Blue Gum floorboards how could it not look beautiful!! and yes wheelchair friendly although if we were in a wheelchair I guess we would have to move closer to town and transport and shops as this house was going to be in the country talking of moving... husband has caved and said we can move to the Bay of Islands whoop whoop! he still wants to go to France for 2 years but he said we could build or buy before we go so that changes the type of house now because we were building near a school and families this will be more a beach house that we can leave for the kids to enjoy and various friends who want it while away so I have swapped the master over to be away from the laundry garage door and hot water heat pump which is quite noisy and the guest rooms now have a Jack and Jill bathroom I haven't changed the footprints at all it's still the same size just changed the layout a little bit The bunk room would have a sliding door outside which means you could access that part of the house privately without coming through the front door or the bunk room could be a small kitchenette /come dining room / come lounge room (very small ) and rent it out as a 1 bedroom self contained apartment Once we live there full time ... will upload a photo in the next Post

obviously there are some "professionals" operating to arguably less than professional standards and unfortunately they contribute to the confusion of the value of what we do, and make it harder for you guys to trust us at the time that you actually most needs us. There is also a significant difference between a Pro who knows what their doing properly clarifying/translating information as required throughout the design process, to having the subtleties and complexity dumbed down for the sake of "plain language" that risks misinterpretation and underestimation of what's involved. I completely agree, it's often made way harder than it needs to be, and I think again it's horses for courses and certainly there are many professionals who would arguably be best utilised for their skills specifically contained to within the professional industry boundaries, yet others who are naturally better at "bridging the gap" and liaising/working/communicating seamlessly with both the clients and the industry. Unfortunately, to the average punter it's very very difficult to distinguish and gauge these critical key differences between the various Pro's.

Hi there Lots of good points and suggestions made already, but if you’re willing to try a more radical - but still workable - solution, try this one. Most of the internal layout would need to be shuffled about a little, making it a more expensive option, but it’s still MUCH cheaper than extending and leaves most services where they are, which is a saving. It involves 3 main moves: 1) move the master suite into the living area w. bay window, which immediately makes a broken-plan living/dining/kitchen space which accesses the courtyard; 2) give the kitchen a large island to gather around, remove the bottom bench wing and turn the top section into a full-width, shallow butler’s pantry that can be opened up or screened off as needed; 3) give 600mm of laundry to the pantry and turn the rest into a corridor with bench + under-bench appliances + hall cupboard running along it to the back door - this allows the family bathroom to increase in size. (Then just crib some robe space for the tiny bedroom out of the larger bedroom.) CONS: Moving the en-suite bathroom is likely the biggest single cost the bathroom/laundry/kitchen flooring would also need replacing the living room loses the bay window the master bed faces the street (though a line of trees would solve that) 2 windows would need adjusting/inserting = new en-suite would need one and the current laundry window would need to shrink PROS: usable kitchen space is hugely increased and improved without moving any essential services the living space opens out AND flows better AND accesses both north-facing windows and the courtyard master suite is still divorced from the other bedrooms, but is larger and more private (not opposite the front door!) the family bath is much larger, while the laundry loses no useable space (trust me, I’ve had one like this and it worked beautifully) the butlers pantry is integrated into the kitchen but can be closed to conceal mess there’s a net gain of about 5% useable floor space PLUS larger utility areas + master suite without having to extend In saying all of that, there’s a lot of variables re light, position, grounds, structural load that could impact heavily on its viability. For instance, I would consider putting a solar tube in the master suite over the robe/hallway - it could be hard to see otherwise. It’s a more expensive option, but it could add considerable value to the house if done right :-) Cheers

retain the second living area, better resale value as more rooms and you will find it more useful the longer you stay. until the children are in primary school they will want to be in the same living room as you so they will play out in the back living area but over time you will be happy to have a separate play room full of toys you dont have to look at constantly while in the kitchen. I would definetely put both children in 1 room for at least 5 years then you will have another room that could become a third adult sitting/reading area. courtyards let in light and could almost become the second living room, or could turn out to look neglected with dead plants and somewhere you have to sweep up all the time its windy?