I like the look of the lug design, but I wonder about the bulkiness of the lugs. Could they be thinned out a little?

"The need for uniform thickness at the frame joint is important because overheating of the thin section tubing can occur if the lugs are on the heavy side.Thinning the lug and cutting it to make an attractive design has two technical benefits. First, it lightens the lug and allows brazing or silver soldering of the joint to be done at a lower temperature, with less danger of overheating the thin-walled tube. Second, the flow of the silver solder can be seen more easily with a design in the lug that gives a few "windows" to see into the joint." -Art Stump (Source, a good read: Art Stump, on handcut lugs)

Steve Rex is another builder worth considering. This is an example of one of his stainless bikes (polished stainless, not chromed, lugs):







I struggle with this "nice commuter" bike conundrum as well. I use a ~44-year-old Reynolds 531-framed bike with mostly period-correct Campagnolo parts. To us bike nerds it's a nice bike, but it can be easily overlooked in a crowded bike rack. The Campagnolo parts are reliable and work well. Save for a broken Lyotard pedal axle, it's given me no trouble. Some people might consider the bike too collectable to be used as a commuter. On the other hand, others accustomed to modern tech might consider it not nice enough to ride on a daily basis (no brifters, 5-speed freewheel, etc.). In the end, it's faster than most people realize and I get a lot of enjoyment out of it and I'm proud to have put some patina back on it. If I were to get a custom bike now and with an eye to the future, it would be in the randonneuring vein--fast and nimble enough to take on weekend rides, but also incorporating utilitarian aspects such as eyelets, fender mounts, and ample tire clearance so it might double as a commuter, gravel grinder, grocery getter. But then of course I'd equip it with high-end parts and worry about it getting dinged or stolen.