It will depend on the designer you use. If you do not want to buy through the designer, then you will have to work that out ahead of time and pay a fee for the design work. Many designers make most of their money on commissions, but if you want the architect to contract custom furniture, then you may want an interior designer to design custom furniture for you, which I think is a good idea for the minimalist style. While I was trained as an interior designer, my current profession ( and for the past 19 years) is furniture designer, and I designed furniture for my own house as well. Typically, the fabrics available to an interior designer will not be available for retail, and so you might want to order window treatments and upholstered furniture through the designer, to make sure that the colors coordinate and also to give yourself more choices. I don't know what city you are in, and so I am not aware of what custom furniture shops are available to you, but an interior designer can order custom furniture from custom furniture companies, such as the one I work for now. Almost all of our clients are interior designers, although we do get a few architects, and on occasion we will sell to end users, but those are very special situations. If you want custom furniture, then I think it is best to buy through a designer. If you want to buy through your architect, then you should look at a portfolio of his previous work regarding custom furniture. In general, an interior designer will have much more experience with furniture than an architect.

Thank you all so much for your comments. It's helped me to get a better handle on this. I've told the designer that I need to either stop here or take a break to rethink my priorities. He wants to help, so we will regroup in a couple months. In the meantime, I'll post some of my design dilemmas separately to GW. I paid the designer a flat fee for his design. I am under no obligation to purchase any items from the designer; however, I can recoup a portion of the fee through his discount (40-50% on items that are direct from the manufacturer, but 5-10% on retail items). I have used designers previously - a flat fee to a kitchen designer, an hourly fee for bathroom remodel, and have also used designers from retail stores. The designer I've hired this time has the perspective that he's sifted through many options to develop a design that is unique to my home. He has many years of experience and can better visualize how the plan will fit my space. While I think that the result would be beautiful in my home, it matches neither my life style nor my budget. I don't yet have prices for everything he recommended, but I'm estimating that implementing the first phase of his plan (living room, dining room, and family room) would cost at least $60K, which is well beyond my budget, and seems excessive for my home. (I have a modest home, not a mansion, and I'm not replacing everything). The designer has provided floor layouts and tear sheets of recommended items. He advised that I not "pick and choose" various items from the design, as it will then just be pieces of furniture and not a thought-out plan. For most of the items he's recommended, he's offered few or no options. For example, in the family room, there's a leather couch, coffee table, sofa table, area rug, and lamps - with no options on any of these. Only choice that's up to me is which fake tree to select for that room. I've never purchased a fake tree - I can buy a real one for $125; the fake one is about $900. Unlike a retailer, the designer does not have a showroom where I can try out the seating (couch, chairs). I've never bought furniture without having seen it previously. When I was remodeling my bathroom, I crawled into about fifty different tubs in showrooms before choosing my tub (I ended up with the floor model, so I had in fact crawled into the actual tub I purchased.) When I asked about the return policy, the designer was evasive - saying he was certain I'd like everything. Some items would be custom (upholstered couch, area rugs), but even items that are not custom are likely to be "special order." My local lighting store charges a 25% restocking fee plus return freight for special orders, and I'm guessing that the designer's return fee would be similar to this for non-custom items. I'd like the designer's help with the living room and family room. But I need to stick to my budget. And I want to avoid having to return items that don't work out.

My advice to add: Local builders, architects and designers know local standards, which are a great place to compare from. Size is not an indicator of appliance budget. Same goes for plumbing, cabinets, etc. I build for a wide variety of budgets. In this size range, I've had clients work with appliance budgets from $15K to over $100K (La Cornue), windows can vary the same amount, from standard vinyl to custom commercial style aluminum or wood with collapsible doors. I have my preferences and standards, but I find there is always a new builder who does things differently. Example: While I usually specify engineered hardwoods, I came across a builder using vinyl plank at the $1.35 mil range.... before you turn up your nose at that, it might be a great alternative if you have dogs, and create enough savings to fund another bath or outdoor kitchen. Its all about managing your budget. Each market region and price range has its own standards or better described as "common practices" for certain price ranges.

Tips for Buying Land, Designing and Building A Custom Home, Reposted Part 3 This is the final posting for my article on Buying Land, Designing and Building A Custom Home. Part 2, Continued was just posted. The original posts, Part 1, and the initial Part 2, were posted in January. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, the remainder of the article disappeared after posting. This posting, Part 3, is the final posting of the article. Part 3: Building the Home This is the third and final part of “Tips for Buying Land, Designing and Building A Custom Home” Bidding: Competitive bidding or negotiated construction contract: These are the two general approaches for selecting a builder, or general contractor, for construction—each approach has its own pros and cons. Do some due diligence to understand and identify which is best for you. Your architect can advise you about both approaches and which one may best fit your situation. --Types of construction contracts: Many consumers don’t know that there are three primary types of construction contracts, each of which apportions financial risk in different manner: 1) Lump sum or fixed price (which apportions the financial risk to the builder, who always includes a contingency within the fixed price); 2) Time and materials which apportions all financial risk to the owner; and 3) Cost plus, (which may provide some measure of shared risk) which means the cost of the work (materials and labor), plus typically the builder’s OH and profit. A derivative of the Cost Plus contract is a Cost Plus with a Not to Exceed Amount. To encourage the builder to stay below the Not to Exceed Amount, it’s common to share all savings below the amount 50% to builder and 50% to owner. --Allowances: An allowance is simply a “place holder” inside the contract for construction for one type of work or another, which is not fully detailed, specified or identified completely. Multiple allowances are typical when abbreviated or incomplete construction documents are used for bidding and construction. Allowances are often not a good idea to allow in a construction contract because it allows some builders to put in a sum much too low for what the consumer may actually want. Should this happen it opens the door for a subsequent change order for the builder which will increase the overall cost and profit of the project for the builder. The best strategy for allowances is to have NONE. Zero. Take the time to properly design. detail and specify everything in order to avoid unpleasant surprises created by insufficient or inappropriate allowances. This may be the second most important tip in this article! --Change orders: A change to the specified scope of work described in the construction contract is called a Change Order. Change Orders should always be in writing from the builder, with a description of the changed work, together with the total and complete cost and change to the schedule. The owner must sign the written Change Order and authorize the builder for the work and cost before proceeding with any work. Always carefully read the contract for construction, before signing, to verify the terms and conditions for Change Orders. Do not accept other or lesser definitions for Change Orders. Make it clear, in writing, how Change Orders are to be prepared and managed. Construction: Getting started: Once a contract for construction is signed by owner and builder, it is the builder’s responsibility to confer with the owner and advise about the schedule and sequence of construction. Regularly scheduled meetings with the owner and builder are identified, and the builder identifies who will be in charge of the construction site on a daily basis. The builder is the general contractor, responsible for selecting, scheduling, supervising and payment of all of the other specialty or sub-contractors required for completion of the project. --Complete construction documents vs. abbreviated documents: If one has worked with an architect and has had complete construction documents prepared—properly detailed drawings and written specifications—the construction phase will be much smoother, more orderly and with few surprises. That’s because the builder has complete documents for construction which represent everything desired by the owner and necessary to complete the project. On the other hand, if the owner thought they could save money by only having abbreviated documents prepared, the construction phase is likely to be challenging, with many requests from the builder to the owner as to what the owner wants to do, what selections and finishes are desired, and a host of other construction phase decisions which are required. In addition, there may often be errors in construction arising from a lack of information in the documents, causing the builder to use his best judgement, but which may not meet the owner’s expectations. As a result, changes and revisions may be required during construction which often result in change orders, increased costs and schedule delays. Many owners complain about the frantic pressures and uncontrolled costs during construction, and the majority of these may result from abbreviated and incomplete documents meant to “save money”. The old saying “You get what you pay for…!” is more applicable than many consumers recognize, with the added, stressful and unexpected expenses during construction more than offsetting the costs to prepare complete construction documents in the first place. Take your pick on how you wish to proceed with construction! --Construction observation & administration: Architects provide services to owners, to represent them and their interests, during the construction phase, if retained to do so by the owner. Without an architect, it’s up to the owner to monitor the accuracy and completeness of the construction as it progresses, and to be aware of the construction sequence and schedule. --Progress payments: If a lender is involved they usually their own terms and conditions as to the frequency and amount of progress payments which are acceptable. Always ensure that the terms and conditions from the lender are those incorporated into the construction contract. Architects also provide services to owners to ensure that proper and timely progress payments are made. Without an architect, it’s up to the owner to receive, review and act upon the builder’s requests for payment, and to determine if the billings and the amount of work performed correspond with one another. Always obtain a release of liens statement from the builder for each payment, indicating that the builder has paid all applicable specialty and sub-contractors for the billing period. Without such evidence in hand, the owner is open to liens filed by these contractors if the builder does not pay them on a regular and timely basis for their work. --Retainage: It is common practice (and good judgement) to withhold 10% of each progress payment, so that there is a 10% retainage at the time of substantial completion, final punch list and close out at the conclusion of the project. Ensure these terms are included in your construction contract. --Substantial completion & occupancy: Substantial completion is the term used to designate the point in construction where the owner may occupy the project for its intended use. There may still be outstanding minor work and/or corrections, which will be noted on the final punch list. --Final punch list & close out: The final punch list is compiled by the owner and the builder, working together, noting all minor work and/or corrections which may be needed and which must be fully completed before final payment of the retainage amount. --Certificate of Occupancy: Some jurisdictions require that a formal Certificate of Occupancy be issued by a Building Official, and all code violations remedied by the builder, before an owner may occupy the project. In such cases, it’s the builder’s responsibility to comply with jurisdictional requirements in a timely manner and to keep the owner informed.