hire and pay a good designer
spend money upfront where it counts:
design
foundation
frame
enclosure
services
roof
windows and doors
those are all important, but roof can be changed, windows and doors can be changed with some effort and it gets harder to change the foundation, frame, services (depending on how you do it, could be easier than most), and enclosure.
upgrade the small stuff later on - put in what is serviceable that fits in the budget, but have a plan for transitioning over the life of the house.
build small(er) - but build smarter.
optimize your plan for how YOU live, not how your designer or your favorite celebrity, or a magazine thinks you should, or your friends live.
i have a small test / essay questions that i give clients, asking them all sorts of stuff - including long(ish) answers about coming home from the market, entertaining friends, what a typical saturday morning is like, etc. how they wake up in the morning, what they eat for breakfast, if they like cold toes, sitting in a sunny spot, etc. etc. etc.
the world is what you make it.
in many cases, beauty is not a budget problem, but an expectations and creativity problem.
and, nothing is free. somewhere, you pay for it - either in sweat, in $$, in overtime, in thinking things through.
and, try to do the big things right the first time - don't fall into the 'always time to do it twice, never time to do it right' mindset.
but don't be afraid to experiment.
conundrum, for sure.
Last edited by bmike; 07/08/11 01:59 PM.
