We are in the middle to tail-end of a big project that has been a nightmare. We used an architect and then selected a contractor through competitive bidding. The architect did a couple of very nice jobs for friends. they were great in the competitive bid process and really beat down the prices... which was not a good thing in our case... Now for the rest of the story... This approach was a disaster for us. The contractor who got the job was one of the lower bidders but the architect said they've worked with them for 20 years, everything would be fine, etc. But it wasn't fine. It ended up that the designs were not very detailed and we kept paying for change orders that benefited both the architect and contractor. The contractor quit part way through the project (and quit on a half-dozen other houses as well and no longer works with the architect). During the design phase the architect consistently misjudged costs, and a design-build firm would have nailed this correctly. I kept asking the architect how the mechanicals would be run and he said "don't worry." Well, this ended up being a big problem and expensive to fix and a waste of floor space and additional soffits. A design-build firm would have nailed this cold. The fact is most architects know very little about the practical realities of building, even though they think they do. But builders may not know the nuances of design. We had a terrible experience with a supposedly very experienced architect but the same thing could have happened with a design-build firm. Still, my bias right now is in favor of a quality design-build firm. You care about both design and budget as well as build quality, and a design-build can give you all of this without mis-communication between two different companies with different interests. I used to be a carpenter so I understand construction, but I was too naive about the overall process on a big job. Pay for quality up front or you will pay for lack of it later. If you have the time and skills, it's hard to beat DIY. The work I've done on the house is superior to the work the contractor has done, in part because my heart was in it, and because a homeowner can devote their own time to taking care of nice details that would be unaffordable to pay others to do. The pros can definitely do it faster and maybe or maybe not better depending on your skills and theirs. Good luck and get ready! Billy

For what it's worth, we had the same situation in that we originally costed based on custom cabinets, and then decided we needed to cut back the budget substantially. The first thing to change was the cabinets. The GC was initially very reluctant, but my DH basically sat him down, told him this was what we'd decided, and if he felt it would be beneath him, or not good for his professional reputation, we would quite understand if he wanted to refuse the job. He confirmed that he did want to do the job (and I do know he's not short of work) and would accept what we wanted to do. He's worked on the house before, and we know him pretty well by now. He raised his concerns with me only once more, but I didn't get into it much: just reminded him that this was what we wanted, that I appreciated him raising his concerns, but based on my experience in the UK, this was what I'd chosen. Since then, we've worked together closely on all the ordering including all the trim pieces necessary, and so on, and it's been smooth going. Incidentally, for those that don't know, all the cabinets for the US market are manufactured in the US, but in accordance with German environmental standards, which are the highest in the world. And there's a 25 year warranty. Particle board is pretty much the norm across Europe and my friends are very surprised at the reluctance of US builders to use something so tried and tested.

As my partner likes to remind me, those treasures have to be moved, cleaned, stored, organized and reorganized, and usually modified. In our case, they often end up getting moved multiple times before installed, sold or donated. The perfect item is usually not available at the perfect time or place and if it is, there is probably a pricetag that reflects the sellers opinion of that perfection. One of my weaknesses is vintage light fixtures. I have a couple of gorgeous ones hanging in my garage that will have to be moved with me to hang in the new garage until the right location calls out for one of them. I love the unique items and figuring out where to use them, but the logistics of using the cheap finds ensures that very few actually end up to be true bargains. This bed is one of my favorite salvage pieces. Of course, it wasnt a bed until my partner and I invested many hours into assembling the parts. The headboard and footboard started life as newel posts and stair railings and the bed rails came from an oak fluorescent light fixture. We bought the stair railings and posts at a demo sale and removed them ourselves. We disassembled, trimmed, rearranged, and assembled a bed. The direct costs were under 200 dollars but when the hours are added up, this bed is priceless.

I see the disconnect. Your question was about obtaining architectural services. What you really wanted was to crowd source some opinions on how to modify your existing plan to meet the architectural requirement. Getting to the right question is often half the battle. Your goal for this discussion is how to comply with the 30% stone requirement? Well, I've got some bad news for you. A lot of times we get homeowners with stone and embellishments placed in all sorts of weird combinations. We try to talk them into understanding where stone should be used. Stone is a logical element. In your case, the stone is properly placed. Stone elements should be used to ground a structure. This is what I see in your elevation. You have grounded the stone by placing it as a band around the base of your home. Good job. If you try to add a wall face, it won't look as good as what you have already planned. I suggest looking at other materials that require less labor or material cost. But, the placement is spot on. You got it right the first time. Now you just need to get the cost under control.