The north is very important to get that natural light, if you have the money to do that two floor void, then heaps of natural light can flood into the space. If that is not possible than lighting, colour, windows and doors can help. The connection from house to garden is just as important as we tend to spend a equal amount of time outdoors if designed to the conditions, and don't forget the garden, that done well can extend the house from inside to outside rooms to garden in one big space, with paths and focal points to make it an experience to be in. You need to seek professional advice from someone who will help you understand the requirements from council, the building process, and the cost associated with those processes, and the best way to make the available funds work to your best advantage. There are very few clients who have unlimited budget and in an ideal world where you are lucky to start from scratch and design the house of your dreams, twisting to take advantage of views, light and site conditions, renovating an existing house is normally full of compromises. Renovation is always more expensive than building new, even twice as expensive depending on the house. Ideally the bedrooms should be grouped together with living to the opposite end. That may make sense if the children are young but does not make sense with older children even the ones studying and still living at home, or you are planning on renting out a room. Another factor is length of time at the house, is this a forever house or short term stay, that also should figure into the design. A good Architect Interior Designer is worth their weight in gold, and will be able to take you from this stage to the built form with ease. Seek one who can draw in 3D as that takes out a lot of guess work. good luck

I personally think that it is overkill to get an architect because you think that the orientation of your home is difficult. Its not. You could be wasting money getting advice that is not required. My own home has the heart of the house - the kitchen, facing north. This is ideal because we spend a lot of time here and it is great in winter with slow cooked food in the oven, using the oven to warm the room while also getting any winter sun that is available. My best advice to anyone is to have a home with doors in it; open plan is fine for people with money who can pay for double/triple glazed windows, insulated walls etc and elaborate air conditioning systems. Most people need to think about how they can get the best out of the money that they have available and being able to close doors to keep rooms cool or warm is to me, essential to the fuel economy of the home. So your orientation to me is what is often recommended - it certainly isn't east west. Just use trees correctly to help insulate your home even further.

Thank you. We love the fact that a room can still be modern but still demonstrate charm and character. The elaborate decorative finishes in this kitchen really highlights this fact.

First things first, you need to get clarity on the home function and understand the consequences one way or the other, both spatially and financially. If it's about future proofing the function then you can always address this in various ways such as designing in capacity to accomodate lift access, whether it's installed now or later.....the main thing I would be making sure is that either way the home is appropriately balanced from a design point of view, within context and to budget. We regularly address these particular situations/dilemmas via feasibility services that are structured to help resolve the best project direction by demonstrating properly considered viable options and applying hard numbers up to them so people can clearly see/understand one way or the other what is going to be the best approach. Otherwise you're just kind of guessing the big decisions around hypothetical conversations that more often than not are missing other critical/relevant factors or constraints involved. If you're interested in discussing professional assistance with this please get in touch. These projects are significant investments and our advice is make sure you seek good design advice as early as possible in the process. Cheers PD :)