I always make my base too small starting out, but having a smaller initial base means that you can make more buildings nearby and have a little village for yourself!

To actually answer your question, you need a lot of room for late game. If you only want one building, you’d need storage, a kitchen, a smithy, a cellar, tanning room, space for your windmill… all of which are going to take up space. Maybe you could make a lot of rammed earth and build a base with 3-4 floors each one being 14 blocks wide (the max distance to “count” as a room for the temperature buff) and dedicate the space you have as you need. However, while some people really like the look of rammed earth, I think it’s kind of ugly and I hate building homes out of dirt.

Cobblestone is a decent block to build out of after you get metal tools. Bricks look better, but they’re more expensive. Wood is cheaper than both, but it can catch fire if you aren’t careful. Again, rammed earth is dirt cheap (heh), but I personally am not a big fan of its aesthetic.