Depending on what is available in your area, check to be sure that your land can have a septic system if your lot is not already on municipal waste disposal -- I once owned a 12-acre lot which had 1 [one] place that passed perc... nearly 1,000 feet from where we had wanted to site the house. Our present 15-acre lot has only two areas that passed perc, and we were advised that it was a limited pass (no more than 2 bathrooms, no dishwasher). Also, if there is no municipal water, get the well drilled before building! A) It's likely to be a major expense and B) construction will need water available. And C), you'll find out if you need additional equipment to make the water potable. Before you firm-set your house site, rent an RV and spend a couple weeks living at that orientation. it's much easier to move a RV from north to east than it is to guess that you'll like your kitchen window facing a particular direction. Check with close-by, long-term neighbors as well as the meteorological services for that area. We discovered that although local meteorologists considered storm winds to be primarily from the northwest, neighbors [and our experience since then] warned that the severest summer storms come from southeast and milder ones from due west, while winter storms come from due south. This can matter, not only for planting, but for considering window size and orientation, and whether your front door and garage doors will be blasted by rain and snow. As soon as you choose your probable house plans, start selecting and getting the actual prices of fixtures, cabinets, and flooring. Keep a spreadsheet that details how much [X] cost on what date. Add 5% to the cost for each year in advance of the expected building date to allow for inflation. You'll save yourself a lot of last-minute stress if you've already determined that you like a particular type of light fixture, bathtub, kitchen cabinet, floor tile, and so on. Yes, manufacturers will change styles but not all that often, and your choice will usually be available within a 5-year timeframe. One thing I do [and it doesn't seem to be a common practice], is to make a scale model of the house plans. The operative word is *scale*! I use balsawood, styrofoam and cardboard of various thickness, measure carefully thrice before cutting, and put together with glue and tape. I discovered that -for me- a fifteen foot hallway is dreary, trotting around kitchen islands is weary, and I don't like it if the refrig door gets in the way of carrying a dish to the counter. While pretending everyday activities, my scale model of *me* discovered that many doors are too narrow to manage when on crutches [or in a wheelchair]; some designing-idjits put the bathroom sink too close to something else so that you can't walk past if the cabinet door beneath is open -- a different design had the TP holder four feet from the toilet... ; those same design-idjits apparently think everybody can reach both the top shelf in the kitchen (6 feet up) and the back of the base cabinet. If I need a ladder or to get on my knees, I don't count it as usable storage! And speaking of storage, do consider what you may need, especially if you have hobbies or special interests that may take special spaces. Try to imagine living there during a snowstorm, hurricane, icestorm, and flooding rains. Also imagine carrrying groceries in and garbage out during those conditions -- I don't like attached garages, but my future house definitely will have a portico so I can get the groceries to the kitchen without slippery steps.

Krista - I've added some of my thoughts below. It's kind of long and repeats much of what is said above, but hopefully it helps you at least a little. Even indoors, the concept of seasonality still applies. We typically change our thermostats to the seasons and there are daily fluctuations that correspond to the weather outside. Here are my average indoor growing temperatures from last July to this February: Right now I am purposely keeping my home cooler in order to get better growth from my plants. The graph above is compressed so unfortunately you don't see the day/night temperature differential (17C night, 20-30C day under lights currently). Throughout the seasons, I try to keep similar photoperiod as the actual seasons here but keep a minimum of about 10 hours. That's because I want to give my succulents as much light/energy for growing as possible. Probably could spend all night long posting different graphs of my growing data, haha. I do not find a need to restrict or provide water to my plants to regulate their dormancy/activity. They take care of this themselves and all I do is respond to their needs. If they are growing then I just keep watering. Of course I am mindful of my Lithops/Gibbaeum/Lapidaria to ensure they don't grow too many pairs of leaves. If they are going dormant/semi-dormant then I water minimally to sustain them. In my conditions, if I stop watering completely most will die or suffer so much they will be damaged/setting back many months worth of growth. Most people would disagree with this, but if I miss the 'right' day to water by just two days then I can see the difference. It's like losing a week or two of progress. If neglected, my plants will surely survive but losing just a couple leaves on valuable plants can be very disappointing. Somewhere along the way I decided that 'growing something hard' is not necessarily meaning you barely water it because that's only one part of the equation. The rest is light/temperature/soil mix which can be similarly applied 'harshly'. Every fall, nearly all of my Mesembs flower indoors: Aloinopsis, Faucaria, Fenestraria, Gibbaeum, Lapidaria, Lithops, Neohenricia, Pleiospilos, Stomatium, Titanopsis. There are some stragglers, which are budding and I hope will flower late winter: Rabiea, Ihlenfeldtia, maybe Cheiridopsis. Also flowering in the fall/winter are many other succulent genus that I grow: Haworthia, Crassula, Gasteria, Aloe, Schlumbergera, Echeveria, Euphorbia, Dorstenia, Adromischus, Anacampseros. The only main difference in watering for me is the frequency. When it's cooler or shorter days, then the plants use less water and don't dry out as quickly. You could say in summer I water every 4 days and in the winter I water every 6 or 7 days. Absolutely everything is fertilized the same throughout the year. Contrary to popular advice, my succulents and Mesembs in particular are not gangly, unhealthy, or have hordes of extra leaves. What I found is the vast majority of succulent genus and species are opportunistic growers. For many, summer is a bad time for growing and not much happens. Fall and spring are the best season where virtually everything is growing. A great deal of my collection are traditionally classified as 'winter growers' and I enjoy that they are because it's fun growing indoors. Of course my 'summer growers' are growing too, but just not as fast as they were in the shoulder seasons around summer. As mentioned above, summer isn't the best time for growing under my conditions. It's very hot and stressful on my rooftop, even in zone 6a. Things get very colourful, but also slow down greatly. In the loft it gets hot too, but not as bad as outside. Indoor growing does have the benefit of being a little less extreme than outside and I can better control the conditions, leading to better growth. For sure I would have better results growing everything indoors year long but my 6xT5HO bank of lights are expensive to run and generate a LOT of unwanted heat in the summer. Plus it's just so comfortable for me to relax on the roof with my plants and enjoy the outdoors. Watering is a breeze and it's fun out there. However, the vast majority of my expensive Haworthia do stay indoors for the summer so they grow better and there is no chance of damage from squirrels, storms, scorch, or whatever nature throws at me. It's less stressful and more productive. The 4xT5HO are spread out much more so the heat isn't as bad and electricity cost is a little less. As for pests, I think indoors the conditions are just better/worse for different types from outside. We don't get aphids and ants inside, but you can still get mealies. Hot dry conditions are perfect things like mites and thrips. Or if more humid you may get fungus gnats, springtails, or molds. Outside pests are spread by wind, rain, and even other pests. Inside pests are spread similarly by air fans, watering splashing, and direct contact due to close proximity. If you have a very 'closed' system then you can stay pest free if you are clean and attentive. But if you buy new plants from anywhere then there is a risk you will bring something in. The important part is knowing how to identify them quickly, accurately, and know which action to take. Some pests are harder than others and I am relieved to say I have figured out how to eradicate them all (so far). After all the long-winded text above, I suppose my approach is trying to grow the way I know works best. There are so many resources online, but I have a great deal of skepticism on the advice given. Maybe I'm picky or stubborn or maybe I'm just trying to do better? Still, there are many expert growers and I'm picking up little tips here and there from them that are so incredibly helpful. At the least I try and adapt those parts into my own growing method. My goal is to get every species I grow to flower as well as have them grow as compact and colourful as possible. So far it's working fairly well - we'll see how this year fares for me. =)

We grow cilantro year round, but it does much better in the Fall/winter/spring than in summer. I start seeds in small pods placed in full sun with ample water. Then I transfer the seedlings to raised outdoor beds in either full shade (summer) or partial shade (fall/winter/spring). This is the only thing that has worked for me and using this method, I did mange to grow cilantro all summer. If I try to direct seed in a shady location, the seed never germinates or is very weak. If I try to direct seed in a sunny location, it bolts before I get a significant crop.

What sort of furniture do you have in your home? Perhaps you have a book case that could have a glowy lamp in? Our china cabinet light puts off a nice glow evenings and early morning. We enjoy the glow of battery operated candles on our end tables through the dark winter.