Without knowing the dimensions I'd say the bedroom probably could be reduced rather than extending so far towards the tree. Rotate the vanity in ensuite and use a standard 750 vanity. Shuffle toilet down then you can add a bit to the shower. Possibly the shower would be a 900x1200? then.

It's a quite good layout. The designer knew what they were doing! The courtyard deck is a good little spot. Nothing i'd really change actually. Kids will quite easily play around with what they have. It's the adults that over think things unnecessarily.......Go for the design it is very good, unless you go the other way and really reduce the size, but using same basic layout.

hi thanks for your feedback. the bedroom is 4 x 5 so although i could lose a metre i would still need to push out the front. the canopy of the tree goes as far as the existing front wall so any extension to the front would take it beneath the tree. not sure if i need to be concerned about it? - the original architect didn't mention it. i have been playing around with the plans - and come up with 2 alternatives that are 3 metres and 2 metres shorter than the original design but still give as much living space, what do you think? i prefer the 2nd but the kitchen is 8 meters along the boundary so might cause permit issues?

4 x 5 metres is a generous room for a bedroom. It's actually not that much smaller than the sitting room, that will take your family plus more.... A 3.6 x 4.2 m and upwards is a good size for a queen bedroom without being cramped.

I'd stick with the architects design and only change it for budgetary reasons. Or go back to the original architect and have them amend it by losing the courtyard off the study perhaps, but really you've got a great layout here that flows and isn't clunky..... which doesn't happen that often. They've even used a lot of original walls which also has worked exceptionally well.

So many great designs can end up being sloppy, clunky or watered down for budgetary reasons or the clients can't see the final vision and then want to 'improve it'. Have the architect do a 3D view if you're unsure as this may assist further.

We are doing something similar with our weatherboard and would agree with jbantick - grab some of that space in the master bedroom and extend the size of the ensuite into the space. great plans!

Design works well, but lots of doors! Delete door into pantry, it will drive you crazy. Open cupboards are cool. Whats a 'D'...looks very cramped space to me.....with another door.

Main Bathroom:

Do you really need 3 x W/C's?( Council rates $$ per toilet.) Maybe move shower in bathroom across to here, and use old shower space for (open) shelves- rolled towels, pull out laundry drawer below for kids to put dirty clothes in.

Double (wall hung) hand basin a must for 3 kids.

Not much storage in B2& 3:

Consider built in cdbs along wall behind door in B3, and B2 to left when you walk in. Get Kitchen cabinetry made or go to ready made modules. ( saves the thickness of a wall)

Master Bedroom:

Move toilet into existing shower space, and turn around to face vanity, (so backs onto ensuite wall.)

Delete door from WIR, and extend shower space here, from toilet towards bedroom wall.(1200 x 900 ish?)

Make space under one end of vanity for clothes basket, or pull out/down laundry drawer.

Open wall leading into bedroom, and put in sliding door. The wall opposite this door could be your feature wall if you are going to have one...one colour, lovely long feature mirror set on tiles....

Wall at end of your bed:

Get Kitchen joinery guy to build a floor to ceiling bank of:

built in drawers below, cupboards above, (possibly t.v or mirror space set back on wall in centre.) This will be your extra clothes storage space. Make this a feature eg: wood look veneer.Have touch drawers, no handles for a sleek look.

Kids grow fast..and will be wanting mates over for BBQ's on your fab deck before you know it! Hang a swing seat!! Lovely design, enjoy.

You didn't mention your budget, but here's an idea you may not have considered. Leaving the new plan pretty much as it is, sacrifice the study and lead a new stairway from here up to a whole new master suite ( plus a study if you need one) on a second level. A 'pop-up' extension will retain all your ground floor area, and your garden area. The new 'parents retreat' on an upper level will free up downstairs space for your children, perhaps provide a guest suite in what was previously your master bedroom ( or perhaps your oldest childs' bedroom and study area) Ask The Extension Factory or some other building Co that specializes in this type of extension. If yours is a cheap house in strong position, i.e, a good neighborhood, this a great way to add real value. But DON'T BECOME EMOTIONALLY ATTACHED TO ANY PROPERTY. Don't over capitalize, it may be better to move to a bigger house.

Great design for your extension. The only change I would make is to remove the bathroom toilet & have a more generous 'powder room'. Two toilets is more than enough to clean!

besides being more to clean every extra toilet is another cost and the house should reflect the way you live and the best aspect of the block and maximise available space: what about use old bed 4 for the ensuite and wiw, lose the small northern deck and use that space for an extra room that could be used as dining room, bedroom, play room etc Will you use the front and laundry decks and where's the most useful place for the clothesline? what about lose the outside laundry door (it's closer to walk through the house) and move the whole extension closer to the south border and have more space on the northern side and what about the garage...can it be refurbished to include a carport/covered outdoor play area, mancave, future teenage retreat etc lots of questions and the best time to answer all questions is at the planning stage: good luck with you plans

I think it looks good. I would probably just echo a lot of the other comments. If you want a bigger ensuite, I think you can sacrifice some of the space from the main bedroom to make the ensuite bigger.

Bedrooms 2 and 3 will probably require more storage, especially with three children.

The cupboard in the entry looks a little odd. I would probably just extend it so that it was the same length as the wall. Otherwise, it appears to be pretty narrow, so I would think about how it is intended to function and whether a bench seat with some baskets below the bench and some hooks above the bench on that part of the wall would meet your requirements.

I do think the main bathroom needs some work. I don't think three toilets are necessary, but you definitely need to separate the toilet for the main bathroom. I would also consider trying to turn it into a three-way bathroom, perhaps by keeping the powder room toilet in the current position, but flipping it so that you enter from the opposite side (which also means that you won't see a toilet as you're walking from the entry to the living areas). I would have an open double vanity where the shower and single vanity currently is and I would enclose either a combination bath/shower or a "wet room" (perhaps with a frosted glass door to still allow light from the window or include a sky light above the double vanity).

I would consider whether the study requires built in storage, whether open shelves or hidden storage. I'm also not sure what the "d" in the laundry is, but I wonder whether a larger walk in pantry wouldn't be more useful.

I personally would not like the living room to be completely sectioned off from the kitchen and dining areas by full-height walls and doors. There also appears to be a bit of dead space between the kitchen bench and the dining area. This will facilitate ease of movement, but I wonder whether you could widen the "galley" part of the kitchen by moving the bench towards the dining area.

I'd also have a think about how you would furnish and use the living/sitting room. It looks like a large room and it also appears that you're losing a dedicated "play room" (although the study may serve that purpose until the children are all older).

Good luck!

many thanks for all your comments. i will indeed only have two toilets. i'm not sure where the third popped up from as it wasn't on the brief. i think we will be using bedroom 4 as the ensuite/wir area and extend the study to a proper bedroom.

D is a drying room btw.

Have you thought of pushing your bedroom and ensuite out the the eves on the side of the house, we have just done this and added 600mm to both rooms allowing a 1m x 1.2m shower with a sliding door and larger vanity. I wouldnt do this on the hot side of the house though.

I really like the existing plan as is. The internal deck is great. The sitting room at the end with sliding door - for privacy. I would build this. Hopefully you can keep the same ceiling height. Then have the back higher, maybe with a skillion roof.

I'm renovating an old QLD weatherboard too and wondered what you decided to do with the windows and doors to outdoor living areas? I've spotted a variety of different doors in your plan. Sliders off B2, Bifolds to outdoor living etc. Have you chosen to go with timber or aluminium?

Depending on your budget I'd be considering up not out.

Depending on your climate (where are you?) a smaller surface area to volume ratio could be advantageous.

Be wary of extending forwards through the existing verandah;

1. Council (depends where you are) may not approve it

2. the tree could be an issue as you say

3. if you budget is tight you will spend a disproportionate amount on that small additional space as you will need to modify the roof across most of the front of the house.

4. you will possibly have a negative impact on the street elevation of the house if you remove the full width verandah (you may not but without photos it is worth mentioning)

Good luck