please see "additional pics for B3 to B1 conversion" discussion for floor plans for this request. sorry. Rae

Last piece of advice simonsays - never "assume" anything - more often than not people sorting through this stuff on their own misjudge, either in under or over estimating what's involved, incorrectly thinking that it will be either easier or harder than it actually will be to achieve whatever it is......you need to define your various project requirements/details etc as a starting point, and have clarity on what aspects are more or less important for you. This also must include your budget BEFORE you put pen to paper working through the design solution...so if you want a 2-way fireplace, consider it now, and factor it in within the process of working through the costs (which should be occurring simultaneously.........also, remember that "design" is a process, working towards an outcome, which as always is about resolving project requirements to budget within a particular context/conditions.......the project outcome, whatever that is, will be very much determined by the design process and the extent it is invested in and executed....hope this all helps and best of luck with it all :) PD

the floor of the northern verandah downstairs can be any size to accommodate space for socializing but the upstairs balcony forming the roof over the verandah should be the minimum size to avoid shading the downstairs living areas when you want northern sunshine in cold weather (a simple market umbrella can provide extra outdoor shade in summer) ...you could even consider a Juliette/French style balcony upstairs so that you need only have fenced doors opening off the upstairs living room to enhance enjoyment of the views without stepping outside onto a balcony although as little as a 90cm deep balcony would allow space to stand outside without creating too much shade downstairs .....the issue of upstairs for elderly residents could potentially be overcome with a stairlift on easy access central stairs with wide entry and exit....a bigger downstairs guest room (bed 1) would be useful for now and later as a master suite and a future north facing pool house could incorporate a guest/pool bathroom...it could be useful to explore other ideas for a side entry but my suggested shorter front entry incorporating the stairwell keeps the void central and makes more direct access to every part of the house eg kitchen to front verandah and allows the side garden to be secure and private from uninvited guests and i'll make another plan with downstairs bedrooms reversed to see how that could work

Hi Charlie, If you want to outdoor living on the north side as a priority, go for it. I have attached a sketch that allows you to do this and maintain 4 good sized bedrooms. I have assumed you could change your pedestrian access to the house to match where your cars access the house on the north. This will reduce how much of your outdoor space is given over to access rather than usable space. Forgive me if I'm wrong on this point. The sketch maintains a large number of the internal walls and one of the existing bathroom locations. I have closed the front door and put in the master ensuite in its place, this way there is an external window for this room. You may need to consider means of escape from the bedrooms by putting big low level windows in or french doors from B1 onto the verandah. If you don't like this idea, you could make B4 the master and put the second bathroom where the powder room is but this would make both bathrooms smaller and with small kids I think it will be nicer to have a separate powder room. So, all the bedrooms are at the front and all the living is at the back, though I am suggesting you switch what is back and front!!! The roof structure and ceiling over the new living area could possibly be altered to be higher to make it feel bigger. You could change the trusses to rafters and beams where needed, possibly within the existing roof envelope and have sloping ceilings. Open the new living up to the back yard (new front)as you want. New openings will need to be adequately structured. I have also shown a courtyard off the kitchen and dining. This is to the west so you will need a shade structure outside the kitchen or it will be too hot to cook in the evening. The dining could move to the back of the house in conjunction with the living and have just a breakfast area opening onto the court instead. This will be more private that then north space and will be nice and cool in the morning or great for autumn and spring evenings. The only down side of this is the long corridor but that is a function of these 'single stack' houses. You could make B3 smaller and the corridor could double as a playroom if your kids are small and you could put in an additional door between B3 and the powder room to keep their mess out of view!!! It might be a bit hazardous for you if it is not kept tidy but you could introduce storage down one side for toys etc. It seems like a wide corridor so it could work. Good luck, Christine.