
If all goes well, this summer I'll be building a new house. I've owned a few houses before, some of them built in the 1920s and 30s, and full of all the charm and quirks of an old house, and a couple that were pretty new, with the lack of craftsmanship and imagination that's typical in most new construction in the USA today. But this time I'm building a custom home, just to my specifications, so I can have whatever features I want, limited only by my imagination (and budget). I'd like to integrate some home automation features into the house, and include wiring for future expansion.
A few points:
Wireless may sound more conveneient at first glance, but it has many downsides, security being the number one factor. This not only includes wireless lans, but wireless security systems as well. Since the wire is going to be built-in, I'd highly recommend going the wired route.
Getting pvc conduit from a backbone closet into every room is a great idea I would highly recommend. Having easy to access cable pathways is much more important than a bunch of extra wire you may not ever use.
My personal preference is to not have power outlets and data/cable/audio jacks shared in the same plate. I like to keep them separated a few inches as utility power is AC and can put alot of noise that can bleed into the data/comm wires.
Ceiling fixtures for lights should be a must, and I'd even go so far as to make sure the boxes installed are rated to hold a ceiling fan, even if it's just going to be a light at first.
Two of my rooms that I've added ceiling fans in, I put in two switches in the wall plate, one to turn on and off the light, the other to turn the fan on. Works great, no need to pull a chain unless I need to change the fan speed.
I have a third fan that uses a wireless remote, which is a convenience but a pain when the thing gets lost.
Make sure that everything gets labelled, including your circuit breaker panel. Make sure the breaker panel lists all rooms that are on a particular circuit.
Just some random thoughts from my personal experience...
Good luck and have fun with it