Cherry layered in color through textiles, artwork and furnishings she collected over about five years. She made several trips to Schwung, a creative studio in High Point, North Carolina, to select antiques such as the carved door on the left. At Asia Minor Carpet, she purchased Turkish rugs that bring pattern and warmth to the floors.

Keeping the budget balanced required careful choices. “I really wanted Cor-Ten steel for the roof, and my husband really wanted [radiant-heat] floors,” Cherry says. To offset the costs of those elements, she used a commercial-grade large-format floor tile that mimics rustic wood throughout the main level. It was affordable and is durable enough to handle the dogs that fill the house — five regularly and three more when their son visits.

Other savings came from buying light fixtures from Visual Comfort on sale, cutting the number of recessed lights in half, choosing budget-friendly appliances and skipping smart home features. Cherry also found large pieces — such as the cabinet on the right side of the hallway — during a major sale at Restoration Hardware.

“Everything on the floor was 80% off, and with my trade discount it was 90%,” she says. Those savings left room in the budget for the features that mattered most to her and her husband, including the Cor-Ten steel roof and radiant floor heating throughout the home.