My son and one of his mates bought an investment unit when they were 21, drew up some serious guidelines, sold when they were 25-26 years old and made enough money to add to deposit for their own homes. I was so amazed by their maturity and their rules..they are still really good mates, were in each other's wedding parties and better still their wives like each other as well. They signed their contracts and a mortgage broker worked out their loans, I don't know how it worked but they had separate loans so if one put in extra payments it only benefitted that person

Non-professional comments: - what is the purpose of the room which accesses the WIR? It's entrance is from the "public" hallway, yet it provides entry into the WIR which is unique. Is this a nursery (i.e. a room for the baby so that it is close to you both during the night)? If so, is the access through the WIR really necessary? - do you want a standard hinged door in the main bedroom? I think French doors or a sliding door would be more aesthetically pleasing than a hinged door. - do you need a bath in the ensuite? Would it be more practical to use that space to separate the toilet for acoustic and visual privacy? - do you really need a butler's pantry? How often do you hire help when hosting dinner parties? - if the fridge doors are opened, no-one will be able to pass through the gap between the fridge and the island bench. I'd consider moving the fridge towards the pantry a little so that when the doors are open, there is still room for movement around the fridge. - I'm not sure the scaling on the furniture in the living room is right. I'd adjust the mock-up to get a better idea of the size of the room and the ease of movement you will have if you did have such a large dining table. Given the overall size of the house, the kitchen / dining / living space actually looks a little small and cramped, even though it will presumably be your main living area. I'd look at taking some space from the dedicated theatre room and playroom. - how wide is the central corridor? I'd make it generous if possible and also include some sky lights to help keep it bright and light so that it doesn't just look like two long, dark tunnels running off into opposite directions. - what purpose does the mud room near the front door serve? Would it be better located as a thoroughfare from the garage or accessible from the alternative front door which leads to the laundry? Do you really want to track mud, etc into your "formal" entry to access the mud room? - I'd try to include a double vanity in the main bathroom (by removing the cupboard (?) that is taking up valuable space) if you're hoping for two or more children. - I don't think the access to the shower room from one of the bedrooms is necessary. I'd remove that door and make that space a true wet room (i.e. without an "enclosed / small" shower. - I'd place a BIR on the wall between the laundry and the bedroom for noise dampening. - I'd place a BIR on the walls between the garage and the other two bedrooms also for noise dampening. - would built in storage in the play room be beneficial? Or possibly even a built in study nook for homework, etc. Would it also be beneficial if the playroom could be closed off from the hallway (noting that there is already a door in the hallway to close off that entire wing of the house). Especially if you ever needed to "sell" it as another bedroom? - as noted, the entire home is large. I'd personally reconsider whether it's possible to reduce the number of rooms, but to make some of the rooms serve a dual purpose. At most, it sounds like you will have four people living in the room, yet you have essentially three living rooms and five bedrooms! A fourth bedroom could easily serve as both a playroom and a guest bedroom (when needed). And while the baby is young, that room could also easily serve as a home theatre. Good luck!

Hey Nik Star, I've had a PowerPoint play with oklouise's edits. This is what I meant about garage entry to the pantry and a laundry in the garage. The red arrows are to stipulate to the builder that level access is required. I added extra garage depth to allow for the garage, that would definitely impact your facade elevation. If you remove the wall between the butler's pantry and mudroom you would have a SUPER PANTRY! But a true butler's pantry in that it was supposed to be where you would land with the veg from the garden so you would kick your shoes off inside the door, so I've noted a little bench seat there, then head in and wash it before heading over to the actual cooking area. Then if you get rid of the sliders and reduce the storage to shallow shelving on the middle wall you would have plenty of space to manoeuvre with mobility devices. For the washing labour machines - washer, dryer, dishy - try getting those mounted on plinths so the load on your poor back is reduced. I have dodgy joints so I am researching all the ergonomic ways to design work spaces to help me when I get to the awesome stage you guys are at with getting to build!

Hi there Bec, wow so many thoughts and ideas for you, building a new home is a complex job. As annb said she would need to have quick access to children, there's two camps of thinking re this, those like Annb who would prefer the bedrooms together and those that like the separation of the Master suite. If in the bedrooms together camp perhaps swapping the master suite with the media/rumpus, media rooms don't need views and you already have a great kitchen/family alfresco space next to the future pool. Having the master suite with a view to the pool is good for safety reasons as well, the ensuite and family bathrooms could be back to back. The front Media room a great place to escape to for mum and dad. If you're in the camp of liking the master suite separation that's OK as well. The passage way already had a linen cupboard across the end of it and blocking any access not that it makes too much difference approx 1m extra to the kids. As I have all ready suggested that extra wasted passage space would make quite a difference to the small family bathroom. To screen or not to screen, what is wrong with just having a lovely plain colour full height shower curtain, it can be changed over every couple of weeks or just take a bucket of soapy water and dip the curtain into the water and hand wash, it really only gets dirty on the bottom third. Much easier and cheaper than having to wipe down glass shower screens and doors every time someone showers, you don't have to do that with a curtain.. I'am over cookie cutter bathrooms that must have screens, is using a squeegy too much. A big plus for no screens is for when and if someone needs assistance to shower, it can happen to anyone. In our 3 way bathroom from the 80's we have a tiled shower room 1800 x 900 which has a timber pocket door on the 1800 wall with a small opening window on the opposite wall. To the left of these a shower, both the shower area and the floor have a drain installed, it's a fantastic shower room with space for 6'4 sons but not for 2 persons to wash in. Not a showers screen or curtain to be seen. Do include with your plans for a future pool an external toilet and shower. cheers