Lilly vs. Gardenia vs. ?

[glgene]

I see where a couple of people on TOTV have recently stated they are buying the Lilly model. Could you explain to me the advantages of Lillly vs. Gardenia vs. ??

I have vacationed at TV 3 times, and I like the layout of the Gardenia, incl. 2 walk-in closets in the MBR, pocket door to 2nd/3rd bedroom area, and the MBR opposite side of the LR.

I have never toured the Lilly, but I have seen the layout on The Villages web site.

Lilly lovers, please speak out. Tell me about the extra advantages of the Lilly from your perspective? Thanks.

Gene, SW Ohio
TV Wannabe

[glgene]

Still would like to hear some good points about the Lilly house model. Thanks.

Gene in SW Ohio

[rshoffer]

we have a camillia.... same floorplan exactly as the Gardinia.... we love our floorplan.... the front window adds a brightness and openness that I believe is missing in the Lily. You will never be disappointed with a Gardinia.

[Russ_Boston]

My reasons for preferring the Lilly:

It has a very large bedroom in front (with a large window, albeit no foyer window) that is much bigger than the gardenia and could be used as a 2nd living room/office/bedroom. And it has a closet so it is considered a bedroom. This room was my selling point.

The other bedroom is also larger than the Gardenia.

The MB comes with tray ceilings.

No columns in front of the kitchen.

A larger standard garage.


At least that is my recollection of why we prefer the Lilly but Gardenia is my second choice.

[graciegirl]

If only they would make the Gardenia/ Camellia with a two foot kick in other bedrooms, it would be PERFECT. They are now building some Gardenias/Camellias with wider lanais which is great!

The Lily is similar to the Lantana, a great house but not as bright inside, even with solar tubes.

[SteveFromNY]

I have a Gardenia and am very happy with the floor plan. I too have only seen the Lily floorplan, but I can make a couple of comments about the things I know about the Gardenia and the things I see in the floorplan of the Lily.
First, the MBR door opens direcly into the living room. I like the hallway in the Gardenia getting to the MBR. More privacy in my opinion.
Second, there is a single (shared) closet in the MBR. Not good for me and the Mrs.
Third, the standard Gardenia lanai is awkwardly narrrow at 8' 6". The Lily is even narrower.
Fourth, there is no MBR exit to the lanai.
On the plus side, the Lily has 3 real bedrooms, with closets. The 3rd BR in the Gardenia is a den as it has no closet.
And, the Lily is 70 sq ft bigger.

[jinker]

If and when we can retire, I would pick the Gardenia. I don't like having the MBR closet opening into the bathroom because of moisture. Also, I think having the breakfast room at the front of the house is preferable. Look at the Begonia. It is similar to the Gardenia but has a bigger garage, although you lose a window in the breakfast area.

[conn8757]

I just purchased a Lily but we haven't lived in it yet. The deciding factor for us was the large 3rd bedroom in the front of the house which we will use as a living room/computer room. We will have family visiting for a week at a time when they come. The third bedroom (our living room) and guest room and bathroom will shut off so they have complete living quarters when we need time away from each other or in the case of my sons when they sleep in in the mornings and stay up very late or come in late. I felt like I would never use the bedrooms the other way except as maybe a computer room. I know we will use the living room if we have guests that want to talk versus watch the games, or for other reasons. The laundry room is also very big. The walk in closet is huge (we would never fill it with our clothes since we have lived in Florida 25 years and only have light weight clothes.) The Lily and Begonia (the new models) will fit on a small interior lot although the Lily has 2000 square feet. Our lanai is 26.5 ft x 12 or 13 feet. It is my understanding they are stretching them if the lot will hold it as they did ours. We basically have no back yard though. Hope this helps.

[SteveFromNY]

My reasons for preferring the Lilly:

It has a very large bedroom in front (with a large window, albeit no foyer window) that is much bigger than the gardenia and could be used as a 2nd living room/office/bedroom. And it has a closet so it is considered a bedroom. This room was my selling point.

The other bedroom is also larger than the Gardenia.

The MB comes with tray ceilings.

No columns in front of the kitchen.

A larger standard garage.


At least that is my recollection of why we prefer the Lilly but Gardenia is my second choice.


Russ, according to the floorplans the small BR and Den in the Gardenia are larger than the 2 BR's in the Lily. I am not sure how thay count the alcove in the measurement. The 2 floorplans are not to scale on the website.

I also believe tray ceilings come in the Gardenia as well.

Correct the garage is larger.

[rshoffer]

If only they would make the Gardenia/ Camellia with a two foot kick in other bedrooms, it would be PERFECT. They are now building some Gardenias/Camellias with wider lanais which is great!

The Lily is similar to the Lantana, a great house but not as bright inside, even with solar tubes.Our Camillia came with a 2 ft stretched oversized lanai which is awesome.

[NJblue]

The two things that we didn't like about the Gardenia were:

1) the two secondary BRs/den were considerably smaller than the Lantana which the the Lilly seems to be modeled after (and, yes, they are also smaller than the Lilly secondary BRs according to the floor plans that I see)

2) There was no door between the MBR and the masterbath area which meant that if someone came to bed after the other person and wanted to brush his/her teeth or use the bathroom, the light from the bathroom spilled out into the bedroom area thus bothering the person trying to sleep.

The thing that we absolutely loved about the Gardenia, however, was the quad sliding doors that completely opened up into the lanai. This was not available in the Lantana, sad to say.

[elevatorman]

Another choice is the Begonia. Same floor plan with a golf car garage in front of the nook. You do loose the street facing window in the nook, but we thought it worth the sacrifice to gain the garage. Moving into our's June 18.:pepper2:

[Russ_Boston]

Russ, according to the floorplans the small BR and Den in the Gardenia are larger than the 2 BR's in the Lily. I am not sure how thay count the alcove in the measurement. The 2 floorplans are not to scale on the website.

I also believe tray ceilings come in the Gardenia as well.

Correct the garage is larger.

Steve, not sure where you are looking -

Gardenia - Bed 2 = 11-2 by 11 Den = 11-4 by 11-3
Lily = Bed 2 = 12-1 by 12-5 Bed 3/den = 15-8 by 11-8

For reference:

http://www.thevillages.com/homes/newHomes/floor/floorplan.asp?modelname=Gardenia


http://www.thevillages.com/homes/newHomes/floor/floorplan.asp?modelname=Lily

When viewed right after each other (which is what we did in the model center) the difference is readily apparent. We plan to use that front room/den as an office with a 2nd large screen TV with surround sound setup so we can close the door off to the rest of the house. Not only are the dimensions much bigger in that room but the pushed out 'bay' style window adds even more depth and light.

Tray ceiling may now be offered on the Gardenia but the floor plan does not reflect that nor did the model that I saw.

We also plan to push out the lanai with a birdcage and a concrete patio (and/or pool) if the lot will accept it. All depends on the $$.

Again - this is just our opinion and everyone's taste and needs are different.

Russ

[SteveFromNY]

Steve, not sure where you are looking -

Gardenia - Bed 2 = 11-2 by 11 Den = 11-4 by 11-3
Lily = Bed 2 = 12-1 by 12-5 Bed 3/den = 15-8 by 11-8

For reference:

http://www.thevillages.com/homes/newHomes/floor/floorplan.asp?modelname=Gardenia


http://www.thevillages.com/homes/newHomes/floor/floorplan.asp?modelname=Lily

When viewed right after each other (which is what we did in the model center) the difference is readily apparent. We plan to use that front room/den as an office with a 2nd large screen TV with surround sound setup so we can close the door off to the rest of the house. Not only are the dimensions much bigger in that room but the pushed out 'bay' style window adds even more depth and light.

Tray ceiling may now be offered on the Gardenia but the floor plan does not reflect that nor did the model that I saw.

We also plan to push out the lanai with a birdcage and a concrete patio (and/or pool) if the lot will accept it. All depends on the $$.

Again - this is just our opinion and everyone's taste and needs are different.

Russ


Russ,
I pulled up a Lily & a Gardenia on the New Homes site, and clicked on floor plans. That's where I saw the dimensions. That was all I based it on.

I went to an open house with a Gardenia a few weeks ago and it had the tray ceiling.

I am of course not disagreeing with you, as you say tasets and needs are different.

I do agree with one of the prior posts that talked about the 12 ft wide slider. It is nice. Really opens up the entire house when it's open.

[glgene]

Many, many thanks to all who replied with my question on comparing the Lilly to the Gardenia model. That's exactly the kind of comparative info Kathy and I need. We'll talk it about it this weekend (as we talk about TV every weekend).

In the meantime, Gracie & Henry, are you ready for an afternoon at the track back in Cincinnati? Will be fun. Lots of laughs.

Gene (& Kathy), SW Ohio
TV Wannabes

[ssmith]

My husband and I noticed there was a discrepency on the websight about the Lilly. On the opening page floor plan there was a difference between that and then when you actually looked at a Lilly then opened the floor plan it showed larger bedrooms. Perhaps this is the cause of some misunderstanding.

[Russ_Boston]

Correct SSmith - If you look at a lily for sale you'll see this floor plan which has the smaller rooms listed: http://www.thevillages.com/homes/newlyConstructed/designerHomes/Lily.asp?modelname=LILY&showPrice=FALSE&tour=DH58&feature=

But the ones being built are to these specifications where the BR are larger by taking some space from the MB and other areas.

This is the current floor plan: http://www.thevillages.com/homes/newHomes/floor/floorplan.asp?modelname=Lily

I notified the sales staff about this during my visit but it remains that way.

[l2ridehd]

And in some cases you can get the extra space in the Gardenia. Our den in the Gardenia happens to be 14-6 by 11-2. Wish they had also added a bay window and replace the added 2 feet with a closet, but maybe someday. Has anyone added a bay window to an existing home? Or how about taking a standard Gardenia model and eliminating the window in the breakfast nook and adding a golf cart garage like the Lily? I am sure it could be done, the question is would it be allowed and at what cost?

I love my location. Wouldn't change it for any other place in The Villages. And I am sure many others feel exactly the same. But I certainly would love to add a bay window to my den, then add a closet to that room and make it a real 3rd bedroom, and would love to add the golf car garage in front of the breakfast nook. The closet is easy as I am not changing the footprint. The other two I don't know. I have the space, lot size, etc, but not sure if it would be allowed. Any one tried it?

[chuckinca]

If I had my druthers - the Lily front bedroom makes it a winner for me. Great for the wife's crafts room.

A door off the foyer to the garage would be nice.

.

[conn8757]

The Lily did not have the golf car garage but the Begonia did.

[Russ_Boston]

Lily can be made with golf car add-on if lot size allows.

[aljetmet]

If only they would make the Gardenia/ Camellia with a two foot kick in other bedrooms, it would be PERFECT. They are now building some Gardenias/Camellias with wider lanais which is great!

The Lily is similar to the Lantana, a great house but not as bright inside, even with solar tubes.


Can't you stretch the Gardenia/Camellis/Begonia 2 feet on the side to make the 2nd bedroom, den, living room and lania 2 feet wider?

Also if you do that, do you need a larger lot to place the house?

[gdelaney]

I moved into my Gardenia in Dec. I love the floor plan. In addition to all the favorable features mentioned by others, I like that you can get to the bedrooms and den without having to go throuh the carpeted living/dining rooms. Saves the carpeting.

The 2nd bedroom and the den are quite small. However, there is an option to stretch the den three feet and make it a third bedroom. Not all lots are large enough to accomodate the stretch, though. If size of rooms is a big consideration you might prefer the Lily.

[CSilvestrucci]

My Gardenia has a tray ceiling in the master bedroom and the master bath has a door.
I like how the guest bedrooms and bath can be closed off for privacy.
I've been in my house over a year and would choose this model again for those and many other reasons.

[pzjay]

Just returned from TV. Our first love is the Lily: much larger nook area and very bright with windows and slider on 3 sides (brightens the kitchen also). Master bath has window by vanity. This is no longer avail in Gardenia. The guest bedroom area is SO much larger than the Gardenia - even with front and sides stretched on the Gardenia plus Lily has the big bow window in that room. The guest area can also be closed off with pocket door. Guest bath has larger bathroom and vanity. The one thing I favored in the Gardenia is that the LR is kind of separated from the kitchen where in the Lily, the sofa will basically back up to the counter. These were our two FAVORITE models, but Lil won out in the end! Our personal likes and taste only. Bpth are lovely homes!
Now they had better not add any more models before we build!:thumbup:

[cherylncliff]

We looked at all the models for a long time before finally settling on a Lilly. One of the strong draws was the third bedroom (with closet). We stretched the garage 2 ft forward, added a golf cart garage (requires a wide lot) and stretched the lanai 4 ft. We have also added a large birdcage off the lanai. We do not have the stacked slider but find that the std sliding doors provide enough openness for us and our cats.:thumbup:

The reality is, we spend little time in the house with all the other things to do!

Good luck with your choices!:welcome: