Hi "theomoors" It is a great opportunity to live on forty acres just North of Melbourne, I congratulate you on your purchase, I can understand why you are looking for all possible ideas. You have a very "ample plan" with lots of living areas which I'm sure you intend to make great use on long winter days. There might be a way of planning the same areas and make some of the spaces slightly more efficient and still get a good result, and reduce your running costs a little especially heating in winter. You might like to consider placing your furniture on the drawing, this will give you a greater understanding of space and circulation and where you might need to reduce or enlarge to obtain a better result. Also you might like to look at your L shape Plan design, it does not really take advantage of the North orientation and the views, (especially for the rumpus and upstairs areas) its seems a pity considering that you have 40 acres of land and not take full advantage of Orientation. If you could manage to re-look at your design and try a liner design, then your rumpus room and the rest of the living areas would take advantage of both orientation and views. (I think Evirotecture has mentioned this design issue) Also the massing of the whole structure seem to have more of a "large corner suburban block feel" to it, rather than a "a rural feel". You might like to look at something with more balanced proportions, both in plan and elevation might give a greater feeling of restfulness to the design. At the moment the design seem to remind me more to a outer Melbourne northern suburbs rather than rural design. Looking at some of the existing rural houses on any Google search might give you a point of reference. As you have a northern entry with some steps, you might consider developing this a little further to give a welcoming feel, considering that this is how you see your "property on your return home" when you are tired, you want a welcoming feeling. Maybe a detailing the front (elevations and Views) with larger drawings might help in this pursuit, even it you have to use decking materials that are highly fire resistant to meet fire requirements. I like the way you have planned the kitchen, the island bench with a butlers sink and a full sink behind with a full butlers pantry seems to work well. The circulation space around of 1000 is slightly undersized 1200 is generally the preferred space if you can afford it, I make mine never less than 1100. Also you might consider the space between the hot plate and the sink, about "one working station" (about 800 to 1000) and the hot plate the same distance from any wall seems to work better than greater distances.. Closet space for linen, hanging of clothes while ironing, brooms, vacuum cleaners, freezer/s, shopping trolley, and all the other knickknacks that make up a family seems slightly under-catered. Maybe an inventory of existing storage might be a help in coming up with requirements. Also the fixed size space for the fridge can sometimes be a disadvantage as size and function of fridges tend to change, and it might reduce your capacity to upgrade later on, straight line space might be a better solution. The laundry, and that section of the kitchen might need a slight redesign so as to incorporate a more flexible result. It would be a good idea to show the position of Water tanks, hot water heaters, solar cells and storage, wood storage for the fireplace (BAL requirement in some states), air conditioning units & pumps, and all other mechanical equipment. These items relate to the house design and can be highly visual, and sometimes may require specif placements which may influence the placement of windows and doors and can be pleasant or unpleasant when viewed from certain perspective, so taking them into consideration at this time may avoid later issues. Also you have not shown vehicle storage and circulation in relation to the site which may influence the design directly. You might also consider a "Mud Room", I can see a relatively good size deck from the laundry and rumpus room which might help, but if this is not well sheltered people tend to be lazy and bring the mud inside rather that change shoes or clean up as required. A good size mudroom might help to store boots, raincoats and other heavy gear often required for every member of the family, in a small farming environment. You might like to combine this with a "pet area" considering that you might have a dog etc. that forms part of the household. There are other areas that you might like to look at in relation to fire requirements and sizes of glass especially in your first floor areas. It might worth while, if money permits the use of fire-shutters at least in the upper areas. New homes are definitely a grueling exercise, but it is always easier and cheaper to change a design than the building. I hope my comments are of some help, I wish you the best in your en-devour, and look forward in seeing your final design proposal. Regards - Michael Manias .

@oklouise thanks for your advice. We do not have accurate dimensions yet, this makes it challenging for assistance. We will be applying a new roof for the entire home, and internal ceilings attended to. One side of home has 4 shed garage with minimal walkway space on other side 5 -10 metres of space. We want to extend at rear of home towards Pool and capture views to backyard. We are keen to minimise as much changes as possible with plumbling/structural beams/walkways. I've added our preliminary thoughts on extension/layout in RED dotted lines/text. Blue dotted lines are the are the current layout. Existing Roof Structure provided.

Hello RH, I would think this could be achieved rather easily with not a huge cost. Pop a wall 1400 across the far end with door near the windows.. as long as the windows allow that space: shower across the end by stairs, loo and vanity ahead of the door. Bed head backing stairs/landing wall. Looks like the space behind the door into the room off the landing would be ideal for a long run of robe: not a walk in but very easy to add and plenty of space in bedroom (about 4.7 ish wide) and room for a dance! Cheers Margot PS there would be far more complicated (read: expensive) options but this would suit the home too. As to modernizing: swap the splash back in kitchen, paint the arch bricks, maybe change the balustrade from the pillars (which may not be legal now) Change the beer bottle glass beside the front entry and enjoy! OH also I would look at using some of the under stair space to make a separate pwd room WITH the shower if possible... it will be possible.... and separate laundry. If the laundry ext door is centered in the room then you may have space for a folding, sorting, bench or more storage cupboards too....... Cheers MK

Good suggestions from Kate. I would also suggest the following. Remove the kitchen pass through wall completely and install a peninsula bench. A support beam may be required. Or a support pillar which could be incorporated at end of the bench. Install a 2400mm high solid core sliding door, think barn style, for the bathroom door. This will give a bit more sound proofing for the poor people using your toilet in the dining room. Place the lounge furniture so the corridor is along the wall. Using single accent chairs. All dining and lounge furniture should be light in colour. The furniture in the photos is dark and bulky and sucking the light out of the room. Paint the stairs completely in a light colour. You have not mentioned a budget, so these changes are cosmetic more than structural (apart from the pass through wall)