Jen, if you are in a big hurry or have limited funds for the floor, go to a flooring store and ask to see their solid wood remnants (leftovers from previous jobs.) Somebody told me they bought remnants at a few different stores and then mixed them all up to make their floor. I never saw it but I heard it was gorgeous. I guess you'd have to make sure they were all the same thickness and all connected the same. Probably need not mix smooth and hand scraped either. Just a thought.

There are several things that must be considered. I like to use the concept of MOST amount of flooring that follows the general rule. If you have a single room (lets say 10' x 10' = 100sf) and then the REST of the space is much, much larger (say 600sf), you would want to try to keep the MAJORITY of the flooring (600sf) sticking to the rule of "longest length = long run of the room". The other question with hardwood becomes wooden subfloors. Sigh. Wooden subfloors over joists change the equation. Hardwood floors must be run perpendicular to the joists - no matter how big/small the rooms are. So...without knowing your set-up, without knowing your subfloor, without knowing the direction of sunlight, without knowing very much of anything about your situation...the majority of the home should follow the rule of thumb. Unless other factors contribute to changing this. Which I can't tell because there isn't enough information. And just for fun...diagonal is always an option = 15% waste and a more expensive labour bill.

I hate cookie cutter answers. You say you already know exactly what you want. What is it that you cannot find? My sister bought her land from one of the top custom builders in our area. Like you, she knew what she wanted, but couldn't find the Tudor style exterior and the interior layout that she wanted. She did, however, find a plan for a Mediterranean home that had a floor plan that met all of her wishes. She took the plans to her builder and explained her dilemma. Her builder wasn't worried at all. He told her to buy the plans and he and his team would alter the plans to create the Tudor exterior with the room layout and dimensions of the plan she purchased. Her home is absolutely stunning. It actually won an award for best new build in our county the year it was built. She obviously didn't need an architect. On the other hand, some people really don't have the ability to analyze their needs, are not good at visualizing spaces or may have special needs that require the expertise of a qualified architect. Like any other major expenditure you have to balance budget vs cost vs needs. Not everyone drives a Mercedes - some can't afford a Mercedes and some who could afford a Mercedes prioritize their spending and find that a Mercedes isn't how they want to spend their money, and some who really can't afford a Mercedes buy one anyway and struggle to pay their rent or get a second job so they can make the payments.

Seems it’s discontinued. Is there any way to get it?