https://www.houzz.com.au/magazine/add-a-servery-to-your-kitchen-and-make-the-living-easy-stsetivw-vs~44875755?irs=US

A couple of ideas - can you move the 1st 4m of the entry wall out closer to the garage door opening to make a more roomy entry? Do you need 3 basins in the main bathroom zone (delete the one beside the bath)? I'd move the end bedroom door up the hall by at about 1m - shorten the hall plus make bedroom seem more spacious.

I would def move the garage door to the entry hall and leave kitchen where it is. I wouldn't move the main bathroom.

Some good suggestions there Sunsneek - Cheers mate

The ensuite is flawed. When a person bends over the sink to clean teeth, wash face etc, their bum will have to be in the door way with the door open. Way too tight.

chubbychicky it stinks..I wouldn't have that door going straight to the living area..at our old place the door from the garage goes into the laundry then from the laundry it goes through another door to our living area..

we live in an apartment now and sometimes when the neighbour starts his car (a classic ) I can smell him from the shop or upstairs ..from gap in our external door..

sometimes hubby starts his bike leaves door partly open to put his bike gear on I can smell it too so best to have a few doors in between..

we haven't got a garage just car port

Hi.

Why is there such a large setback to the front of the garage? I ask, because having this distance will make it more difficult to make the aesthetics balanced and attractive from the street. To resolve this, I would move your laundry to behind the garage (between the bathroom). This would get the service court to the west side (rather than east side), resolve the privacy concerns with the bathroom from the living area and enable the entry door from the garage to be accessed through the laundry (as when arriving home, it gives you a location for a 'mud room' area within the laundry). If you wanted, slide the master and ensuite towards the kitchen, OR widen your ensuite a little (typically this width needs to be 1500mm min). Alternatively (and my preference), you could make the old laundry space into a garden court so it becomes a feature from the foyer, but also offers an opportunity to get a 'window' splashback in the kitchen looking this way also. The garden can be a lush shaded area, as it will be predominantly in shade anyway, so make it tropical in theme. This would make the size of the house slightly larger, but it would be a worthwhile feature internally, especially if you are limited in boundary setbacks and yard spaces. It also would assist in connecting the outside and inside more so.

If it were mine I would be sleeping in the back bedroom so would change the side of the room for the wardrobe to allow direct access to patio area. I prefer a shower to be on the external wall to allow a small window for direct release of steam. Having insulation in internal walls cuts noise transfer between rooms.

Agree Scott, moving laundry to west side more favorable - cheers

Ed

Garage can still move forward and not dominate the street, as I'd still want it located behind the front building line of the porch and master bedroom anyway.

Hi, looks pretty good, but I would consider a few points which have been raised

1. Entry from garage should be into hall, move it to front end of garage.

2. Kids bath delete third sink and add towel rails there. Plan tap location for shower so it can be reached without stepping right in. Mine are on opposite side to shower rose.

3. Does the master need to be so big at sacrifice to laundry and ensuite. Laundry too narrow for clothes horse . Ensuite not wide enough for drying yourself etc

3 flip bed2 bed away from bathroom wall and yes to both sound check plaster and sound insulation on bathroom walls

hey don't stress too much. The perfect layout does not exist every house has compromises. I enjoy

Suggestions for tweaking layout and working with the existing floor plan.

Thanks fcheah - great idea!

Ed Ed – I agree, your first plan for your living area works better in terms of circulation / definition of spaces, and also in terms of getting northern light into your living area. I love the big long doors off the living area. In summer it will just feel like a big open pavilion.

I understand the logic of putting the bathroom between the 2 bedrooms, but this creates a bedroom with a completely south-facing aspect, which I'm not a fan of – where you have it you could have a long skinny window that would get some afternoon sun into it. (Maybe not a consideration in a hot climate, but always something we worry about in NZ!)

I'm also guessing this will be your guest toilet? In which case I think it's better to have the bathroom where it is rather than having them traipsing past bedrooms.

Having said that if it were me I would have secondary bedrooms at the front of the house where your master is, and the master running out to the back yard – facing the street the way it is feels like a bit of a lost opportunity and if you're entertaining, having guest / childrens' bedrooms away from the living area is great for noise. You could potentially leave part of the corridor there and have a small guest toilet in there next to an ensuite for ease of plumbing?

Oh, and definitely move that door into the garage – the last thing you want to see is all the junk you have here, plus garages are either hotter or colder than the rest of the house, so it'll affect your climate control.

Thanks all for your comments and suggestions. We have pretty much settled on this layout. It manages to fit in the all important second living space at the front of the house too!

Looks great

We're about to sign on with this plan - any changes needed? Thanks

Your earlier plans had an internal door into laundry. Is that intentionally missing from the latest? Maybe just double check your furniture layout in the master bedroom too. It seems a little tight to me to fit bed/bedsides on either windowless wall and I would probably want bedhead to go in the external side wall.

Thanks Scottevie - yes door missing from laundry - opps... Window on side wall of master is a high skinny window so plenty of space for bed head etc...

Cheers

Hi glad you are finalizing things. Powder room toilet door leaves no standing room in toilet to close door. Perhaps a sliding door on toilet. A sliding door into powder room would also make it easier to access linen cupboard and give more space in front of bench or omit door altogether. Enjoy

Thanks Kate - We have since omitted the powder room door and added a laundry door in the latest drawing. Yes, agree the toilet door does look tight - a slider could be a good solution there - cheers.

I'd do a sliding door to both the bathroom and WC since you've already got the external door into the corridor..

As for the linen I'd open that linen cupboard for access from corridor

One more thing, with the WIR move the entry 500mm from external wall so you can put shelving or hanging on external wall. At the moment you lose a lot of space with walkway through to ensuite. Also it would be tight once you got bedside tables and bed on the external wall with the WIR entry as shown. You could put the door directly opposite ensuite door and break the vanity mirror with a display shelf opposite door. Great place for plant or beautiful perfume bottles etc..and power points. Is the mirror a cabinet and is it recessed? Mine is not recessed which I find better. Just make sure taps are not too high to foul door opening in either case

Thanks Vy. Yes, agree sliders would be much nicer. We think we will make the shower a bit longer and have a smaller (but still big) linen, so will have to keep it opening into powder room. Cheers

Good thinking Kate, but we were thinking of actually positioning our bed against the wardrobe wall. Should give a more private feeling in the wardrobe/en-suite that way... What do you think?

just plain mirror above vanity in en-suite shouldn't nee the extra storage of a cabinet - vanity is 2m long

Hi Ed Ed. Re bed location, do a layout, may want to move the entry door to clear bedside tables, either way put power points on both walls in case u change your mind or want a KS bed or other furniture or just a change down the track. Just don't get lost going to the loo in the dark :)

agree with Kate..don't install wall lights as can't change mind :)

Update - this is the design we are going with - thanks for all your advice friends!

well done Ed..looks like you've solved all your problems

Looking good Ed! All the best with the build. Photos when you're done please.

Cheers, yes think i will try documenting the build as much as possible

These are are final preliminary drawings we are signing off on. Any last minute potential mistakes? Cheers everyone!

Planning to have a facade similar to this:

thanks girlguide - 920mm wide front door would be more desirable aesthetically. Not worried for function though - have big alfresco sliders out the back to bring in big lounge & dining furniture. Cheers

Hi Ed Ed, looking great. Personally I would extend the island bench towards the windows a little. a 900mm gap will be more than sufficient as it is only a walkway. The extra bench space will be helpful next to the drain board. 1200 between the two benches will allow two people to work. Thats something youy can sort out with the cabinet maker. Enjoy the build, and thanks for keeping us up to date.

Good idea antonia_d - unfortunately budget is almost exhausted! The door will be full glass with a glass panel above so should still have a similar effect