How to Have Your Dream House

Richard Taylor, writing for Yahoo/Zillow, on the Seven Ways to Beat High Costs of Home Building:

All this time you’ve assumed that you can’t afford the home you really want: The cozy, comfortable house with all the neat features that you want to get your hands on, stuff like slate countertops; the island range with the stainless steel hood; the rustic beams on the ceiling.

Sounds like the typical intro to a typical Yahoo fluff piece, right? 7 little steps and you can have the house of your dreams! That’s what I thought, but I kept reading and was pleasantly surprised at the good advice coming from the article. Here is what Richard is advocating:

1. Smaller is better


2. Efficient use of building materials


3. Use it where it counts, don’t where it doesn’t


4. Design for low maintenance


5. Lower your energy bills - dramatically


6. Boxy is beautiful


7. Good design sells

There is a restrained elegance in many simple houses - a beauty in efficiency. Careful attention to detail, proportion, and scale can result in a better design for less cost than trying to create interest in an overly complex design.