Lantana vs. Gardenia vs. Bridgeport

[nanci2539]

Just returned from our third trip to TV. Life Preview is great isn't it!

As soon as our home sells; we're heading back to buy a designer home. But am I ever confused!

I like the openness of the Lantana and the large guest rooms, as well as the larger laundry room but I don't like the kitchen (size) nor do I like one closet in the master.

I love the entrance of the Gardenia and the kitchen is a good size but I'm not crazy about the floor plan. I absolutely love the kitchen in the Bridgeport as well as the half bath and jack and jill guest baths but I don't like the basic floor plan as well as the entrance.

So if I could take a little from each model; I would have my dream retirement home.

For those of you who live in a designer; any regrets on the model you choose or after thoughts?

[784caroline]

WE were able to find a CBS Lantana w/extended golf cart garage that was also extended 2 feet on the kitchen knook side of the house. With the 2 foot extension, the kitchen now has a center island with cabinets and one additional double wall cabinet. In our opinion, this option makes the Lantana kitchen more functinal than the Bridgeport. AS far as the one Master bedroom closet....it could be better. However what we did was remove the existing shelving/hanging space and put in 3 levels od shelving/hangars that took advantage of the length of shirts, long clothes etc and also provides room up top for items not needed as much. I got the smaller side while the better half has the larger side of the closet. Nat as good as 2 separate closets but at least we have the extended golf cart garage and kitchen with center island.

Highly suggest you tell your RE Agent that you want a Lantana with a center kitchen island ..... and let he/she look for you. May be hard to find with other options you are looing for, but I think you would like it very much

[puttermai]

We moved from a Royal Palm designer house to a Lantana which we stretched 2 feet in back and one down the middle. We love this house. We do miss not having a his and her closet in the master bedroom, but we added shelves and racks so we have enough room for both of us. Love the large guest rooms. We use the front room as a family room. We put in a pocket door in the hall, so guests have total privacy. We put in a Murphy bed in the middle room and use this room as both a guest room and a computer room. We love this model! Barb B.

[Opnmoooredoors]

The Lantana is a great home,,,,but the kitchen is lacking drawer space and cabinet space. Check out the drawers. Hardly any space to put anything.

Dianne

[Lil Dancer]

We purchased the Gardenia because of the larger kitchen, and the nice master with closets. We liked the roomy feeling great room. The lantana seemed broken up somehow, but the larger 3rd bedroom is a plus. My only regret is that we have neighbors directly behind us who are party people and noisy, which I understand is quite rare in The Villages, we just got "lucky". If you can swing it, I'd suggest getting a more private lot overlooking water, golf course, or by a privacy wall.

[Russ_Boston]

Lil Dancer - Just curious -

Did you buy your home quickly or did you have the time to see who might be living in your back yard? Or did they move in after you did?

I appreciate the advice because i certainly want to avoid 'party people' behind me if possible. I guess I'll have to just pay more for a view site but even then i guess you can get 'lucky' by having side neighbors who are noisy.

[nanci2539]

I'm kind of chuckling Russ - BTW, I am originally from the Boston area, lived there most of my adult life!

You can't pick your neighbors - that's for sure!

We now live in IL, in a golf club community where some of the homes are priced in the millions. I am pretty close to my neighbors in back of me but with creative landscaping; it's become our private oasis.

We are fortunate to have quiet neighbors; up until a few years ago. A young couple moved into a home that is beside the home behind us. There deck is in a direct viewing line of our back yard. We have a pretty large lot for this area, about 1/4 acre. We spend our summers in the gazebo that's off our deck.

Well, our new neighbor loved to play country (I should say hillbilly) music, loud and consistently. He would sit outside on his deck, shirtless (and no, it was not a pretty sight) and he smoked so much that the smoke would drift into our gazebo. To add to this, he was on his cell phone all night and he talked loudly enough for us to hear every word of his conversation. His wife was no better and felt the need to air the dirty laundry. Of course the music was so loud that she had to scream above the noise. I should add that she walked out on him after a year and the house was up for sale for another year!

I don't think he was in mourning because he continued to have loud get togethers and play the nightly music loud enough that it was heard several streets away.

It was a happy day when he moved this past summer and a nice single quiet lady moved in!

So, if you can do some homework and buy in a developed area of TV; it may be to your advantage to ask around and talk to the folks already living there.

[MMC24]

After several trips to TV, we finally decided on the Bridgeport because of the extra half bath and the way the Guest Bath is located between the two guestrooms. The Kitchen lay out is better than the Lantana. Another major factor was the Dinning Room is separated from the Living Room. We did like the Gardenia but chose the Bridgeport because of the overall lay out. We liked the Williamsburg best of all but didn't like the price.

[beady]

We have the Lantana(Juniper) model. The kitchen is very lacking in drawer space. We have decided to put more cabinets in the laundry room above the washer and dryer and down one wall. That will help with the lack of kitchen storage space. Otherwise we love the house. We have the larger bedroom as the guest room, small bedroom for den and an extended lanai (12x30)
Lovin it here in TV 040 040

[Lil Dancer]

Russ Boston - we bought our houses at the same time (they were new homes at the time). I think there are no guarantees when it comes to noise. You may start off with good neighbors but if someone moves you don't know who you'll get for a neighbor. In our previous neighborhood we had barking dogs all day long which drove me crazy. Luckily we don't have that here. As far as the neighbors out back, we're going to enclose our lanai, which should help take care of the problem. Our front entry way is quite large and we have some wicker chairs out there and a small table for times we want to sit outside. I like the view from out front better as well.

[SteveFromNY]

We have the Gardenia. There were a few things that were important to us:
1) The large open kitchen was a must and let me eliminate models with closed kitchens.
2) We really liked the master bedroom with a hallway near the entrance (I didn't want the bedroom to open right onto the living area), and two separate large walk-in closets.
3) The separate section of the house - almost like a separate apartment - when the sliding doors closed. A separate den, bath and bedroom for anyone visiting (or for me when things aren't going right ;D )
4) The hall entrance - I didn't care to step into the LR/DR from the street.
5) The outside entrance - I preferred the open feel outside too the "down-the-hall" look of the entry to the Lantana.

Honestly though, this is a hugely subjective decision. And one that you could make (any of them) and be able to feel happy about it for the rest of you time in TV!

[TV MAN]

Well,

We chose a Bridgeport ll Model. When we started looking several months ago we saw several design types. At 1st we thought we wanted a more open space type floor plan, but after seeing several we knew we did not want to have the kitchen to be the 1st thing you saw when coming in the front door, so we scratched that idea.

When we came across the one we purchased, saw the view and also saw it was stretched 2 ft in the front with the extended golf cart garage & were hooked. Great view over looking small pond with golf course behind it. Close enough on quite days to hear soft voices in the distance but no carts riding behind the house.

One house next door occupied and the are quite retired couple, on other side no neighbors in evidence as of yet will keep our fingers crossed that they also will be on the tame side.

Got to spend thanksgiving weekend in it and it was wonderful look forward to getting back soon! ;D

[DDoug]

Buy the biggest and the mosr you can you can always down size. We have a bridgeport , stretched out, and love it

[jtdraig]

We bought a Gardenia..stretched it out...bought a great lot....made it a 3 bedroom...and are enjoying life....my advice..take the time to look at the model you like best and have your real estate person find it for you.......there isn't any pressure now and even if you have to make a couple of trips, invest the time. Hopefully. you will live here for a LONG time.

[TV MAN]

Oh yeah one more thing our kitchen is a great size and has lot's of cabnet space. It also has a center island.

[nanci2539]

If I thought I was confused last week while there, I have to admit, my head is dizzy now!

I love the entrance to the Gardenia and in terms of entrance, the Lantana is a close second. I guess you can call that curb appeal. It's that appeal that makes you get out of the car to look

I don't like the entrance to the Bridgeport at all. It's too square - now if they arched it, I think the look would be pretty because it's deep enough to add a bench or pretty urn.

My husband likes the layout of the Lantana - it's open and what we're use too but we now live in over 4,000 sq feet so for me, downsizing takes on a whole new meaning. Because I have a huge kitchen now, the kitchen in the Lantana seems tiny. The Gardenia is a bit better and the Bridgeport is the best in terms of the kitchen.

I don't know how others do it; switching from living in a big home with all the am amentities (I have over 35 cabinets in my kitchen) to a home half the size. I feel like there's something the matter with me. I love TV; the lifestyle and the people. There is no doubt that this is where we want to be as soon as our home is sold. I even came to terms (almost) about leaving my three little grandkids and my son and daughter and their spouses. Of course, I'll probaby cry for six months!

Can someone explain what stretched means - I know it's extra footage but if you can't customize a home, how can you get extra footage where you want it? For instance, if the Bridgeport, I would want the extra in the guest bedrooms the Gardenia, both the kitchen and guest rooms; the Lantana, definitely the kitchen. And I also want the biggest lanai we can have.

Okay, am I dreaming and being totally unrealistic?

When I was in the square one night, we were standing behind a women waiting for our turn (Happy Hour); we got to talking and I mentioned the size of the homes. She looked a me like I had two heads and said "who cares". From that point on, I didn't talk about it because I felt like an odd ball caring abut the home. But we all have to live in it right so shouldn't this be just as important as playhing golf and having fun!

[captain1202]

nanci,

Re: downsizing...we just suck it up get rid of as much STUFF as possible. At TV it's not about STUFF, it's about enjoying yourself. That said, we still brought too much but are whittling away at it. Don't want to get rid of all the reminders of good times past you know!

[Russ_Boston]

Nanci - My house isn't quite 4000 SqF but it is above 3000 and with the kids gone I have at least 3 rooms that really don't do much for me. We can't wait to get under 2000 SqF. I agree that kitchen layout is second only to lanai/outside room (east facing of course).

We might even get rid of ALL furniture and start fresh just for the heck of it!

[MMC24]

Nanci:

For years, TV had a Design Center and the buyer could stretch the footprint of their home for an additional charge. They have since closed the Design Center and this is no longer an option. So now pre-owned stretched homes that are for sale use this as a selling feature.

[nanci2539]

So if you want a particular model stretched, they can find one for you?

[beady]

Nanci,
You might want to talk to your Village agent about stretched models. Seems to me I remember being shown a Jasmine in Duval, new, that was 2 feet wider than the regular model. It would be worth asking.

[chelsea24]

We just moved in about a month ago to a Lantana and I adore this house. Yes, the kitchen is a little smaller, but I love the other two rooms and bath being separate from the rest of the house. When my daughter came to visit she felt the privacy. That pocket door is a great idea also. What I found more important was the land behind us. I didn't want to be staring into other people's lani's or yards, so we went for the privacy. We had been twice before looking and almost bought, but I'm glad we waited because of the location we have. I can do with a smaller kitchen anyway, I've cooked enough! Happy hunting.