my 2 bobs worth. as someone who works with the elderly-the en-suite for your MIL is still not right. if she ever needs walking assistance,especially with a frame, getting past that door into the en-suite will be a nightmare. swap the vanity position for the shower. ensure there is no step-down into the shower area, and ditch the shower screen for a curtain. will make access much easier. especially if she ever needs assistance showering..it will be virtually impossible, and dangerous, with your current design. thinking long term..MIL will not always be there with you, so presumably you and your hubby will at some point end up in the master bedroom? consider the long terms implications of this-no good building something that suits her now, but would need major modification to suit your needs later. I would actually do away with the WIR at this time. Plan to add it later, if you would want it for yourself, but i would just use free standing furniture for her-no doubt she probably has her own, so it would be nice to have some of her own furnishings when she moves in with you - to make it feel more like her home. it will free up some floor space, and make access to the ensuite easier, without having to turn corners. I would also do away with the extended passage into the master. Take that door back in line with the other bedroom. Currently, it adds nothing, and may well limit your furniture placement for your family room, as the walkway will need to go around it. i have issue with the 2 person shower and double vanity in the same room. s the kids get older, they /you probably wont be comfortable using the room when you are showering, so mornings will be slowed down. Have you considered a 3 way bathroom/toilet/vanity area? We had this in our house, and it was the best decision ever. The shower and bath were in one room, with a separate toilet, and then a double vanity which opened to the passage. Everyone could use everything at the same time, without encroaching on each others privacy. Not sure about your state -but here, the toilet door would have to open out-if someone collapses in the powder room, you would not be able to get in with the door opening in, as they would be blocking the door. I do empathize with your dilemmas. We have spent 7 years planning an extension and remodel, then 2 years (!!!) working on the design with an architect, going backwards and forwards, and then the last 12 months nearly, changing and fine-tuning along the way as things were being built. It is not easy, but worth it. Having said that, you are unlikely to ever get it perfect, as your needs will change, your likes/dislikes will vary, and you will see other peoples homes and go "why didn't we do that". (Now if only i could take that on board myself, LOL)

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Lots to learn and so much to consider. I ended up doing more research to decide sizes for built in and walk in robes. We decided to keep one of the bedrooms at the front of the house to be used as my husbands work space. We have 2 kids and get interstate visitors often which is why we initially wanted a study plus 4 bedrooms. But I like the idea of a living space to break up the hallway a bit and to let some light in. I know we have to think about the northern light for the front room, but my husband works in there every day so I think it works better energy-wise. We moved the guest bathroom closer to living space as per oklouise’s plans (so helpful!!) and did a similar configuration. I think it’s nice for entertaining for guests to have easy access and not to have to walk past bedrooms to use the bathroom. With the reconfiguration and the extra length we added to the family/meals area. I think it’s looking like a pretty good sized area without going over our budget. The kitchen also no longer faces the hallway which is so much nicer I’ve attached our updated plans

We have been building our house for over two years now. The supply chain downturn has made it a nightmare. We are camping on the mezzanine floor of our warehouse so it isn't costing us to wait, but if I had rented a property while building we would be in trouble now. I purchased most of our plumbing supplies early in the build so at least those items have not gone up in price, but many others have. We ordered and paid for a cantilever pool awning in February this year, and it was sent in three lots. The last delivery was two weeks ago. I suspect the company was having a hard time getting it out of China, so not their fault. We had quotes for fly screens/security screens that totalled over $25,000. We had to forgo the security screens in favour of fly screens for most of the house. We had a quote for a large aluminium mesh panel to place on the front left corner of the house which was over $25,000 also. The fencing company got an order wrong and we ended up with the wrong colour louvre panels on the front driveway sliding gates, plus the wrong colour for a fence. We have managed to turn it into a positive by keeping the wrong coloured louvre blades, and they will now be put up vertically on the front corner of the house, instead of the aluminium mesh. They are six metres long, but the house is two stories, so all good. We had to keep the gate panels the same, so the wrong colour will have to be exchanged for the right colour. People are still building houses here, and some of them are going up very fast, so I don't understand why ours has taken so long. We have purchased most of the goods locally, but I suppose the suppliers are having trouble getting them from overseas. I am at the point where I am losing interest in this house, which is a shame because it will be a beautiful house when finished.

Thank you Kate for that suggestion. And thank you, Jan Dobson for that very comprehensive and extremely helpful response. I gave your advice a lot of thought - especially the remark about stepping over a wide rim. That makes so much sense, and might partly explain why freestanding tubs have gained popularity. I thought a freestanding tub would not work due to the tight space (I didn't want to create cleaning problems!) but I gave it some further thought after reading your comment. I'm wondering if a rectangular back to wall freestanding tub with hob around three sides might work, eliminating tiling up the front and the rim at the front of the bath completely, but still avoiding the cleaning hassles of a tub with small spaces around it? I love the idea of a rim behind the tub, or a shelf above the tub. And putting the taps at the end does make sense. Maybe something like this? While there are advantages to extending the vanity over the tub, after a lot of thought I decided I'd prefer a smaller vanity and a space between vanity and tub where I can put a small stool and some towel and robe hooks on the wall. It's a guest bathroom, and there's a 900mm vanity in the cloak room next door so I am thinking a large vanity isn't a necessity, but a space between would make cleaning the top end of the bath easier.