Hi Amanda My renovation work has ranged from $1,500/m2 to $4,000/m2 (and more). What varies is the standard of finish, the amount the existing home is disrupted, and the structural gymnastics being performed. I would concur with the above advice that finding the right design professional and briefing them well will help you deliver a renovation in alignment with your goals for it. What also is important is starting your reno with a great overall strategy. There are a few ideas involved in this, but one that has worked for my projects (both my own and my clients') is to capitalise on the economy of building 'new' when extending. New work is less expensive to build than renovating (on a square meterage rate), so consider whether you can bolt on your extension and not disrupt the existing too significantly. Below is a photo of the type of thing I mean - this was a reno I did of one of our own homes, and we added a living/kitchen/dining pavilion on the rear of an old Queenslander home. This home is another example - the entire extension was built for a similar price to the refurbishing of the existing home - and yet provided significantly greater returns in space and design. "Before" shot from rear "After" shot from rear You may not be seeking something of this aesthetic (and your council may limit your aesthetic too), but the general intent of these extensions is that they 'bolted' onto the existing home. The roof of the new extension is separate to the existing, with a transitional built element that tucks under the existing roofs to bridge between the two. Best wishes with your plans - getting ready upfront will also help you manage your costs. Time = money so when you brief your team well, everyone works efficiently, and construction can flow seamlessly without unnecessary delays, then that also assists in keeping on budget. I wrote a blog about how projects go over budget, and how to minimise this risk on your project. Click here to read >> Regards Amelia Lee, UA www.undercoverarchitect.com amelia@undercoverarchitect.com

trying to think of all the options: the island wouldn't be wide enough to include more than a couple of stools at one end and that would restrict the island's storage potential to cabinets or drawers totalling about 120cm x 60cm x counter height which can be easily matched by a tall cabinet in the "leftover corner" which can be up to 90cm wide, 60cm deep and about 2 m tall and a freestanding storage cabinet could look more interesting than built in for this spot (check out Ikea dining storage for ideas) and there's also about 150cm wide by 30cm deep x counter height possible opposite the new laundry and, if the pantry had a folding door opening towards only one side the fridge could just stand inside the pantry without any complex built in cabinetry. My antique CAD program has pretty basic "pictures" but here's an impression of the view towards the open bathroom and laundry doors and towards the pantry .. the awful colours are necessary to be able to see the detail

challenging! i think a separate toilet and vanity area and bath/laundry works better and allows for multiple person occupancy but, measurements are critical so, a toilet shortest front to back leaves more leg room and an extra big drop in handbasin would look best in the bathroom instead of a laundry tub and what about an old fashioned shower curtain instead of a glass screen if you like the big bathtub with shower instead of a walk in super wide shower with glass screen. The scale of the laundry/bath wall cabinets will fit best (and have more storage for linen, laundry supplies and shampoo etc) if you use a 30cm deep kitchen wall cabinet (with mirror doors) instead of the usuall medicine cabinet depth The tall skinny cabinet in the vanity area should just fit an ironing board and skinny vacuum cleaner with linen under the small drop in (makes the bench more spacious) handbasin ...The doorway into the vanity area has no door, although an in-wall slider would be OK coming from the toilet side, a swinging door would just be in the way...the two windows in the bathroom are placed to maximise ventilation and should be no more than 75cm wide and 120cm tall (frosted glass?) Careful choice of fittings should have everything fitting in OK, good luck with it

always good to please your husband and you'll have a better chance of achieving a good result together....cost will depend too much on the reality of the site to guestimate...we always begin by consulting a builder to check the existing building to see what's possible structurally, check with Council to see what's legal and then you'll need formal plans drawn up so you can collect quotes but i'd be inclined to ask about the whole project as you may have a better chance of attracting an experienced custom builder for a bigger job than just the small extension (even if you negotiate to have the work done in stages ...best of luck