You must have cheap architects where you live. Mine would charhge me about 20k for a full set of drawing for that type of build. I have since seen the plans in one of the Not So Big House books. They copied a design from a house in vermont, to the T with the exception of turning the garage into a spare family room. Funnily enough, that's the one thing about the cottage that didn't feel right.

OVE framing, or high efficiency framing means everything on a 24" grid. Plywood at 4X8', studs on 24" centers, windows and doors set without headers. Maximum insulation and minimum wood.

Thank you @tiadonald Good luck with your new home. I would say if you want anything other than what they "normally do it" make sure they fully understand exactly what you want. Don't leave anything to chance. We have finished our build. We took a design with the floor plan I basically liked and modified it (a lot!) I did the interior. My husband acted as contractor, and we had a great build contractor that did the build to my husbands requirements as we wanted our home to be very energy efficient. So we have double studded walls, spray foam insulation,on demand tankless recirculating hot water system with a push button demand system at each sink. This modification saves having to run the water until the hot water reaches the point of use. We installed an energy efficient mini split air condition/heat pump unit. We do not have traditional duct work in our home. ( not needed) we have installed a heat fireplace and transfer fans in the walls to move air if needed for temp control. We did not use it at all this winter. There are many other features that make our home energy efficient. Our energy dean is low compared to a regular build. I really love the way our home lives. We did have a few issues with our plumber, tile installer, ( we actually wound up doing almost half the tile ourselves) and cabinet maker but we are really enjoying our home. It is a work in progress with decor but, Here are some pics of the results:

This is a home completed by PCM and can be found here. I pinned it myself and recognized it. Its beautiful! http://www.pcmnow.com/classic-south-east-oakville.php