Here's your live link to make it easier for people to view.

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to above

Here's more photos..

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.trulia.com/property/3074360166--Dog-Pond-Valley-Lake-Road-Woodbury-VT-05681

thanks you two!
any ideas how to make it fabulous--well more fabulous?

IMO you are probably putting the cart before the horse, so to speak. Most buildings can be added on to or redesigned and as long as there is enough level land around the house where you'd like to add more rooms then this property, all else being equal, may be right for you. However, until you actually own it there is little point in designing a new plan. I could tell you how I know this but I'll try to keep this short.

There's an order to this sort of thing and one needs to know that legally you can add on to the house which is likely but I'd check with the county to make sure. Then, if you have done your due diligence regarding purchasing and the house seems like a good deal you buy it. Please don't let your excitement of thinking about turning this into your dream home cloud any issues this property may have. And most property has issues, especially rural property. Check to see if the cabin was built to code. In some places that is not necessary with rural properties and could be a problem when you want to add an addition if code is now required and you have to have some things redone to code before adding on. This house is described as a cabin and may not be insulated. It does not appear to have a solid foundation (post, piers stated). I've posted a link with more pics below. The bath is only a half bath and I wonder about the water source and type of septic which are not mentioned. Also I wonder about the electric line and the possibility of a phone line. If you have to upgrade or add a phone line it could be expensive. There was one house on an acreage we did not buy because the costs of an upgraded power line and new phone line were a deal breaker. You need to be clear on costs, both the initial purchase price, as well as the costs to build an addition and do necessary renovations. Those don't come cheap altho you might spread some of it out over a period of time. Think about the size of the addition you would like to build and cost it out on the basis of cost per square foot to build in that area.

I certainly do not want to discourage you from your dream but we built a new home on a large acreage and I know how much everything cost us. In the listing I posted below it says "beautiful views of the lake if you choose to trim some trees" and I know how much time and energy my DH spent doing just that! Also every time we had to have a large piece of machinery in (backhoe, etc.) there was a drop charge which was astronomical! While one plans to have all necessary work done at the same time not everything can be planned exactly.

A 16'x24' Master bedroom is quite large and will take up the entire loft area of that house. Larger gables could replace the small ones to make more space. Of course if you build a new eat-in kitchen the bedroom could be over that.

Do either you or your DH know how to draw houseplans? After you have purchased this property you might make some sketches or a proper plan of your ideas to take to an architect or draftsperson.

I wish you all the best with this dream and hope it will be a reality for you, but do keep your eyes wide open.

Here is a link that might be useful: more pics here

thankyou luckygal, that's all very true and necessary for newbies to understand.
but don't worry, we're life long remodelers and dh is a retired contractor/plumber/building inspector.
zoning et al is well understood, as i am on the board in my town an hour away.
for us the challenge and the fun is in making it 'ours' and at our age we'd be simply pointing and writing checks,lol.
there is an amalgam of rooms, homes, and features all swimming in my head that i will incorporate into my next home and i'm pratically drooling over the possibilities here.
i wish it were already cleared somewhat, but at a thousand an acre to clear, stump and seed i'll clear enough to take advantage solar power.
a new septic there will run 50k, which i know because i just builtone less than a year ago--luckliy vt now allows alternative septic systems.

my current bdrm is 14x24 and a tad too snug for how we use it, which is as a huge suite with fireplace, coffee bar, etc.
this will be dh's last home and he's itching to be on the water so i'm being as creative as i can within our budget.
in fact over the years we've decided we only need a small den and a very large eat in kitchen for instance.
also a small powder rooms attached to a larger shower room with laundry close by works best for us too.

anyway, i could go on and on all day, but i hope others will chime in with their ideas.