Thank you so much for your kind words, everyone. Houzz never ceases to delight, I am so glad I began this renovation even though it was an incredibly stressful journey at the time!! Here are a few more pics taken over the last 2 years.

it's quite easy to remove tall windows and replace them with short windows for the new kitchen and fill in the gap below the window with a stud wall covered with insulated cladding...it's surprising that the garage was built this way when it could have been extended from the boundary to the side of the house to make a generous double drive through garage with more garden towards the rear but, if it was my house i would enclose the gap with a flat roofed room (with bathroom windows replaced with in wall storage and add ceiling skylights) and, although there is enough room to add an ensuite and wiw in the gap (and/or at the front of the house) for the price it will be much more cost effective to add an extension in the rear garden....in the meantime a reorganised kitchen, family dining and living room would provide much more comfortable space for a young family and a generous alfresco (with umbrella or basic shadecloth covered pergola) at right angles to the house would be better use of that space and could be a simple gravel paved area or a deck that could be recycled if/when you need to add the rear extension

Compromise! Remove the wall on exterior side completely to ceiling...run cornice all the way along that wall/ceiling join...so that wall is all flat (one wall) Square up the wall to ceiling on light switch side and cornice around the square...remove arch completely, gib the ceiling flat/ remove cornice along the stretch where arch was. If you are changing the flooring in the dining area to match kitchen..it will be defined as a separate space then to lounge room anyways...so opening walls totally up will not really achieve alot. This way no electrical switches have to be moved etc and keeps little privacy from kitchen door, adds a little interest to space...I can't see the arch wall as (being load bearing may be wrong), but it looks to be a pretty compact home. Good luck with decisions!

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