You won't save an appreciable amount of money by making minor room dimension changes. You should be looking at the cost of foundation types; the cost of complex roofs vs simple roofs; the difference in cost between various ceiling heights, window types cabinetry options, plumbing fixtures. That's where the cost creeps up.

If you want to make sure that the house is eventually saleable, you'll focus on making it functional and comfortable. Finishes and fixtures are easy to upgrade; structure is not.

You've got yourself a nice site. Great! That's huge. Now you need a great house to put on it. Think long term and save your cash until you can do it right.

Good advice Jennifer. I did post this on Reddit as well and others have stated the same that reducing costs comes with finishes. This is where I want to keep
Things as unfinished or easily
Upgradable where possible. For example I don’t want some elaborate walk in closet. I want to leave it empty and I can put in or sub out this part. I want to do nice fixtures but not crazy then upgrade when I can. Only place I want to spend some money is the hvac (would love radiant) In the north east. And some nice LVP flooring.

Just so you know, appraisal is not just about construction loan but also final loan. If all cash truly and forever, then it doesn't matter. It does matter to the next buyer of course - or at least it might. If you can't appraise at resale, then you shrink your buyer pool.

There is no place where values will keep going up forever. Or at least outstrip inflation. Past behavior does not predict (perfectly) future behavior.

Consider this scenario, a hurricane/earthquake/fire takes out the house. Then your appraisal may matter as that may be what they pay you.

Forget the stone, reduce the corners, build more sq footage for long term practical reasons. As designed the upstairs will be devoid of windows.

I'd simplify with a nice saltbox or cape cod that was square and allow an easier unfinished upstairs with 2 beds and a bath. There are tons of simpler plans that will be more compact, less roof, etc.

(Although - I would HIGHLY encourage getting drywall up there. You'll need insulation, etc and doing drywall in a finihsed house later is a giant PITA)

The more rooflines you have- the more corners you have the more money you will spend in the two most costly parts of the basic build. Your same design in a ranch with one jut out for style at the front of the house will cost significantly less than what you have. You have 18 corners in your foundation pour. If you were to make the back all one plane you can eliminate 6 of those corners. Talk to your architect about how to otherwise reduce the costs.

Thank you all for some great advice. I will consider all of this and talk with my architect.

"This is a local architect."

Either they did not design what you needed or you did not tell them what you needed. If you maintain confidence in your 'architect' (verify their license with your state), have them redesign the home with the budget in mind; and based upon your comments there is a better design for you out there.

IMO the roof gable mess is where you start to save money fewer exterior finishes save money . IMO bonurs rooms are a waster a space either has a use or is not needed. What you need is anarchitect who guides you to get the best for your budget . Think of the space you USE now and make those function the best possible way. Who knows you might never have kids . IMO you give your architect a budget and a to have list thats it . The site drives good home design , your life also drives this .

I’m worried about the kitchen layout and size— agree with not understanding that nearby room, seems like wasted space at the expense of more functional kitchen.
I’m saying that because getytgevkitchen right— not high- end finishes and appliances, but the bones and electric/ water/gas in the right places , enough storage for daily needs of a family, will make the house more livable for you and more recognizably appealing for resale and for upgrades by you.
First glance doesn’t look like kitchen will het much natural light & maybe not a single window.
There have been a lot of discussions on overrating that since will still need great artificial lighting for serious cooking, and most people will be otherwise “ in the dark” for kitchen use for many dinner times , gatherings etc. So I can see certain properties with views or orientations and limitations making strategic choices of where to locate rooms & windows. Just need to have that factored in. Again, this may be less important in high- demand locations compared to areas where buyers feel they have a lot of choices of floor plans and neighborhoods.

I have confidence in the architect. I just believe they drew what my sketch showed. Maybe they should have guided me a bit more. The first draft was nothing like I wanted so I made a sketch and would appear they worked off that. Maybe with plans to redo it. I’m not sure.

Also I’m ok with the kitchen where it’s placed. The back of the home is south facing that’s why I put the master bedroom living space and dinette on that side of the home. With lesser used spots like the office on the front.

I totally understand the plan for myself now but building it for future or resale if that ever happens is worth the money. This is in a very highly desirable area so it’s worth trying to figure things out now then end up with a bad home on an amazing parcel

Looking at the house's design, I would never had guessed it was going on an "amazing parcel".

I would eliminate the dogleg stair and use a straight run or a switchback even if it means starting over. There are inexpensive online designs that are better and I never thought I'd say that.

For us to help, tell us roughly the location and climate with a site plan or description of site features and describe any special featrues or uses you need or want. For instance, would you ever work at home? Could an office be on the upper level?

Please tell us your use of legal title "architect" is figurative rather than literal.

It’s possible building is just more expensive than you want it to be. Shrinking it a bit won’t change much.

Do you need the upstairs? Will the setbacks allow you to add on to a one storyt? If so, you could build a smaller home or cottage with the intention of adding on in the future and keeping it a one story home.

So you gave a sketch to the architect to "draw up"? And now you want to save money?

Mark totally understand your input. If you want me to dive into it the home is roughly 1000 yard from a private beach in New Hampshire. Houses on the street have sold for $3m and across the road $6m+.

The architect I’ve used is a licensed architect that I came across.

The home is in the north east in NH. Working from home is an option. I wanted to keep a master and office(possible guest room) on the first floor as the second floor I don’t plan to finish at this point in time. This is

What I was looking for since the house faces north and south. The south to have living space that opens to the back deck to have that indoor out feel. I like the thought of a larger island to entertain at and can watch tv while sitting at it.

Pantry off the kitchen would be nice

I like the idea of a wet room the master as well. Just no tub.

How much are you being told it will cost to build?

What is the total heated gross floor area of the current design including unfinished upstairs spaces?

Also I would move the mudroom entrance over more and have a longer and bigger kitchen area.

Is the front ugly in Your opinion?

It's got too much going on. Get rid of the gable decoration. Get rid of the stone.

The way to save is not by taking a few feet off the house but by having a much more simple design.

Or could it work? I think the architect was going off what I drew/envisioned on the interior and tried to make the exterior work.

That's not how a talented architect works. What they do is create the interior, exterior and how it sits on the site all at the same time. They don't just first do the first floor, then the second floor and then smack an exterior on. That is what draftsman and untalented people. do.

To see what I mean take a look at architectrunnerguy's plans online.

The dormer I believe is over the open foyer area.

The architect I’ve used is a licensed architect that I came across

Sorry but he's not very good if this is what he gave you.

I live in a MCM 1956 ranch home . A very simple well thought out plan with a nice walkout basement since it is built on a hill. The fou ndation is simple no jogs at all the interior the same good sized rooms nothing without a purpose and if we moved and built I would build this house again. I believe simple design is always timeless and i think if this is your "forever" home then that is what you should think about. If this is done by an actual architect they need to go back to school.BTW architects in my experience are never kitchen designers

Well I drew somewhat what I was thinking. And I agree. I think they just drew what I did but made it “work”. They may not be a bad architect maybe they just did what I thought I wanted too literal. I do have the second floor plans as well I just don’t believe I posted them

Total heated down is about 1900 upstairs 622. Unsure about unfinished area.

How far into design are you? Is this final or first draft? We did at least 12 drafts before house ended up being what we wanted. If you don’t want to finish upstairs why have one? Why not build a simpler home all around?

Why is the design so bad in your opinion?

I post this all the time. Anything in bold explains why it isn't so good.

The best houses orient the public rooms towards the south for the best passive solar heating and cooling (This is one good thing you did by making the bedroom and public room face south)

The best houses are L, U, T, H, or I shaped. (By doing this, you're simplifying the footprint so you don't wind up with 18 corners)

The best houses are only one to two rooms deep. And covered lanai, porches, garages, etc count as rooms in this case.

The best houses make sure kitchens have natural light, meaning windows so one doesn't have to have lighting 24/7 to use the kitchen. (And no, dining areas with windows 10' or more from the kitchen will not allow for natural light.)

The best houses make sure all public rooms and bedrooms have windows on at least two walls.(Your garage will have more natural light than your living room or kitchen!)

The best houses do not if possible put mechanical rooms, pantries or closets on outside walls

The best houses do not have diagonal interior walls making for odd spaces.

The best houses keep public and private spaces separate. (Your master shares a wall with the living room. Not a problem now but if you ever marry and have kids?)

The best houses do not have you walk through the work zone of the kitchen to bring laundry to the laundry room.

The best houses do not have the mudroom go through any of the work zones of the kitchen.

The best houses do not use the kitchen as a hallway to any other rooms.

The best houses do not put toilets or toilet rooms up against bedroom walls or public areas.

The best houses do not have walk in closets too small to stand inside.

The best houses have separation, such as closets, between bedrooms and between bedrooms and public rooms.

The best houses do not have roofs that are overly large, and dominate the exterior of the house.

The best houses do not have stick on exterior materials only on the front façade.

The best houses have an organizing “spine” so it’s easy to determine how to get from room to room in the house and what makes sense. Meaning they don’t have meandering circulation paths.

I'll add to the list that no one wants to walk into a house and the first thing they see is the powder room door; open or closed. That's not very welcoming.

You can't easily put furniture around the fireplace and have enough room to actually walk into the living room from the foyer.

Why do you need an 8' wide shower? I guess you're never cold?

Clothes in closets can't turn corners.

How do you know the architect is licensed? Did you check with the state or just took his word?

Bottom line is you can do much better and probably for less money.

I would start by reading the book, The Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka. She gives lots of excellent advice. I used her book to help with my house.

Will you be sharing your master bathroom shower with  visitors? Expanding the powder room to include a shower would make hosting guests more comfortable. 

If you are planning to eventually finish the attic, designate spaces now to run electrical and plumbing and protect them from use by the trades during initial build

I would be sharing the master bath for the time being with a guest that stays over. Usually it’s just family anyways.

Yes I plan to have the second floor plans done and it roughed in. Then likely have some type of temporary door at the top of the stairs that can be removed once I start working on that

"Will you be sharing your master bathroom shower with visitors?"

As an architect, I always have to be careful what questions I ask and how I ask them.

Thank you all for the information and saving me from making a big mistake. I’m going to talk to another architect before I decide the fate on the current one. :)

If your architect needs to rely on builder/developer cliches take a look at Southern Living House Plans. I would choose well executed traditional styles over the mediocre randomness of neo-eclectic styles.

Nick, if you plan to continue using the forum, click on your name and go to the advanced settings and enable private messaging.

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The southern living is nice, i need to do an L shaped or garage on the front as the lots in the area are about 100 frontage and 150 depth. with 10' setbacks

A few years ago we recommended that a member here find an architect and he did so but the designs didn't get any better. I checked out the firm and discovered the original owner was an architect who had died and his son had continued to run his father's firm.

My son hired an architect in Denver and his drawings were so bad I googled him and found he often called himself an architect online but had no architectural training or license.

I found a contractor calling himself an architect on Craigslist once.

If you do that in Massachusetts you will not be allowed to take the registration exam for a year as if the offender would care. In Connecticut it would be procecuted by the state as consumer fraud.

Go here to see if your architect has a license in good standing.

https://forms.nh.gov/licenseverification/

The architect is in Mass. I am trying to find the lookup now.

Well as they say, hindsight is 20/20 and I want to breakdown and cry right now as I just wasted a crucial month chatting with this person...come to find out now digging deeper she is not a licensed architect, but a drafter. I feel incredibly stupid. Thankful i decided to post here and get so much negative feedback to realize something wasn't right. Thank you all. I will now look for someone licensed who can design something for me while also guiding me.

That's why on this board I hardly ever use the term "architect", instead using "person with design talent". I know fully licensed architects who have no design talent at all yet they are busy. And we've all seen licensed architects designs on this forum that are horrible. And @Mark Bischak, Architect always advises to use a "local architect" but for nine out of ten folks that post their design here that have actually used a "local architect" as revealed in later posts by the OP, Mark advises to "Start over", usually with good reason.

Dont feel stupid - and i will say going through the process with her will make you a better client for your architect bc you will have thought about how you want the space to function and you will be better prepared to answer the questions the architect will ask you -

Be picky about your architect - they are not created equal. The first one we worked with designed a barn to be stuck to the back of our house - we paid him and tried again. Our 2nd one was a gem - so it pays to keep looking - hang in there!

I admit when I use the term "local architect" I am sometimes being overly optimistic, but I won't give up hope.

You're not stupid; the drafter deceived you if she used the term architect or any term derived from it to describe herself or her services. Did she do that in writing? I was shocked to discover how often peope do it. Someone did it in a letter to me looking for a job; her letter head said "architectural designer". Like that woman, it's possible your drafter is stupid.

What is your desired construction start date, do you have a contractor and have you paid the drafter?

The difference in a professional’s responsibility vs a nonprofessional who does work for hire is that the professional has an obligation to advise you in your best interests, even if that would mean declining the job, or otherwise reducing their monetary compensation. They are obligated to tell you the unpleasant truth, even if you prefer to not hear it. ”Stop eating cake.” That goes for an architect, designer, tax accountant, cardiologist, plumber, or dog trainer.

The work for hire has no such professional obligation to act in your best interests. They are there to mainly take your money and make you happy doing what you ask. Even if what you ask to be done is counter to your best interests. Like a dental whitener cosmetician serving you an espresso after the procedure.

Thus your drafter just drawing up your sketch, without offering any advice showing you what the issues were. Or offering anything better.

The Southern Living design "Chris House - Cloverdale" (above) would fit on your lot and the office could be upstairs if you don't need to see clients there.

I’m in real estate. So I never see clients at home. It’s honestly just a space for me to sit on my computer or a place to put quests. But I will look into it!

Instead of drawing out a plan spend your time refining your requirements. How many bedrooms, bathrooms, other rooms is just the start. How large do you need your bedroom to be? Do you want a tub and a shower or shower only in the master. How much counterspace and storage space do you need in the master bath? How many linear feet of hanging storage in the master closet? How many drawers needed in the master closet? Do you need a tv in the master or prefer one without? How do you like your bed positioned? Do you need a walk out to the private beach from the master. Go through every square inch of your current home and define what works and what doesn't work. Go look at homes for sale (new builds and resales). Take a measuring tape along. Compare what you have to what the rooms in the homes you visit have.

Go to all of your friends and family members who have homes and talk to them. What do they love and what do they not love about their home? What would they change and why?

When going through your plans be realistic with what you really need and how you really live.

Read the new construction threads on Houzz. Look at new builds that are in your area, talk to the owners. Who designed and who built their home, Did they have issues, would they recommend the architect they used, the builder they used, the interior designer they used?

Yes, the best use of one's time before visiting with an architect is to document needs versus wants.

Doing sketches may be fun, but it's just a waste of time, since most consumers just don't know what they don't know...and in many cases it's counter-productive since it wastes the architect's time and spends consumer money unnecessarily.

Nick, don't feel so bad!

We spent thousands on an architect (a good one with nice work) but decided to go with my gut at the last minute and find someone else. I had posted my plans (now deleted) on houzz and got a lot of criticism. A lot of those were things we couldn't get around because it's an existing home, but there were plenty of things that my gut was also telling me wouldn't work.

We've ended up with a smaller, very different plan with design ideas I hadn't thought of. There are still kinks to work out, but I feel way less nervous about sharing these new plans on houzz for a critique!

I've designed some simple small houses with framing systems that were simpler and more efficient than the random asymmetry of currently popular house designs.

They use 2 interior bearing walls with beams where necessary running from front to back with the upper floor sitting on the middle bay. For your house the width of the 3 structural bays would be approximately 15', 18' and 15' for a width of 48'.

Of course, it all depends on what you want your house to look like.

Check out Sarah Susanka's "Not so big house" website and books. Every library would have them. It wlll give you some insight on how to build an efficient house.

Finishing off rooms later doesn't really save you costs, since prices will go up and you'll pay more. Better to build a simpler and smaller structure, with efficient use of all spaces planned out ahead of time. Any plan with a "bonus room" is, to me, a sign that the architect doesn't care whether the space is used well.