Ride some steel bikes and see if you like the feel.
Personally, I'm all for custom, if you have the money, but you need to find out what you really want and what fits. There are lots of great off the rack steel bikes, so do that, and then, make a decision.
I had a steel Jamis Coda for 5 years, as an around town bike. It was cheap, with cheap components, but the feel of the steel was awesome. I sold that bike when I built my custom titanium bike. If I hadn't had the Jamis, I never would have considered building a custom bike in steel or titanium. I love my carbon bike, too, but I find myself yearning for the feel of the ti bike a lot of the time.