Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town: Building/Furnishing Guide

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1.0  Introduction
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When you begin Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town you start off with a
small house, chicken coop, barn and field. As you progress through the game it
becomes more of a pain to have something so small. It's hardly acceptable for
a wealthy farmer to live in a shack! This guide is exclusively about expanding
your buildings and furnishing your house.
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2.0  Versions
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V2.00 - Added a question that I got at least 3 times a day! I also changed some
        info on the vase and fireplace.

V1.90 - Final info on the fireplace. Added another FAQ (Up to 8 e-mails a
        day! -_-) Removed some false info on the Vacation House.

V1.80 - Fixed info on the fireplace and added how to make fences. Fixed up
        little errors here and there.

V1.50 - I added info on the Vacation House and the Seaside Cottage and Moutain
        Cottage. Also fixed up a few things here and there.

V1.30 - I finally completed this guide by adding the price for the largest
        house upgrade and remodeling for the Vacation House. I also added a
        section for Other and FAQ (already?!).

V0.90 - I finished the Furniture list! Whoo! It took awhile but it's still not
        quite version 1. I still need a little bit more information...

V0.70 - I have most of the basics but I'm still missing section 5.2 which is the
        list of furniture, their cost and purpose. I still need to find out a
        few little things so if there are any questionss please be patient.
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3.0  Getting Started
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To begin upgrading your buildings and furnishing them you are going to need an
Axe, which is found in your tool box inside your house. It's only at Lv. 1 so
it can only chop the branches you find on your field at the beginning of the
game and the ones found in the forest. These only give you one piece of time
so it's not worth your time until you acqiure a better axe to chop large
stumps. You can get your axe upgraded later in the game at the Blacksmiths in
town. The upgrades are:

Lv.1 Axe - found in tool box at the start of the game
Lv.2 Copper Axe - upgrade at the blacksmith with copper ore* (fl. 1)
Lv.3 Silver Axe - upgrade at the blacksmith with silver ore* (fl. 1)
Lv.4 Gold Axe - upgrade at the blacksmith with gold ore* (fl. 3+)
Lv.5 Mystrile Axe - upgrade at the blacksmith with mystrile ore* (fl. 5+)
Lv.6 Cursed Axe - found in lake mine after all tools are mystrile level (fl 49)
Lv.6 Blessed Axe - result after using it 255 times
Lv.7 Mythic Axe - found in spring mine (fl. 60) after all tools are blessed

* = found in Spring Mine

Once your axe has become a copper axe you will be able to break large stumps
in 6 hits. This supplies you with 6 pieces of wood instead of just one. As
you upgrade your axe breaking stumps becomes easier. The wood you chop is
kept in your lumber box on the north side of your farm beside your horse's
stable. The sign beside it will tell you the number of pieces you have but you
can also check by going to the Earnings Screen. You can remove pieces of
lumber here to make fences.

Another way to get lumber is by buying it for 50G from Gotz the
woodcutter/carpenter. He lives in the forest directly beneath your farm.
He is also the one that allows you to upgrade your buildings. His shop
is open from 11AM to 4PM and closed Saturdays on holidays. He is away most
of time looking for good lumber trees so sometimes it's hard to catch him.

The easiest to get wood is upgrading your Axe to Cursed/Blessed or Mythic
Level. When you chop one stump all the rest of the stumps on the screen are
broken as well in a flash of light.
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4.0  Buildings
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To Upgrade your buildings you'll need to talk to Gotz. He'll finish the upgrade
in 3 days but he takes a break for holidays. To upgrade you'll need not only
wood but gold so make sure you have enough. Upgrades are usually pricy but
definitely well worth it if you want to be successful. Some upgrades later in
the game are just for looks so you can decide whether you want them or not.
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4.1  House Upgrades
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Your house is a wee but cramped when you start off so it's a good idea to
upgrade it. Upgrading allows you more space for furniture (such as a kitchen)
and it's mandatory for you house to be upgraded twice for you to marry a girl.
Upgrading your house cost quite a bit so don't worry about upgrading it too
quickly.

Smallest House
  Cost:   N/A
  Lumber: N/A
  The House you start off with is a small shack beside your mailbox (to be
  honest ^_^). There's barely any furniture and the only things you have are
  the bare necessities.

Bigger House
  Cost:   3,000G
  Lumber: 200 pieces
  This next upgrade gives you space for a kitchen and makes your table bigger.
  You can now also purchase a Refrigerator and Cabinet for keeping extra items.
  Your house takes up twice as much room and has a neat curve to the roof and
  you now have 3 windows.

Biggest House
  Cost:   10,000G
  Lumber: 700 pieces
  You can now acquire every item from the TV Shopping Network. It comes free
  with a fireplace which increases your stamina on a snowy day, any other day
  and it decreases your stamina. This last house is very spacious and is
  required to marry a girl. The attachment looks like your first house only
  with a skylight and chimney. You now have 4 windows with shutters. You can
  now upgrade get all of the Other Upgrades in section 4.3.
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4.2  Livestock Upgrades
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To upgrade the barn or coop will cost a little more than your house. When you
upgrade them there's room for more animals increasing your profit.

Small Chicken Coop
  Cost:   N/A
  Lumber: N/A
  Chickens Capacity: 4
  The first chicken coop is a small building to the bottom left of your farm.
  It has room for 4 chickens and 1 incubator for eggs. You have access to a
  feed bin inside as well as Chicken Fodder (bought from Rick's Farm). The
  building to the left of is the Water Mill. You can put corn in it to get
  30 bushels of Chicken Feed.

Small Livestock Barn
  Cost:   N/A
  Lumber: N/A
  Livestock Capacity: 8 (any combination of cows & sheep)
  The Barn on the right side of the north entrance to your farm. There's one
  space for pregnant livestock in the north west corner and two rows of four
  spaces for fodder. On the north side you have access to the fodder (bought
  from Yodel Farm or cut from Grass Seeds) and a feed bin on the south side
  near the entrance.

Large Chicken Coop
  Cost:   5,000G
  Lumber: 500 pieces
  Chicken Capacity: 8
  An almost identical building is added to the right side giving you more
  room in your coop. You now have two incubators and 8 feed boxes allowing
  you to have more chickens.

Large Livestock Barn
  Cost:   6,800G
  Lumber: 500 pieces
  Livestock Capacity: 16 (any combination of cows & sheep)
  A barn attachment identical to your old one is placed on the left side. Now
  you have two spaces for pregnant livestock, two places with access to fodder
  and two feed boxes. You now also have four rows of four feed boxes allowing
  you to hold up to 16 (!) cows and/or sheep. This is pricy but well worth the
  profit you make with double the amount of livestock.
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4.3  Other Upgrades
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Other Upgrades are not necessary to be successful but a stylish adjustment to
your house. In my belief they're are very expensive for what they're worth but
it's really just an add on. These become available after everything else
previously mentioned is upgraded.

Remodel Window
  Cost:   25,000G
  Lumber: 300 pieces
  Types: Square Window With Screen
         Square Window Without Screen
         Round Window
  Allows you to remodel the four windows on your house. You can have them with
  or without a screen or have them round for something a bit different. You
  begin with square windows with a screen.

Remodel Doghouse
  Cost:   20,000G
  Lumber: 500 pieces
  Types: Red Doghouse
         Blue Doghouse
         Strange Doghouse
  The doghouse you begin with is red but you can change it so the roof is
striped
  blue with a slant instead. The strange doghouse looks like a cat opening it's
  mouth wide for the entrance. It's actually very cute but bizarre for a
doghouse.

Remodel Mailbox
  Cost:   10,000G
  Lumber: 200 pieces
  Types: Red Mailbox
         Blue Mailbox
         Strange Mailbox
  Your mailbox begins as red but you can make it a blue miniature house or
  'strange'. The Strange mailbox looks like a little blue man with a big mouth
  for inserting letters. Comes complete with arms, legs and angry little eyes.
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4.4  Things to be Built
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Gotz can also build things for you. These are not upgrades from previous
objects or buildings they are completely new. These serve useful purposes but
are both VERY expensive so it's a good idea to purchase them a lot later in the
game when you can afford them without going bankrupt.

Bathtub
  Cost:   30,000G
  Lumber: 580 pieces
  This is used just like the hot springs are to regain energy. It appears as
  a door beside your fireplace. You do not actually see the bath you just
  enter the door and come out half an hour later squeaky clean and
  re-energized.

Vacation House
  Cost:   100,000,000G(!)
  Lumber: 999 pieces
  This house is built next to Sabaira's blacksmith in south Mineral Town. There
  is a table with four chairs, a bed, two shelves (one with your diary), a TV,
  clock, mirror and fireplace. Your wife will never come inside. You can spend
  the night in this house.

Moutain Cottage
  Cost:   N/A
  Lumber: N/A
  Your cottage is on mothers hill near the lake. On your 50th anniversary your
  wife will give this to you. It has a bed, clock, calendar, journal and table
  but no TV. You can spend the night in this cottage.

Seaside Cottage
  Cost:   N/A
  Lumber: N/A
  This can only be obtained if you connect Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral
  Town with Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life for Game Cube. If you do this small
  white cottage will be built at southwest Mineral beach. It's furnished with:
  a bed, clock, calendar, journal and table but no TV. You can spend the night
  in this cottage. *You need a 42 star link exchange to get this from the HG*
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5.0  Furnishings
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These section is for furniture you can add to your house and their uses. Half
of these objects are extremely useful while the other half are just to show
off. You can obtain one from Won but the rest must be bought from the TV
Shopping Network. To collect them all is mildly expensive. Most of these things
are crucial to marry a girl.
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5.1  TV Shopping Network
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The TV Shopping Network is aired every Saturday on your TV. Just go up to your
TV and press left and you will be told what is on sale, the price and a bit
about it's purpose. To buy the piece of furniture you have to call in from the
Doug's Inn in town. On the counter there is a phone that cost 10G to use and
on the same day you see the item you want to buy call in and request it. Zack
will come and deliver it to you within two to three days. It usually takes
three days if there is a festival on the second day.

Notice:
I once order a whisk from the shopping network when on the second and third day
there was back to back festivals and I never received my order even though I
paid. Make sure this doesn't happen to you and plan ahead by looking at your
calendar before hand.
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5.2  Furniture
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This section is a list of the furniture you can buy from the TV Shopping
Network or elsewhere. It contains quite a bit of information so I'll brief you
on how it is organized:

Name of Object
  Cost: Amount of Gold need to purchase the object
  Upgrade: What house upgrade you at least need
  Item Required: What other item needed to buy the object
  A brief description

Now, the list is in alphabetical order so you can buy in order of the upgrade
and item requirement needed. If you have anymore information or see anything
wrong please contact me!

Big Bed
  Cost: 10,000G
  Upgrade: Second Upgrade
  Item Required: Kitchen & Utensils
  A Big Bed placed to the right side of your smaller one. This is a required
  item to marry a girl but I've heard the girl can sleep on the floor in a
  sleeping bag. However, I think she'd be much more comfy in a bed ^_^

Carpet
  Cost: 5,000G
  Upgrade: Second Upgrade
  Item Required: Kitchen & Utensils
  A large beige carpet that goes under your table. Just a decoration.

Clock
  Cost: 2,000G
  Upgrade: None
  Item Required: None
  Tells you the year, season, day and time up to the minute.

Frying Pan
  Cost: 1,200G
  Upgrade: First Upgrade
  Item Required: Kitchen
  Used in cooking to create certain types of dishes.

Kitchen
  Cost: 4,000G
  Upgrade: First Upgrade
  Item: None
  Used to cook, store utensils and view your already completed recipes. You
  cannot use it until you have at least one utensil. Utensils are: Frying
  Pan, Knife, Mixer, Oven, Pot, Rolling Pin, Seasoning Set and Whisk.

Knife
  Cost: 1,500G
  Upgrade: First Upgrade
  Item Required: Kitchen
  Used in cooking to create certain types of dishes.

Mixer
  Cost: 1,200G
  Upgrade: First Upgrade
  Item Required: Kitchen
  Used in cooking to create certain types of dishes.

Mirror
  Cost: 1,000G
  Upgrade: None
  Item Required: None
  Mirror placed between Clock and Bookcase that tells you the time of day
  and little tidbits of information. At 0:00AM look at your mirror you
  might get a little spooked.

Oven
  Cost: 2,500G
  Upgrade: First Upgrade
  Item Required: Kitchen
  Used in cooking to create certain types of dishes.

Pot
  Cost: 1,500G
  Upgrade: First Upgrade
  Item Required: Kitchen
  Used in cooking to create certain types of dishes.

Refrigerator
  Cost: 2,500G
  Upgrade: First Upgrade
  Item Required: None
  Use to store etible items used commonly used to make recipes. There are 64
  spaces to store items and items of the same type can be store together in
  one space.

Rolling Pin
  Cost: 750G
  Upgrade: First Upgrade
  Item Required: Kitchen
  Used in cooking to create certain types of dishes.

Seasoning Set
  Cost: 2,500G
  Upgrade: First Upgrade
  Item Required: Kitchen
  Used in cooking to create certain types of dishes. Includes sugar, salt,
  vinegar, soy sauce and miso.

Shelves (or Cabinet)
  Cost: 2,500G
  Upgrade: First Upgrade
  Item Required: None
  Used to store items you find and can hold other than food. There are 64
  spaces to store items and items of the same type can be stored together in
  one space.

Vase*
  Cost: 5,000G
  Upgrade: None
  Item Required: None
  Won will come to your house on the 5th day of every season and offer to sell
  you the Vase until buy it. It is placed on the small table beside your
  calendar and can put seasonal flowers in it. Flowers whither and die
  eventually but you can replace them beforehand. Flowers put in the vase that
  are unseasonal will die at the end of the day. Flowers that you put in the
  vase increase either your stamina or fatigue depending on the flower.

Whisk
  Cost: 500G
  Upgrade: First Upgrade
  Item Required: Kitchen
  Used in cooking to create certain types of dishes.

* This is the sole item bought from Won.

Note: You can also buy a Powerberry for 10,000G but did not include it for
      obvious reasons.
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6.0  Other
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Golden Lumber:
  Can be obtained from Gotz for 100,000G when you have 999 pieces of wood. You
  can also get it from the Mayor on Winter 2nd by getting him the item he asks
  for. Golden Lumber is very useful for building fences because it never rots.
  However, the people in town will be annoyed that you're showing off your
  wealth. It's best to keep it inside as a show item.

Fences:
  To make fences go up to your wood bin (in between the barn and horse stable)
  and press the 'A Button' to get a piece of wood in your hands. Then place it
  on your field to make fences. They rot over time so you cannot pick them up
  and move them but they never disappear completely. Useful for fencing in
  animals and crops.

Gotz's Creative Urge:
  Sometime during the game Gotz will become depressed and say he hasn't found
  his creative urge. He will refuse to build you anything until you shower
  him with his favourite gifts (apples, honey and eggs) for a year or two.
  When he will accept buildings again you'll see a little cutscene in which
  he thanks you.