided to take the idea one step further and create a giant monogram "wreath" to go on the front door of my new home in Utah.

It is difficult to find a large, affordable letter for this project, so I used a 12" x 36" piece of Styrofoam. Lucky for me, Hobby Lobby is currently running a 50% off sale on Styrofoam and moss! (Check with your local Hobby Lobby, but I think this deal is still going on. If not, you can always go to any craft store and use their weekly 40% off coupons.) The foam cost $6 and three bags of moss cost $7.50 each for a grand total of $13.50. I also used some ribbon that I already had, but you could buy 1/4 yard of any ribbon.


To make my letter, I cut the foam in half, temporarily taped it together and sketched out a large letter A. After many different attempts, I found that a plain old paring knife worked best to cut out the letter. If you have a special foam-cutting tool use that, if not don't spend the money when a knife works just fine. Warning- cutting Styrofoam makes quite a mess, as does gluing on the moss. Make sure you do this in your craft room or even out in the garage.

Once I had the letter cut out, I attached the pieces to each other using toothpicks and a glue gun. Then I began putting hot glue on a 3"x3" area and carefully pressing the moss into the glue. I worked all the way around my letter. At first, I was super skeptical. My lovely wreath looked like a sad piece of Stryofoam with random pieces of moss stuck to it. I was beginning to think this project was one of those things that seems good in theory, or on someone else's blog, but doesn't work in real life.

Happily. the monogrammed wreath turned out great! I love how fresh and simple it looks. Plus, I love that no one else has a wreath just like this.

The "McArthur Homes Snob" -Kipp & Chelsea

We were lucky enough to build our very first home in the McArthur Homes Legacy Ranch community. It is a beautiful community with many amenities. It was in the Legacy Ranch clubhouse workout room that I started to run off my baby weight after having our first child. It was in the clubhouse pool that our child had his first taste of swimming. It was on the trails that go throughout the neighborhood that I have run on to try to get rid of the baby weight from child number two (and who am I kidding, I am still trying to lose the weight from child number one!). It is in the several parks/playgrounds in the neighborhood that we spend our afternoons playing and picnicking. We have loved every aspect of our McArthur home!

As our family continues to grow, we have considered several times to look for a new home, but being spoiled and being able to build a beautiful home just the way we want it in a great neighborhood has kept us right in our place! In fact, the only time we REALLY get serious about moving is when we find another McArthur Home neighborhood that is going up! My husband has absolutely become a McArthur Home snob! He will not even entertain the idea of building with another company! We have been so excited and impressed by the great quality of our home, the great people that work for McArthur Homes, and the ease of the building process. I have spoken to other people that have built their homes who have nightmare stories about their home, the builder etc. who have built with other companies. They say to me, “Don’t you think the building process was so stressful? I never want to do it again!” I had quite the opposite experience! I would do it over and over again!

I remember one of the small things that really impressed me was how excited the company was for me to move into my new home. The gentleman that did our final walk-through with us was so excited for us. He gave us a ton of tips of how to take care of our new home. Then he left us with something that really impressed me-a simple tool box with a couple small containers of colors of paint that were in our home, so that we could do touch-ups throughout the years. You can tell that they take pride in their homes, and want us to do the same. And we certainly do!

Where ever the road may take us (which will most likely be another McArthur neighborhood, because of previously stated reasons. Aka-my husband, and really myself as well) we will never forget our beautiful McArthur home.

Bang for Your Buck -The Strain Family

After searching extensively for over 6 months for our first home we decided to go with McArthur Homes. Our choice was simple, they offered us the most bang for our buck and we were extremely impressed with the craftsmanship of their homes.

We were eager to start the process of building our home and the staff at McArthur Homes was ready to guide us through the entire process and answer even the silliest of questions or concerns we had.
We were overwhelmed with excitement to preview the endless possibilities in the design studio. There were so many options in all price ranges that we really could personalize our home just the way we wanted, on the budget we had set for ourselves.

Week after week was just as exciting to go to our homesite and watch the progress of our new home. We couldn’t wait to get into our new home, so much that we moved in at 11pm on a day that our child had the flu! We just passed our 1 year anniversary this month and couldn’t be more happy with the choices we made and our experience with McArthur Homes. Superb customer service!

Complete & Secure -Mickelson Family

My boyfriend works in construction. For the longest time ever I thought he was working with McArthur Homes. I didn’t know that he was going to the Lehi location so much because he was trying to buy a home. We have been together for 6 years and have two kids, every time we shopped for a home the deal never happened.

Well one day he wanted to show me a home, so I started to walk though the place having no idea that in the master bedroom he had a giant bouquet of flowers and a card. The place had no carpet yet, so I had no idea that he had bought the home. I got really excited because I thought he was proposing Marriage!!!!! But he was not, he was letting me know, he had got the home and we were moving in about a week later. I was so confused. I thought he was joking with me.

We love our home so much because of this story, we have been living here almost a year now and we love having the pool so close to our home for our kids. We love our open living room area, with the high ceiling. We customized a built-in platform bed in our master bedroom, where I can relax while looking out the window and see the beautiful mountain views. We love the amount of extra storage, the nice real wood cabinets and more. We love all the families around us and we are finally going to get married this year. By getting this home everything in our life is complete and secure, so we feel ready for MARRIAGE…… yeah! Thank you McArthurs.

Building Family Memories -The Mangelson Family

We have been married for 8 years and lived in our McArthur Home for the last four years. Before we built our home with you, we had moved from place to place. We moved 11 times in four years searching for a place we could call home.

When we were looking to build, we looked everywhere. When we walked into the McArthur model home, in Legacy Ranch… we Loved it! We drove around the neighborhood and thought it was a place we would love to settle. When we worked with Doug, our Commmunity Sales Manager, to find the floor plan and the lot we were very happy with the choices. Though there were many great models, the one we chose is so perfect for our family. We love our floor plan! Our experience with the design personnel was great. Kristi, the Design Studio Consultant, knew how to help us build a home we love.
When we were in the process of building our home, we loved all the attention that was given. The many emails and pictures with updates, and the willingness to change what we wanted throughout the process. It all came together very well.

When we moved into our home just under four years ago, we had one child, a little girl. Happy to say we have three children now, we added two boys! We are happy to call this our home… we are building many memories here and plan to stay forever! We love the friendships we have made and are happy to have a clean and safe neighborhood. One of our favorite places to be is on our front porch. Hanging out while the kids play! We just added a basketball standard and love to play hoops with the kids.
We love sharing our home with friends and family, we try to make our home a place all would like to be. It is easy to do with our beautiful and welcoming floor plan.

Thank you for taking pride in your work, so we can take pride in our beautiful home!

Every Step, Every Minute -Matt & Bendi

I can't say I have just one favorite experience when it came to building our home. For me and my husband, each step in the processing was exciting. This is our first single family home, so to be able to have it built was an amazing experience.

We loved going to the design center (I went a lot) to pick out our colors, fixtures, carpets, upgrades etc. I loved that I could take carpet samples and put them beside tile samples to see how the colors went together or I could take a counter sample and put it by my cabinets to see if I liked the look. I loved that I was able to choose a different counter top in each of my bathrooms or different floors (I didn't, but I love that I had that option). I loved that I was able to pick out my double ovens (which I love).

Then came the building experience. I remember the day my husband called and told me that they had dug our hole. We were so excited, it finally felt real. We were going to have a home of our own, one that where we got to choose everything. Then to see the foundation poured. My husband happened to come by just as they were pouring our foundation so he filmed it on his cell phone for me so I could see it when I got off work. Yes, we came out everyday to see the progress of our home. By the time the outside framing was done, Chet (our superintendent) knew us by name. I also loved that everyday Tim (our Community Sales Manager) would email us pictures of the progress of our house, even though we had come out and taken our own pictures.

I have to admit, though, my absolute favorite thing about my home building experience was doing the final walk through with Ben (the Warranty Manager). I know you are probably thinking I am crazy, but for me, it meant my dream had finally come true. My new home, one that I had picked out and no one else had ever lived in, was finally done and in just a few days I was going to get to move it. I didn't sleep the first night we moved in, I just sat in bed loving the smell of new carpet and paint.

So in short, we loved every step, every minute of the home building experience and never plan on moving out of our home.

"It's ALL Good!" -Al & Sue Hyer

It is difficult to choose which moment of our home building process was our favorite, because the whole experience was so very positive. We had many great experiences starting with the very first moment we walked into the model home and spoke with Andra, the Community Sales Manager. Our questions were answered right up front and everyone was always so cheerful and helpful.

We loved the fact that there was a Design Studio that we could actually see and compare different options for carpet, flooring, cabinets, tile, lighting, colors, etc. McArthur really has home buying and building down to a science.

To be able to meet with Roger, the Purchasing Manager, and go over all of our plans and make any adjustments was such a positive and exciting moment. It was obvious that Roger had our best interest as his main goal, and that he wanted us to be completely satisfied before moving forward.

We had a bit of a tight schedule, so the fact that McArthur was able to have our home ready for us within 5 months of the time we started the process was a real blessing.

The walk through after our home was framed and wired was great and the fact that McArthur anticipated some wiring additions and some extra lighting was a big bonus. They seemed to know just what we needed even before we knew. Adam, our Superintendent, was so courteous, helpful and professional.

I am a pilot and to be able to fly over and watch the home being built and the progress that was made each week was truly an exhilarating experience!

To have Ben, the Warranty Manager, do our final walk through and catch every little detail to make sure our home was just perfect was truly the icing on the cake. Then to have Ben present us with a toolbox and shovel, and Andra to present us with a Scentsy candle at closing truly put an exclamation point to the whole process. Not to mention that any repairs were completed within days.

As if all of the above was not enough, McArthur provided us with a truck to help with our move. They really know how to make the home buying experience perfect.

Our first family dinner after we were all moved in and settled, was wonderful. We were in our dream home and we had the room for all of our children to visit and feel the warmth and love that this gorgeous home holds.

Our experience with McArthur Homes has been nothing short of fantastic. We cannot say enough about what a positive and rewarding time it has been for us. We truly have our dream home and we recommend McArthur Homes to anyone and everyone. As you can see for us, all of the interactions with McArthur Homes and their people, from start to finish, were wonderful! It is impossible for us to pick our favorite. As they say, it is all GOOD!

Our 2nd Home by McArthur Homes -Craig & Beckah Greenwood

My wife and I were living in the Britney Townhomes by McArthur Homes in a Dover model 2bed/1bath. It was great for us as a couple, but we wanted to grow our family in a larger place. We learned that McArthur was building a community in Herriman and we liked our experience at Britany so much that we checked out Legacy Ranch North.

The Community Sales Manager there was very outgoing and friendly and we signed papers that day to take advantage of a discount on the house’s site. I don’t know why there was a discount because it has a great location in the neighborhood, with one of the best views of the Wasatch Mountains!

We have since had two happy and healthy children. The community is always clean and our neighbors are wonderful. We are very happy with McArthur Homes and we would recommend them to all our family and friends (and we often do) and we would absolutely buy another home from McArthur if the need ever arises.

Best Built Home of All -Rod & Lorraine

We have had two homes built previous to McArthur Homes and this was by far the best built home of all. We were living in Pennsylvania and planning to move to Utah when we discovered McArthur Homes online. We sent our son to see the property in Lone Tree Eagle Mountain. Our son met with Andra, the Community Sales Manager, and they made a conference call to us where we settled on the Sarena model by viewing 3" X 5" photos of the house and a small floor plan photo. The Sarena turned out to be the best fit for my wife and I with its generous floor plan.

The building schedule was maintained and we were enjoying our new home in September of 2010. The house has been economical for utilities and built tight and rock solid. The experience of building was hassle free while working with the exceptional employees of McArthur Homes. McArthur Homes has been responsive to our requests for the few warranty items that arose.

All in all working with McArthur Homes has been a great experience. I would recommend them to anyone building a new home.