I'd add in, "Listen to your architect and builder." This adds the caveat to make sure they know what your budget is and that you will LISTEN to advice on maximizing it. I've had both of them explain calmly and gently that something I wanted to do is probably going to be ghastly expensive. And then proffer an alternative that helps get closer to what we want without spending needlessly. If you listen at the front end of the project regarding siting, design, and site development, you'll save yourself so much more money than can be squeezed out of the budget by altering finishes at the end. Some things I've just had to give up on entirely, but I think I'll be happier in the long run for having heeded professional experience. Now, I'm not trying to build a house for $50/sq ft or otherwise get ridiculously under the market rate. But my husband and I were just talking about prioritizing our budget. Which, for us, means spending money on the things that either cannot be changed or would be very difficult to change later - structural elements, windows, etc. Finishes can be upgraded later, built-ins can be added, etc. I find that if you are upfront with most professionals you work with about wanting to be cost-conscious, they'll suddenly become a font of information about how to do so. It helps to be friendly, polite, and not condescending when you do so. Often I've had this happen when I go to one of them and say, "I'd like to do A, but it's sort of expensive." It is not unusual for the response to be, "Well, if we do B, C, and D over in these other areas of the house, we can probably free up enough of your budget for A. And that's really cool, and now I want to do it, so let me go think about it some more." Most of the time, they go think about it, and then come back with an even better idea. Cultivate your pros. They know so much more about their craft than a youtube video does. (Side note: Most of them also seem to like homemade chocolate chip cookies). Also note that this approach is more likely to get you what you want than telling them, "I want A, and Google says that it shouldn't cost me more than $X, so I think you should do it for that even though you quote more."

Even in the face of falling home prices, we decided to continue living in our current home and NOT put it on the market until our new home was ready. Financially, selling earlier MIGHT have made better sense but 1) I absolutely do not want to move more than one time and 2) I cannot stand the thought of real estate agents walking strangers through my home! Besides which, I'll readily admit that I am simply not a good enough house-keeper to keep my home in "showing shape" seven days a week for weeks/months on end. LOL! Being able to clean it up, paint it up, and showcase it after we move out (as opposed to showing it full of all our junk) will probably balance out whatever equity we lose due to the falling market. At least that's what I told DH and since most of the JUNK is his and he didn't want to put it in storage for 9 to 12 months AND he is no better at housework than I am, he let me convince him. Luckily, we were within a couple of thousand dollars of having the mortgage on our first home paid off before we signed a contract for the new build. (Would have already had it paid off but three years ago, when we found the land we wanted, we discovered it was a whole lot cheaper to refinance our house and purchase the land outright than to get a land-only loan.) Since we won't be faced with the possibility of two mortgages, that gave us a lot more freedom. Fortunately too we're in a part of the country that hasn't been hit too hard by the subprime mess plus we're in a university town where rentals are at a premium so, if we can't get a decent price for our current house when we're ready to sell, I'm 100% sure we can keep it rented easily enough. In fact, I've been advised that holding onto the old house and renting it out would probably be the smarter thing to do financially. I just really don't want the hassles of being a "landlord" though so I'd really rather sell it, roll whatever equity we have into the new house, and be done with it.

Beaded Island Panel (not even sure what this means) - $248 Aesthetic... Side or back? I have a plain panel (for budget reasons) on the back of my peninsula. I now see that since there are stools (or people) there all the time, you really cannot see much of the panel. So, I will not be adding decorative doors later as I had originally planned. Cutlery divider - $68 Cheaper at BB&B or elsewhere. However, if you want it to fit "exactly", have your cabinetmaker do it. This is the one insert I bought from our cabinetmaker for that reason...and it fits exactly! You can get the "cut to fit" or make your own for less, so it's up to you. (There's a thread right now about how difficult some trimmable/cut-to-fit inserts are to actually trim properly.) Door mounted spice rack - $117 Cheaper to buy elsewhere. You could also use a drawer or triple-height shelf in an upper cabinet (triple height is an insert w/3 shelves...each one higher than the one in front of it.) If you go the door-mounted route, remember the shelves will need to be cut back to fit the spice rack...or else be sure it fits b/w shelves and don't store anything on the shelves that would get in the way of the rack when the cabinet door is closed. Have you thought of a 9" or so spice pullout instead? Drawer full extension w/ soft close drawer - $73/each Full-extension - definitely worth it and what I consider a "must have" Soft-close - a "nice to have" but not a must. What's the cost difference b/w full-extension & full-extension w/soft-close? Neither of these can usually be done later If you end up with any roll-out tray shelf trays (ROTS), then only get full-extension, not soft-close as soft-close means you have to wait for the closing delay b/f closing the doors. Glass door clear - $302 Glass door seeded - $536 Much cheaper elsewhere for both. My KD was upfront with me and told me NOT to get my glass doors & glass shelves from her b/c she was too expensive. She recommended we go to a glass "store" (she was so very right!) Don't forget glass shelves Knife block insert - $138 Cheaper elsewhere (check Amazon) Open shelf base cabinet (I guess this is for cook books, etc.?)- $296 I would not do unless it's outside the kitchen proper...dust & dirt can easily collect in base cabinets. Plate rack - $484 Aesthetic...but unless it's installed where there are no cabinets, I don't think it can be installed at a later date. Pot and pan cabinet 30" - $390 Drawers! Definitely worth it! Roll out shelf - $103 I repeat, drawers! Definitely worth it :-) Thread: Drawers or doors with pull outs? Spice drawer insert - $104 Spice rack - $315 These 2 AND a spice rack in the door? How many spices do you have? See this thread: How do you store a LARGE collection of spices? Tight mesh pantry shelving - $88 I wouldn't use this at all...I had that in my old kitchen and I hated it! Instead, use a melamine coated solid shelf...easier to clean up, no problems w/spills from the spill to the floor, etc. My KD told me to put in my own shelves as, again, the Contractor overcharges for them. So, our contractor built the pantry and we finished it (Sharb-inspired Pantry Done!) See this pantry thread: Pantry photos/ pics of pantries Tilt tray - $120 Don't have one, didn't want one (and still don't). One disadvantage is that they push the sink back farther to make room...so your sink is set farther back and it can be an issue with back pain (especially if you're tall). However, others here have them and like them. So, it's personal preference. I think these can be retrofitted later...but only if you leave enough space in front of the sink for one. Trash can pullout 2 bin - $409 Definitely worth it. You can retrofit it, but be sure to order the cabinet w/o the door attached (but you do need the door!). Later, you'll attach the pullout you purchase to the door so it's a pullout. It's probably cheaper to do it yourself, but this is one place that I opted to let the cabinetmaker do to ensure the drawer/pullout glides were installed properly.

This is great advice, BUT...what if you and your spouse aren't on same page or timetable. My husband is all about the nuts and bolts of construction, but I am trying to be proactive and get some other decisions made about what he deems more "decorator/cosmetic" type stuff...i.e., cabinetry and interior trim/casing, etc. I tried to tell him the cabinets could have a lengthy lead time depending on what we pick, and that BEFORE we can decide on cabinetry, we have to make a decision on appliances. In other words, we can't plan cabinetry around the 25 year old refrigerator he doesn't want to get rid of until it croaks... We should "plan" for the refrigerator we "want" rather than what we "have". I also want a 36 inch rangetop instead of a 30 inch gas cooktop, and that too has go into the planning. I know he's thinking we'll take a wait and see approach - meaning what we have left $$$-wise and then make appliance decisions, but in the real world it doesn't work that way. I've just run into the same issue with the siding on the house - the plans were drawn with hardie board & batten siding to give the project a fresher mountain farmhouse look. Our GC assumed that meant we wanted to paint the siding after installation because my husband really didn't listen to me when I talked about using a rustic prefinished hardie siding. He thought the "rustic" could just be painted on afterwards, and now is crazed because the GC is telling him the local company that prefinishes the hardie has a 3 month lead time due to their volumes, and the other company that does that type of prefinishing is in Canada and the Pacific Northwest and we'll have high(er) freight charges. It goes back to thinking that "painting" is just "painting" and is a cosmetic thing...