Well, it's Abscos skillion roof carport that's very strong, more than the gable one last time I checked. Gable roof carports can also cut out sunlight to house windows, while skillion leaves some light at top . You'd still need a shed for storage. Garages are obviously more secure for the car. Re a large shed/garage, you can get extra windows and skylights in many, also roll insulation and cyclone bracket kits. Some have extra height, if you have a boat, or are tall. you pay extra for colorbond. If its visible from the street, or from entertaining rooms, that's worth it. They have regular sales. one person needs a helper at certain stages. A mate of ours dislocated his shoulder while carrying a large sheet of steel, for a large commercial shed, when a gust of wind caught it. solar garage lights are available in hardware stores, you'd need a few for a garage, or wire the shed to house. Hardware stores also have storage systems for common shed/garage items, to click and store on the metal walls. My first hubby used to say, every man needs a shed, with a couple of old bucket seats from a Datsun in it...

Wow...you’ve all given me so much to think about! Kate Partenio - I hadn’t even thought of garage fumes...definitely something we will consider going forward. Re: traffic through pantry/kitchen..this doesn’t bother us so much given we don’t have kids but worth thinking about for resale down the track. Oklouise - I love your sketch but upon redrawing it myself I realised that the kitchen bench will likely be the same size as it is now, as we would want it to be flush with bedroom 2. Also in your sketch (and in relation to marie4509’s suggestions) the pantry would have to be a straight line pantry rather than one that has a bench/shelving going across horizontally - unfortunately that space is just too narrow which is why we were thinking of it for the laundry. I don’t know about all of you but I feel like a straight line pantry still feels like just a pantry, rather than a full out butlers pantry! That all being said, we will consider moving the internal garage door to lead straight into the main hallway, rather than through the butlers. This would eliminate concerns of fumes to kitchen directly + problem of foot traffic through kitchen. It would also give us more counter space + storage in the butlers. I must say I’ve never been a fan of garage entry doors being visible to guests, but it seems this would be the only real solution. Looks like I’ll have to let go of my dream of a bigger bench :( Thanks all for your suggestions and sketches - what an amazing community I’ve walked into.

Hi Houzz enthusiasts, This is what I can suggest. The sketch is a bit rough not as professional as yours Oklouise :) I understand there may be some issues with space in the Family Living, but I encourage you to take all these ideas to an architect. They can accurately tell you if it is going to work out well. Is this an investment property or a property you wish to stay for a longer period/lifetime? It is important to ask these questions as the last thing you want to do is over capitalise and not recover any profits if you were wanting to sell it after 6 months/1-3 years. With kitchen renovation ideas, the galley style kitchen is the new in. Gone are the days where L-shaped kitchens were a thing. There are other kitchen configurations, but the galley orientation is what I see frequently in newly built display homes. All the best with the renovation :)

If you are in Sydney, we do have in house kitchen designers, who can help with kitchen layout and as your an electrician you can save money by fitting out the electrical side yourself, however we don't do landscaping. Have you had a look on houzz or pinterest to get some ideas of lighting you like. Ambience lighting is about having dimmers on your main lights and placing lamps ect in dark corners. Task lighting is important in the kitchen, office (if your having one) and basically anywhere you sit and have to look at things like a book, plans for your home, crafting, food. Sconces are to accentuate something like a window, painting or help you find your way down a hallway. Use long pendant, chandelier type lights for your ceilings it draws your eyes up. Track-lights or too many down-lights can look tacky. Everything essentially depends on how you are styling your home. A building company we have worked with that does what you need and are pretty good is Scopeview Projects. Check them out they maybe able to help.