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."

Exactly what Mark and Sophie said too. It is very hard for any of us to be able to give you an idea of cost even if we had built last year right next to you. Too many variables. Using my house as an example. I could have built my house for at least $100,000 and probably even $200,000 less than it will cost us. Our house is just under 3000 square feet at 2870. How could we have built it for less? We could have chosen to build a rectangular house instead of a U shaped house or even built an L shaped house instead. We could have eliminated the pool and the travertine pavers or at least built a plain rectangular pool without the sun shelf, the planter box and the spa. We could have eliminated the 32" eaves and gone with a more standard 18" eave. We could have eliminated the rafter tails and gone with a more standard boxed eave. We could have eliminated the rock trim around the whole house on the bottom and along the porch and its columns. We could have chosen less expensive lighting fixtures for the exterior but being near a salt water body of water, it would have meant replacing them sooner. We could have chosen a metal railing that comes standard with our builder instead of the one we chose. We could have eliminated the 2 x 6 trim work around the exterior windows and doors. We could have chosen a shingle roof instead of a metal roof (although that would mean less savings with heating/cooling since we're in Fl). We could have eliminated the expensive tile in the friends entry and the fireplace and even chosen a less expensive tile for our master bath. We could have eliminated the 16' slider to the outdoors from the living room and just put in a standard slider. We could have eliminated almost all the trim work in the interior of the house. For example instead of wood returns with sills and aprons we could have just done drywall returns. We could have used standard trim instead of the 1 x 6 trim we're using inside and the 1 x 8 baseboards. We could have eliminated the wood floors and just gone with tile. We could have eliminated the upgraded variable speed, 3 zone HVAC system and gone with a single speed 1 zone system. We could have eliminated the Bosch appliances and Miele DW and especially the integrated fridge and gone with more basic appliances. We could have eliminated an island completely or at least pick one that wasn't quarter sawn oak. We could have chosen to pick a level 1 granite instead of the quartzite that was labeled Exotic at the stone yard. We could have chosen to have the builder put in just bars in the closets instead of the closet systems we are putting in. We could have eliminated many of the windows we have. If we had done all that, we could have had a much less expensive house. It can be done but you first need to figure out YOUR priorities for your build as Sophie alluded to. Figure out your budget first. Be sure to figure in a large contingency and go from there. Then find a person of design talent.

Thanks Summit! Yes... I originally wanted that hallway there... but we were open to "conserving space" (to try to keep the house at/around 4000sf) if the architect had different ideas. I think he did a good job getting in what we need... but..... I feel like I want that hallway regardless of how much/little SF it adds to the house. I still feel like the laundry/craft room + mudroom + back pool bathroom needs reconfiguring still. Would a hall going from that back door connecting to the hall from the guest room (so the bathroom opens up into that hall) work? Or maybe move the laundry room down so its accessible from the guest hallway vs teh back corner. Hmm.

The house itself is asymmetrical, both stories. I think you need a professional to design a new roofline for the porch, and this is where the bulk of your money will go. Your two inspiration pictures are of White House’s with black framed windows. Forget shutters, they need to go. Paint the house a nice, creamy shade of white. Whatever color you choose, paint the garage doors the same unless you are replacing them with more modern looking doors. I would go ahead and paint the window frames charcoal. You will need a charcoal roof when it’s time to reshingle. Cut down the shrubs. That front porch area is what is really defining the house, and once you redesign that area, the rest of the house will flow from there.