Choosing a house

My first thoughts about a house were 'farmhouse'. I would love to have a little farm, with my chickens, a bigger garden than I have now, and a Dexter cow (http://www.sweet-dream-farm.com/dexters.html). So I was looking at house plans for square houses with big porches. Maybe an eat-in kitchen, and a grilling deck. Window seats. To get that kind of land - a big parcel, not in a flood zone - we would have to go to Burgaw or beyond, and that's just too far right now. Plus, the budget for building is strict and limited. That's why we looked at the lot by the river, because being in a flood zone made it affordable. My house plan search turned to pier and piling foundations, to build it up high enough to bring the flood insurance low enough. Again I looked at hundreds of plans, looking for something that can be built 'up', has decks, and looks good sitting up high. And again we changed our minds about the distance and the isolation of the land, and decided on the lot by Rocky Point.

Now I was looking for a house plan with a view to the rear of the house so we could see the pond from the living room and dining room. Only I thought we would face the house sideways, towards the driveway, so the view would actually be on the side. Hundreds of house plans later, I narrow down the choices, but Rob has this thing for having the front of the house face the main road, even though we would build way back and leave it wooded in front. Search some more - rear view, a deck, no garage, inexpensive to build (did I mention we're on a tight budget?), and oddly we are attracted to both farmhouses and contemporary designs.

I found one (http://www.thehousedesigners.com/plan_details.asp?PlanNum=2808). It has everything we're looking for, and a screened rear porch, AND... a bonus space upstairs that isn't built over a garage, that we can finish later when we have money. We may have to leave out the bay window bump-outs, and it won't have the fireplace. I bought this great little layout kit where you use peel-and-stick shapes to draw your floor plan and arrange all your furniture on it (http://www.amazon.com/Home-Quick-Planner-Furniture-Architectural/dp/1880301032/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209338502&sr=8-1).

All of this has been the easy stuff. I will be acting as the owner/contractor, pulling the permits, hiring the sub-contractors, dealing with inspections, and no doubt suffering from ulcers and heart palpatations for the next year. It looms ahead like the biggest math test imaginable. I am researching like crazy, trying to prepare. The next immediate steps are to order study plans and a material list, and meet with our friend who is a framer and who will hopefully be a consultant on the whole deal. At least we have him - the framer is a big part of the project. I don't really mean 'at least we have him', I mean we're lucky to have him.