Start interviewing architects to find a good fit to work with you?

Hire a good architect.....they are experienced (or supposed to be) on designing a house to fit the site.
Site determines design~~~

I like architects, but not just any architect. You need to find one that will provide what you need (there are plenty of examples on here of people that hired architects and paid plenty for stuff they didn't need). Find one with an interesting portfolio that suites your style. Since you have a small house, I would suggest finding one that has done some work for the "affordable" housing community.

As to cost, they don't have to be expensive, depending on what services you ask them to provide. OTOH they can get very expensive depending on what you ask for as well. A good architect should save you more then their fee.

We hired a designer to draw up a plan of our house. We have property in a forest on top of a hill with great views. I wanted to capture the views but make sure that we did it without ruining the natural landscape. I did not want to pay out tons of money for an architect so we hired a designer and he was fantastic. He saw the property, listened to the type of things we wanted for our house and incorporated some of his own ideas. Most important he had vision and listened to our input. We could not be happier with the end product. It was not that expensive to hire a designer.I would definitly consider a designer but I would also recommend that you look at some of their previous work. That may give you an idea whether you would be able to work with them or not.

We looked at literally hundreds of house plans online to get an idea of what we liked...picked one very close to what we wanted & hired an architect to redraft the house with requisite changes. Saved a bundle!

Architects in our area usually charge 10-12% of the cost of the construction. We negotiated a flat fee since it was a modification to an existing house plan.

I kind of did what mdev did. I must have looked at 100 plans online. I finally took 2 house plans (I didn't buy the plans, but just used the floor plans that were shown online) that I loved and took them to my builder. We worked together on a plan that combined the elements of the two plans and we then took those plans to an engineer. I then took my plan to a friend of mine that is an architect and had him review it. I'm thrilled with the design and how it's all turned out.

I'm not bashing architects, but you may not really need or want one in this case.

An architect is an artist, and a large part of what you are paying for is his vision. If you already have a pretty clear vision of the shape of the house, the sort of trim and finishes you are interested in, a certified draftsman might be able to create a buildable plan for a fraction of the cost.

The draftsman either will be a structural engineer, or be able to put you in touch with one to be certain your plan is code correct and cost efficient.

If you don't have a clear vision of what you want, or you feel the need to have another pair of eyes [a pair that understands building] by all means, hire an architect.

If you don't hire an architect, buy and learn to use a good home design software package. When amatuers draw a plan on paper, they have a tendency to fudge the thickness of the walls and the size of fixtures. Software keeps you honest in that respect, and lets you create a 3d walkthrough that allows you to visualize the sight lines of the home and develope a clearer understanding of just how it will live.

We are building a custom home that was designed by us. My DH and I also drew the prints. We are in the construction biz and my DH is a Mason so we do have a background and the knowledge to do this sort of thing. It was not easy, but totally worth it IMO.

Sounds like you are going for something similar to what we designed. Our home sits on the very top front of a hill. It's basically a jazzed up ranch design.

There is a front entrance "hidden" on the side of the bump out.
There are two garage doors and a man door on the left side of the house.
The main entrance will actually be around back......a large set of stone steps will lead you there from the driveway.

We also have a detached 3 car garage that sits just to the left side of the house and is actually attached via an underground "tunnel".

There will be a porch that wraps all the way around the front. I am designing a really rustic railing for it.

We definitely didn't want anything "typical" especially since we build them every day and are kind of sick of looking at the same old thing. We wanted something that would fit our personalities and the way we live.

We have done all the work ourselves and have enjoyed the process, though after approx. 3 years we are ready to be done. We are hoping for a Summer move-in, but we'll see.

It's absolutely possible to do your own design without the help of an architect, but it really helps to have a background in home construction.

Best of luck! I hope you are able to design the home of your dreams.

Other than having my friend look at the plans (over a glass of wine, so it was anything but formal), I did mine without an architect. The builder took the plans to an engineer and that's how they were done. Granted, my house is very simple and is a basic rectangle with some flourishes in the roof line (a dormer and a gabled roof with a hip roof over the porch), so perhaps it was pretty easy to plan/build.