Do you want to have and show environmental savvy? Choose a location that has a reusable opportunity, like a slab or other design or structure items that do not necessarily have to be removed or replaced that will be sufficient to meet your needs. You may have found the ideal location that has a workable fireplace that you just love but the floor plan is all wrong. Consider and talk over with your builder the idea of keeping the fireplace and building anew around it.
Do you have a particular design look in mind? If it has even the hint of “old-style”, check out a salvage yard and you could find remnants from old building interiors and exteriors for little money, or some items have found a second life in decorator showrooms and fancy antique shops, as well as in architectural artifacts stores.
Do you have special needs or wants for an atrium or sun room but concerned about cooling costs? Choose materials that best insulate the room while still allowing sunlight in. You can also design your landscaping to complement your efforts by coordinating a landscape design with your building envelope, orienting your building, windows and outdoor spaces to take advantage of light, airflows and interesting views. Use deciduous shade trees and exterior structures such as arbors and trellises, louvers, overhangs and light shelves to reduce cooling load of the building.
And the real finds might be decorative ones, simply because there are so many choices: decorative stones, lead-glass church windows, pocket doors, brass hinges, and doorknobs, terra cotta accents, wood flooring and iron furnace grates, just to name a few.
