can you post a picture of it? It would make it much easier to provide insight

Milly.. some AWESOME ideas. Thanks so much! Anyone know a simple floor plan creating software or website where I can play with this customizing the plan as opposed to trying to sketch out the changes? -We were thinking of replacing the covered porch on top right with an extended foyer :) and adding an arctic entry to that at some point. We HAVE lots of hunting/fishing/winter gear to store. -Love the idea of starting with the center portion and left wing and leaving off the master bedroom/bath/closet in the "right wing" to start. That is definitely livable and the right wing could be added later. -We were planning on starting with all "fake wood" vinyl flooring which is so durable with kids and dogs. -Love your other suggestions too. Need to find that software to play with. :) new-beginning.. cathedral ceiling is one of my "must haves." It makes a small space seem so much bigger, especially in the dark winter when cabin fever sets in. We have lived in similar houses before (rentals) and really liked them. Good insulation + a heating fan work well to keep the place warm. We are in SW Alaska so it doesn't get super cold here. That said, it could be lowered a bit but we also want the roof to be steep enough to shed snow. lookintomyeyes83.. I'll check it out! I love her furniture projects, didn't know she had house building info! HandyMac.. materials would be barged in from either Anchorage or Seattle. It's quite expensive. I'll ask around about SIP. I don't think there is a crane in town.

Very much like the potted pipe idea. If you can find several wide based plastic christmas tree stands and use PVC pipe with eye hooks or other hardware to hold the wires, they would be more lightweight and portable. They'll even hold a 4"x4"x6' treated post for solar lights and/or bird feeders and/or wind chimes and/or lightweight decorations such as flags (and/or, IF weight is balanced, flower hanging baskets). I'm using a pair I found at thrift stores. (The third broke when a bear knocked it down the hill to get at the sunflower seeds in the feeder.) https://www.mercari.com/us/item/m46184555388/?gclsrc=aw.ds&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=12877497088&utm_content=t0&adgroup=121903074456&network=g&device=c&merchant_id=154841987&product_id=m46184555388&product_id=530459451263&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgMK58rXg8AIVSv_jBx1mxQmWEAQYAyABEgIX_fD_BwE Attaching some of the lights to your fascia and porch light so they come on each time you turn on the porch light is worth considering. If you want to light up the yard beyond/below a deck, you could to attach lights to the deck rail just beneath the top board with cup hooks or eye hooks. Depending upon the way you choose to hang them, inexpensive (Dollar Tree) binder clips could help you hold them into place. If you have anything metal to which you want to attach them, you can also find in the same school/office section magnetic clips that work well for refrigerator magnets with clips. Adding a small piece of metal to wood could enable you to have more use options for them.

There are probably financial reasons why this can't be done and perhaps construction reasons as well, however... here is a concept that stays inside the same footprint but rationalizes the spaces a bit so you don't have duelling doors all over the place (your mud/pwd/laundry area is as doorsy as your master/ensuite!). I combined the 2 walk-in closets into 1 ginormous closet. It could easily shrink to allow more en suite space. I flipped the laundry so that the workspace gets the entire length of the room uninterrupted by doors. And I rearranged the storage, HVAC and powder room so that HVAC is accessed from the garage (if you have to go in there, you're probably about to do something messy, so why mess up the house); the storage is a more accessible reach-in; and the powder room is a bit more private. No doors collide.