This may sound intimidating but you can do it.  Only you know what’s best for you and your family. Your design needs to match who you are, and who you want to be.  Give yourself flexibility; needs and wants will change over time.  Families often grow, shrink and grow again. Trust your gut, it is probably right.  If it seems too expensive it probably is, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Customize the spaces in your home and consider how they relate to each other. It’s hard to describe, but as you work with the space the home starts to make decisions for you and they generally fit into your plans.  As an example, when we did more detailed review, we couldn’t fit in a 6 burner stove in the kitchen without losing a window.  Instead, we substituted a standard stove and wall oven, which saved us money and it worked out beautifully.  Form follows function, and a well built home develops a life and energy of its own. 

You need to design before you turn to professionals, in fact make at least 3 drawings.  If you want to spend more than 5 cars worth of funds do at least 5x more work preparing to make that purchase.  Define your primary goals for your home before you work with your builder and/or an architect.  The more knowledge you bring to the table when you meet with professionals, the more likely you are to get the house you want.  They can give you ideas and work out details, but in the end it’s your responsibility.

We started talking about building a more green/renewable house in the late 1990’s.  It’s finally here and in some ways it’s anti-climatic.  Our home is fairly large, 1800sqft on the main floor, and about 3600 total with the unfinished bonus over the garage (about 3200 without the bonus room).  We started at 1200 a floor but keeping in the handicap requirements and assuming, older parents or relatives may move in, we rearranged and ended up with more square footage.  Today, it has 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and has room to grow.  We could turn the bonus into two bedrooms if needed, probably a guest room/storage and a project space.  Our home is located between Green Bay and Kewaunee Wisconsin.  We are on the edge of Zone 5 for planting.   We see 8000 heating degree days and are located at approximately Lat 44 Long 87.  Lat and Long are needed to calculate the sun exposure, and the heating/cooling needs.   You can find your Lat/Long online using mapping web sites, county maps or satellite imaging web sites