It would be much more cost effective to work with the slate. Image sent by mazgardiner looks great. If the home was purchased for rental purposes, the plinth could be painted white, benchtop and splashback tiles painted (much cheaper than replacing) to blend in with slate colours. If you are going to live in the property, sometimes it's best to live with how it is and replace later when you have better understanding of what you want. Good luck with it all!

I was thinking of options , and basically Kates sketch would be along the lines of what I am thinking . Just some obvious things -- you have a chimney -- do you want that in your Master ? You want doors off the front Den -- no matter what you do , that will cost reasonable $$$ , as you will have to alter the framing , maybe electrical , as well as obviously cutting through bricks . Could 'just' having screens and maybe even a small roof creating a courtyard in front , using the existing front door and probably creating a better entry experience if done right , be better than that ? Same with things like having an external door from a laundry/mud room ? If that was important , personally I'd incorporate that as part of the new addition at the rear -- its way easier to design framing and walls with a door included , as opposed to modifying a 60 year old building . Basically , we could question every room , and that is what the designer should have done . Without asking , I'd come up with a totally different design , but it would be what I would do , and maybe wouldn't be what you want . And as far as adding upstairs , again personally I wouldn't . Engineering wise its difficult , matching styles is difficult , and cost will be quite a bit more per metre than adding on the rear , but you may feel the advantages outweigh the costs -- only you know .

With the temperature dropping, we tend to spend more time in the warmth of a hot shower, so now is the perfect time to make our bathrooms look and feel more luxurious! We’ve got some great ways to create a luxurious bathroom to get you through those colder months You’ve probably heard it a thousand times before, but any sort of re-styling can instantly change the look and feel of any space. And one of the most visible spaces in your bathroom is the vanity, so try starting there. Remove everything from your vanity countertop and think about how you want the room to feel. If you want to add a touch of luxury, the first thing you could try doing is updating things like the handwash dispenser, soap dish, and toothbrush holder. By simply updating these items, you will notice the difference immediately. Nothing screams luxurious bathroom, like flowers! We think adding something like a small fresh or dried floral arrangement, immediately makes you feel like you’ve walked into a magazine shoot. Then, just amp it up with a candle in a beautiful vessel and maybe a soft, textured hand towel or face washer to complete the look! Upgrade Your Basin & Bench Mounted Tapware You may not realise, but upgrading your bathroom basin and basin mixer, is also one of the quickest ways to change the entire feel of your bathroom. If they are looking a bit tired or dated, you might be surprised at how much variety is now available when it comes to basins and tapware! While you may require the help of a licensed plumber, chances are that this simple upgrade will give you the best bang for buck when it comes to adding some luxury to your existing space. Try and choose something that ties in well with the existing bathroom, but also try and bring in that luxurious bathroom feel with something that will elevate the space, and give you a great base to add in your other accessories and styling pieces.

adding furniture always gives a much better idea of available space and bed 4 is much too small for a living area although bed 3 without a wall and wardrobe could be used for a small TV room to open up the long hallway but i've moved bed 2 to make a MPR, added generous ceiling height biw in every bedroom (to include general storage as well as personal items) and simplified the bathrooms and the wide vanities can be used for linen..assuming that there will be a restriction of total floor area to block size i've kept this variation of your plan to 60% of the total area and think highlight windows on the south and tall wide windows above 750 off the floor on the north will allow plenty of northern light and still allow easy furniture placement, the MPR could have a western window to make the room more comfortable in cold weather and external blinds to exclude hot afternoon sun and shade blinds on the outside of the verandah would screen the sliding door but i would omit the external laundry door and the "pantry wall" as shown in Dreamers photo of my own pantry can be included inside wall cavities and needs only about 15cms depth for very useful storage