Welcome to the Chateau!
Yes, I named the house. Yes, it’s a joke. I thought it would be funny to grow grapes in the yard – as many Utah homes have – and then turn those grapes into wine, bottle it, and sell it as “Chateau de Mont”. Obviously that never happened, or I would, of course, be a millionaire by now.
This site is a sort of baby book for our house. I’m a web developer, so I just enjoy making websites for no reason. Getting this home through construction, making updates, and sometimes just living here has been an adventure. We’ve had a lot of good times in this house and made a lot of update. This is my way of documenting it. If you’re in the process of building your own home – or maybe you’re looking at buying this one – I hope this helps you.
Our Saratoga Springs/Eagle Mountain/Silverlake Home
We moved from the Orem/Provo area to the Silverlake subdivision – technically Eagle Mountain, but on the border shared with Saratoga Springs. The house is a literal stone’s throw from Saratoga Springs, since I can stand in my yard and toss one across the fence into the farmland next door. This is a joke I’ve made more often than I’d like to admit. But, Google does claim the house is in Saratoga Springs sometimes!
It started out as a 4-bedroom, 2½ bath house with an unfinished basement and some nice upgrades (granite countertops, vaulted ceilings, dual showerheads, tile floor, etc) but not much personality. I get it, most people seem to like that neutral flipped-house look – lots of gray/white flooring, paint, and fixtures. I’ve always hated it. I understand it photographs better, and it’s more common to new houses… but we aren’t renting our homes from the future buyers, right? I knew some day we’d move out and someone else would move in and add their own personal touch.
After 6 years of elbow grease and throwing money at licensed contractors, we now have a 5-bedroom, 3 ½ bath house with numerous upgrades, like a water softener, tankless water heater, smart doorbell and thermostat, LVP and hardwood flooring, and so on. The view has changed in ways that look incredible. I’m happy with my home. If I could just transplant this house into the state we’re moving to, I would. (I guess that’s a reason to consider mobile homes in the future, huh?)
You can read more about the house itself on the Sales Pitch About the Chateau page, read Posts about the last 7 years or you can also contact me if you have questions about anything. I like talking about houses and DIY projects in general and I’d be interested to hear what others think.