If you are after plans of architecturally designed homes, magazines may be your best bet (try libraries as you are unlikely to get most at the newsagent), however there are also a number of open homes and architecturally designed homes that are open to the public, including the Rose Seidler House. Also, if you are trying to get away from the kit-home look, take note of how the architects and designers use everyday material creatively in unexpected ways to achieve a highly polished look. As for your floor plans, further work is needed to the downstairs plan. I would seriously question whether you need two bathrooms downstairs. The bathroom for the guest room could be used by everyone (maybe consider setting it up as a three-way bathroom). You can remove the doors between the pantry and the butler's pantry, it is already hidden and just uses up space. As MB Design & Drafting has said, there is a lot of empty space on the downstairs plan and there is going to be an empty void around the meals area. Also of note, try to have continuity in your windows - that is, try to minimise the number of different sized windows and ensure they are standard sizes where possible (its cheaper and more cost effective to make 10 of one thing rather than 10 custom sizes); and try to ensure that the header and sills have a relationship. You have engaged an architect as you feel they are able to successfully design you ideal home. I would suggest giving the architect the ability to experiment and push your brief, otherwise you are doing yourself and them a disservice and you should have gone to a draftsperson how would have simply just drawn up your ideas as you stated them. You are on the right track, so don't give up! Often a design needs lots of discussion between the client and the architect before a great design can be achieved. Whilst it is wonderful that public forums such as this exist, ultimately the discussion needs to occur between yourselves and the architect as you are the ones who will be living there. Take time to listen to their ideas, and don't be afraid to question something you don't understand.

Hi there Nick, looking at your photos you look like a modern hamptons family which is lovely, do you live in a warm climate. I did like the photo you posted of the open plan living and think that you are on the right track with interior colours I have marked out how I would like the first floor, I have moved the kitchen to the end wall to line up with BBQ outdoor kitchen, plumbing for this would have easy access via the garage below. The white tiles look lovely and hard wearing for the entrance foyer and Rumpus room, the stairs in timber due to the amount of traffic even continuing in up stairs foyer kitchen dining living, Carpet in bedrooms and downstairs theater. Kitchen in white but possibly Shaker style white doors these are very popular. Using existing sliding exterior doors if possible from kitchen.Dining to verandah, I think this ceiling would be best kept white to help reflect light back indoors, the tiles appear to be in good order but you might consider changing these along with new upstairs flooring Some where for a laundry shute would be handy, actually a Dumb Waiter so you could move the laundry with ease both up and down! The roof painted a soft colour, grey/white or off white, the verandah railing could be the same colour or you could do glass. The builder had a very different style of house to what I think you are wanting. Your photo

You have a lot of great features included that aren't replicated in modern houses due to costs. The semi circular stairs, thats wow right there! ^^petapea is spot on by the way! I'm currently working on plans for a house that was rendered in 2006. It has the wow factor; WOW that's bland as bat sh!t.... We're adding things like a bay window, new porch in painted timber and some masonry back to make it look good again. Then the new landscaping will really lift it! You could render garage facade and paint it, pressure clean the rest and do those maintenance jobs like cracked flooring, leaking gutters etc. The stairs are too narrow to be any use so widen them up to 1000-1200 wide. I'd spend more on landscaping (which includes fences/letter box/etc).

JE C, we are replacing the 2 big windows in the bedrooms in the next month or so, but the 2 smaller ones are the in bathroom. The windows are not my style, but the bathroom is ok so we won’t be remodelling as early as we will be doing the bedrooms. And it’s a good question about going modern vs retaining the existing style. I don’t want to completely lose the uniqueness of the property, but it’s just not very appealing from the roadside, so I can’t help but think we need to radically change and therefore modernise it. The brown slated area has a slab and is about 5 - 6 metres wide and currently houses the rubbish bins! We have considered building another carport there as we can’t use the garage on the other side of the house (it’s too narrow)