It's all about balance...sometimes can splurge if you can find places to cut back in other places.

Now I saw your other post...didn't realize you were talking that many degrees of freedom...price can increase quickly

Are there things that can be left for later without incurring remodeling cost? By that I mean saving funds to add to your design layer by layer until you have reached your goals?

Establish strong, priorities in the very beginning of your project when you are still relatively objective. When things start to take on a life of their own, go back to your priorities list to get you back on track. Rather than dilute a design element, eliminate it altogether. Less is more...out of sight, out of mind, etc, etc. Then work better with the design elements that best fulfill your priorities. There will always be a "to die for" design element or approach that will elude you but don't despair, their time will come.