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All my adult life, over a generation, I have never lived in a house except for layover times in either the family vacation place or my old room at my parent's house. It's been dorms, ships, or apartments.
But now, I have my mini ranch in the Texas Hill Country and I am trying to figure out how to build on it. This will be my first house and probably my last house.
It should be so simple; figure out what you need. Despite the small living spaces, however, I have gathered a lot of stuff. The last quarter century has been a local story of making single level shelves into double deckers, of moving from apartment to larger apartments.
I obviously want more room. I want fewer corners from closet to station wagon of my gear intensive active life because the more kinks in the path of moving gear in and out, the more of a burden it becomes. I want a wider, longer kitchen. A galley design is okay, but longer for more counter space, wider so some entertaining can be done.
But......I'm not a know it all. This is very new ground to me. Where's the Idiot's Guide of moving from an apartment to a house?
Mini ranch, eh. The east/west orientation is everything when building in this area in regards to utility bills. You want the garage on the north to northwest side as that's where our bad weather comes from. You don't want the length of the house to be exposed to the hot west sun either so make a wise decision about how the house is going to sit on the property. You'll want to incorporate every energy savings material as possible starting with a radiant barrier roof deck and Low E windows, Low E square windows being better.
I would suggest sitting down with graph paper and drawing rooms as to how you think you might like them- size and shape. Closets, etc should be on the drawings. Measure your furniture so you're sure it fits the room. You can draw the furniture to scale and make cutouts if you like. Don't worry about if they all don't match each other yet. Take pics of the property and print them on paper. Take all of your drawings and pics of the property to Jim Cox & Associates in San Antonio and have him start on plans. He can chat with you as to what you want, how you want it and can design a house within your budget. It's all done in a relaxed atmosphere so might as well relax and enjoy it. He'll submit a rough drawing of what he sees as your house. You modify or reject the plans and change things from there, but it's a start. The hardest part is finding a builder. Welcome | Jim Cox & Associates Home Designers
Not sure what you are asking...
Do you want organizing tips?
Do you want to add on to the house?
Do you want to remodel?
Well, in direct answering to two of your questions, there is no house out there yet, so there is nothing to remodel. Organizing tips would be helpful but the "common" ones exist against two huge walls. First of all, as a researcher, there is a necessity to have access to the volumes that were detailed and massive in their day even if they are decades old. Secondly, as a potential homesteader, I've been told to get as many tools and supplies as I can because when you are out there and need to do repairs, you only have what you got.
The thing is that I am so far outside the timeline of "normal life" that I occasionally wonder if I am missing things that I don't even know exist. I'm post 50, single, and have never owned, let alone built a house. I come to the table reasonably wealthy, very thrifty (when I see money, my first thought is not "what can I spend it on"),.........and essentially a vampirelle. I have worked the grave yard shift for over 20 years.
What do people learn, when in their late 20's or early 30's, they decide to get into having a house? Based on that experience, what do they know, what is expected for people to know, down the line?
The biggest fear I would have for the OP is not having anyone really "in your corner". There have been a number of episodes of shows that Mike Holmes does on HGTV where a woman not unlike the OP gets fleeced by contractors that start construction and either never finish it or do it so haphazardly that structure needs to be almost totally rebuilt.
Ideally the OP might go so far as to take some extension courses from a local vocational school about home inspection so they know what to keep an eye on or at least the terminology to describe what the want.
In areas without a whole of qualified builders to choose from any research they can do to help determine the most honest and competent people. That takes time. Go slow.
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