Steve Williams’ home shows that high concept can co-exist with a low budget.

The ex-New Yorker single dad and his daughter, Blakely first-grader Brita Williams, share a space that evokes the openness of an urban loft constructed with sturdy, handsome – and, in many instances, inexpensive – materials.

The house, which is open May 3 for this year’s Home Tour, represents a close partnership between Williams and local architect Bill Chester.

Williams interviewed a half-dozen architects before selecting Chester, a longtime islander whose local projects include the Pavilion in downtown Winslow.

“Bill was the first to understand what I was trying to pull off,” Williams said, “a high level of sculptural design in permanent materials. What provides the structure also provides the finished surface.”

The building, which features green metal siding capped with a metal dome roof, encases an 85-foot concrete spine that runs the length of the house.

The home was designed, Williams says, to evoke an Italian walled city.

“Once the ancient walls of defense were no longer needed,” Williams said, “they were incorporated into the structure. To me, the silhouette looks like a cross section of homes along the security wall.”

Realizing Williams’ vision took more than design and construction.

Chester met with Williams, who is a division president for a large electronics corporation, over several weeks to determine how Williams’ taste, lifestyle and interests might shape the space.

Chester learned that because Williams travels for business, the time he does spend with his daughter at home is especially important.

He wanted open space that still allowed privacy.

“For right now, at her age, she likes any room I’m not in, when she has a friend over,” Williams said, “and any room I’m in, when she’s alone.”

With Williams’ input, Chester designed a house without many interior partitions, a building that would make the most of the 2,700 square feet of living space.

Williams’ departure from what he calls the “boxes within boxes” of conventional architecture had a practical basis, as well; he cut cost by eliminating interior partitions and walls.

Chester selected materials that would be labor-saving.

“Each time you walk up to the wall to do something, it costs you more in labor,” he said.

“So if we used pre-painted metal siding, for example, you don’t have to paint it. The panels are big, so you don’t have to spend time putting a lot of little boards together.”

Chester and contractors shopped for good quality, inexpensive materials.

Glu-lam beams composed of laminated fir double as fireplace mantle and stairs. The ceiling of the ground floor, which is also the floor of the second story, is 1.5-inch by 6-inch tongue-and-groove fir “car-decking” used in buildings to store cars.

Granite countertops dispense with the conventional drop edge.

Cabinets are from Ikea, with custom hardware.

What Williams calls “the wonderful combination of economy, terrific structure and aesthetics” allowed the homeowner to indulge expensive taste in selected areas of the house, like the 18-gauge metal cladding on the dome-shaped roofs.

The front door is extra wide and tall. Coat and pot racks are custom-welded. Williams like to cook, so the kitchen was a priority.

A Subzero stainless refrigerator and pot sink modeled after restaurants are in a closed-off pantry. Centrally located, the kitchen features an open area with a six-burner Wolf range.

A unique feature designed by Williams is the retractable spigot above the stove to fill stock pots.

“It’s like the command center of the house,” Chester said. “From here you can see every part of the house, you can see every door.”

Eliminating the sheetrock partitions that usually contain the heating system prompted a creative solution.

A hydronic heating system runs heated water coursing through pipes inlaid in the concrete flooring. The water is heated by a small propane gas-fired boiler.

“It’s probably the most efficient heating system you can put in over time,” Chester said. “The initial cost is high, but it’ll pay for itself.”

For Chester, Williams’ desire to be creative in his approach to apportioning space made the project fun.

“It’s unusual to have a client who’s design-oriented – his design sense ran to contemporary work,” Chester said. “I probably enjoyed doing this house more than any I have done.”

For his client, the house, finished last July, is a project he is glad to share with the public on the Home Tour.

“We’re BPA supporters,” Williams said, “but equally important is that I thought people should see what an architect can deliver at run-of-the-mill prices.

“I’m very satisfied. I won’t be running to Home Dept every three years to refinish surfaces.”