After some back and forth between architect, the builder and us, it soon became
clear, that the cost for a house with many angles, nooks and crannies
(especially when it comes to energy efficient building techniques) was
going to exceed our budget.
So basically, we could build cheaper (meaning not as energy efficient)
or go to a simpler, maybe smaller design. It was a clear decision: No
compromises with respect to energy efficiency!
So we went back to the drawing board, spend the good part of a weekend
to figure out whether a simpler, rectangular design could work as well.
Circular stairs were being discussed, but basically shot down by our architect.
In the end, we kept the basic ideas of the main floor with a central
staircase, but were able to squeeze it into a 34x42 footprint (basically
~1200sf on main floor). Picking up on the concept of a South Farm house
in Hinesburg that we visited, we also moved the second
floor rooms into the basement, occupying about 50% of the space down
there. So we could save on finishing the whole 2nd floor as well as
using a simpler base shape.
Another cost factor was the detached garage: A separate structure with
connector to the main house would have been much more than an integrated
solution. We did not like the idea of building the garage later, as this
did not eliminate or reduce the total cost, only postponed them.
