Yeah oklouise that opens it up ...I'd Keep pool/poolhouse as is, but flip the kitchen back over so the island doesn't interrupt the vista down the passage to the pool, powder room could be worked in somewhere b/w MPR & Laundry. The adjusted stair however of course will change the upper level layout. Just a thought/question considering such a tight site, arguably a lot of unused side area that I understand is there to maintain rear access via garage, but as I see ripe for the design picking/opportunity should you concede rear access happens through the house. Considering your coming through the garage anyway you could possibly set the laundry up so that it runs lengthways down with the block and you essentially take over the external area with the flow of the laundry and when need be you access the external through the garage, into the laundry and then out - better use of the land IMO but as siriuskey said previously ultimately your home and your decisions/priorities :)

Orientation should also be an important consideration when planning a home. Generally, living areas should have north to take advantage of winter sunshine. Not quite so critical the further you get north, though Brisbane has quite cold temperatures in winter mornings. So I'd consider flipping the plan, so more living areas face north. Western sunshine is a major problem in summer. It's difficult to shade, & occurs at the hottest time in the day. It looks like that is the direction of your views, which is a pity. As you don't want to overglaze the western side of a house. Is the upstairs balcony covered by a roof? If not your west facing living areas could get very hot in summer. Same goes for the west facing master. Generally, it's not a great idea to have west facing bedrooms. If you must, try not to overglaze then badly. Use low-e glass on western windows, to reduce summer heat, & use external shutters or (vertical) awnings. As for your main question about upside-down living, it's quite polarising, some people live it, while some hate the idea & find it impractical (dragging groceries etc upstairs). The practicalities may tilt the scale away from upstairs living, but the views certainly tilt the scale towards upstairs living. It's definitely advantageous in cooler climates - as hot air rises, upper rooms are warmer, so the perfect place for living areas. I'm not so sure in warmer climates, as upstairs may get warmer, but also have access to summer cooling breezes (think the traditional Queenslander). Whatever you choose, make sure pool users have access to a bathroom close by, without tramping wet feet through much of the house.

Sorry, but from a professional angle It could be so much better, considering the outcome for what it will cost to build. Possibly you're trying to achieve too much contained in a small space in a single level format, or if you want to do that the design needs to arguably push/work harder to achieve it properly without ridiculously squeezed spatial proportions. You don't want to extend a house and feel like you've downsized your living spaces - advise you robustly thrash out the project requirements and priorities. This is a dated design approach, and there's opportunity to be far more creative/clever and push to the south boundary to maximise the potential of the block better, release some under-utilised space/land and more effectively achieve the amenity/residence you desire. Of course hard to comment without understanding the budget or brief, but as a specialist with tight space design I look at this and shake/scratch my head and the logic behind some of the design decisions - the proposed design has aspects of a 50's/60's house that people typically approach us to rip into and get working properly. For a start the kitchen and living should obviously be flipped. This also won't be a cheap project and worse, it actually isn't a very inspiring outcome. Back to the drawing board IMO. Suggest that some alternative design options/layout configurations are considered and weighed up. Either way you spin it the costs will be very similar ballpark, but the outcomes one way or the other could be dramatically different As a comparison attached a plan of a similar project/brief for a Victorian cottage - absolute chalk & cheese And then below our award winning small house that maximises space, light and the feeling of it Best of luck PD :) www.pauldistefanodesign.com

Hi and thanks for your feedback. The rear building might now move further around to the north of the !7 acre rural block (2+ hours from Melbourne), where there is a flatter patch. We are now hoping to make it 2 story, with the storage shed below and living above. That way the huge views to the south and east can be seen over the top of the house. The idea is to build the shed (with studio accom) hopefully at the end of 2020, as a place to stay while the house building starts towards the end of 2021, when we will have the funds, fingers crossed. The width of the building area is only about 30 metres before it dips away a bit steeply to the east and west. We hope to avoid too much excavating for a slab (for thermal mass) but may need to consider stumps if the slab is far more costly. Looking at Carbonlite floor system as a reluctant alternative... A local architect has done the initial design to maximise the views and northern sun. We think the slight kink in the middle will add complexity to the roof so the kink can go. It is a big 'entry' which might need to go to cut costs but we do want an 'air lock' entry... The hallway along the bedrooms is intended to warm up in winter, ideally trombe wall style. We hope to keep the house to about 150 sq meters- we don't need bigger. The council has indicated where the dispersal field for the septic tank needs to go... We love the reverse brick veneer principle. The architect has been fairly open to our ideas but says the budget will be tight at approx $3,500 per sq meter. How does an internal masonry spine work? We figured a continuous skillion roof would be simpler and cheaper- going for a rural shed look...