Pre build or finishing stage?

In our old house, we added beadboard to the ceiling. It was pretty cheap and looked nice. It depends on your style but we plan to do it again in the new house.

We purchased several items at an archectural salvage. Our mantel and columns into the dining room are oak (I stripped and refinished them) but have old house charm.

If you are in the planning stages, one of the things to do is build less square footage and spend more on quality finishes and craftsmanship. I know that seems like a generic answer but I am much more impressed by a small house with solid doors and good door hardware than I am by a 4000 footer with hollow doors and $10 hardware.

palimsest: I agree that is a better option overall. Less SF, Less to heat and cool, less to keep clean, less property taxes, more quality look, etc....

And i think there are lots of creative ideas to maximize space, just walk into your local Container Store if you want proof.

BUT in my area most builders are not that creative and getting them and their subs to think outside of the box is hard. There are ideas that I saw here and presented to my builder and he just looked uncomfortable because he had never done it before. So we opted to keep him working on things that he had experience with.

In Texas the 4000 ft box with poor finishes is the norm for tract homes in middle class suburbs. Custom builders want to give you a 4000SF box with nicer finishes. Very few people are willing to help you find solutions to your problems. Even architects are the same way. If you want to pay some big bucks for that advice it is certainly out there but if the OP is looking for inexpensive ideas I'm sure they won't want to spend 50% more on architectural/design services. Just my humble opinion.

I agree about the finish quality needing to be there, but I have seen my share of small homes with poor design and hideous finishes. I have seen huge houses that are impeccably done and vice versa. So I think it is the taste of the owner that determines the quality, not the size.

Ways I am saving, standard width oak floors, less cabinetry in kitchen and a bigger pantry, Shared kids baths, using standard tile for kids bath in a various patterns, backsplash only above range so I can get a REALLY nice tile without spending much, putting basic marble in master bath floor with a carpet of expensive tile...list could go on.

One of the things that I like about my house are the site lines and nooks/ crannies that my architect designed. Things I didn't think of, but added another "layer" without costing anything. Looking through the front door and friends entrance you can see straight out the back to the trees. He framed a nook wall around the freezer in my pantry. The breakfast nook bumps out of the house and the ceiling is a foot lower, creating a very cozy restaurant feel. Barrel ceilings in the kids showers. The laundry room that opens to my master bath hall and the kids "wing" hall.

All small things, but the house feels great walking through even though we have only just finished framing. Until I walked through I had no idea how wonderful it would all feel.

Agree with everything mentioned so far.

We used a few pieces of salvage and I love the feel it adds to the home.

Mantel:

Corbels:

Elm open shelves in kitchen:

Also using trim work carefully can add a lot if bang for your buck. We don't have a lot of trim work but did put in in our bath.

Great suggestions so far. I'm not necessarily looking for ways to cut the expenses out, although that would be great too. I'm looking for things that aren't often done just because people don't think of them but don't cost an arm and a leg to incorporate. The size of the house and the plan are set in stone as we're already sent the plans out for bid.

gaonmymind, I'd love to see the barrel ceilings you're doing in the kid's bathrooms? Those are the types of things I'm looking for, assuming it isn't a lot more expensive. :)

Unique vaults is something our builder used as a selling point for the community he sold us in. If your builder is squeemish I suggest you send him to the site linked below (also check it out including the pricing on the kits). The kits aren't really that pricey at all and I'm sure there is an upcharge to drywall but in the grand scheme of things, probably not a big investment. We plan on doing a groin vault in master bedroom and possibly a barrel in family room.

Here is a link that might be useful: Archway and Ceiling kits

beagles I love the pony wall pullout, very clever. I think your use of tile also adds a lovely custom touch.

I agree with eliminating the cheap plastic switch wall plates and outlet covers. I removed them all from our house (except one or two behind couches.) You can find attractive and low priced one in ORB, stainless, nickle and other finishes at Target. You can also find all kinds at switchhits.com, in a variety of styles and prices.

Check out rev-a-shelf.com for clever storage options like the one below. Not necessarily inexpensive, but they add a nice custom touch while adding functionality to a kitchen or bath space.

One thing thatcan make a difference is lighting. I think candice Olson is the master of small recessed lighting. Her reno jjobs always look like a million dollars and far better than the other hgtv people becasue of lighting. Her style may not be your taste but look at some of her pics. I am trying to find way to incorporate some of her recessed lighting patterns. I know she uses 50w 4" on a gimbal.

I'm probably strange since I'm an old-house person, not a new-house person, but one the key things that makes me look at a new house twice is the presence of decent wooden windows and window trim. Get real windows with real muntins in them, not those big blank panes or (even worse) dreadful plastic inserts, and your house will already look head and shoulders more homelike than most other tract houses.

chicagoans I have that exact pull-out in my kitchen that you pictured! I love it- we keep all our cooking tools there so they are handy.