sorry deleted it thinking you might not want something like that

this is our apartment ..we used up all available space nothing is wasted..about 150m2 not counting deck and mezzanine.

https://www.houzz.com.au/discussions/our-apartment-150m2-16m2-outdoor-living-dsvw-vd~985084

Hi dspice02 - Deanna

What a fantastic Victorian house, and what a great opportunity to develop a fantastic home that could service you and your family for a long time.

There are a few things that you might like to consider;

1.If I understand the north point correctly as shown at the bottom of design sketch 2 you have located all your living areas on the south side and your sleeping areas on the north side.

Considering that this is a substantial renovation and that the existing kitchen will be replaced it would be more energy efficient to reverse the layout, else your energy costs will be larger for the life of your residency. Also you will not have much sun in winter in your living areas.

2. The central part of the house does not seem to have much light penetration, it might be dark and dingy especially on winter days. It might be worth considering getting some natural light to the center of the house.

3. Although you have a butlers pantry, you kitchen seems quite small when you consider that this is a 5 bedroom house and might have a number of people cooking at once.

Furthermore having the sink on your front counter bench is not advisable as you would be moving items across a traffic area during cooking, and if such item is an emergency like a pan that caught fire, it creates difficult situations especially with young children. The sink and the stove/hot plate should be inline and only separated by one working station of about 800 to 1 meter.

4. The fridge space seems to be small for such a large house, and there seems to be no space for any freezers assigned (that I can see).

The kitchen, butlers pantry and kitchen bench might need a bit of revision.

5. The master bedroom bathroom - the toilet seems quite inaccessible and the shower slightly too small, corner showers really do not work well, you might consider sacrificing the bath to get more room or making it slightly larger.

6. Bedrooms 2,3,5, are really a long way away from any toilet facilities - not good for people that are very young or getting a lot older as we all will - hopefully. Furthermore the toilet has an inward opening door (illegal in Victoria - unless you have panic hinges) also very impractical if you are a slightly lager person - or older with walking aids. For a house of this size you might consider another toilet - maybe part of a bathroom or shower room, a revision of this area might be an advantage to the final use.

7. As you have a large block, which might allow external activities such as spot and gardening you might consider a "Mud Room" so that people might remove clothing used externally and have somewhere to hang them especially in winter and not drag mud through the house.

8. If you show your furniture placing (Beds, tables, lounge chairs etc ) you would get a much better understanding of you flow of movement - this would allow you to regain, or gain some space that is perhaps overused in passage area. The house seems to have a lot of passage areas and this usually means extra walking to achieve daily tasks, as an example the lounge area - which is relatively small for a house of this size would benefit by being closer to other entertainment areas - or maybe turned into a library.

I hope this is of some help, it would be interesting to see the elevations and how the house retains its character, considering that that is your intention. I think to get a better understanding you would need a few 3D views so as to fully understand how the spaces might look and work in the final arrangement.

I would be happy to further comment on your proposal.

Michael Manias - mm407p@gmail.com

Hi Michael
Thank you for your feedback, it's very insightful and just the help I'm looking for.

Due to the location of the existing house on the block, I have a large unused area of space on the south side of the home, this is why the extension living areas have been placed on that side but I can see your point it's not very energy efficient. Do you have any suggestions on how this could be reversed?

On the north side, is the driveway.

I'm happy to completely change the layout of the home as I really want to get the layout right.

I'm open to changing the layout of the kitchen and bathrooms, I wasn't completely happy with this design but wanted to get more input and advice before proceeding any further with the current architect I was working with.

The Home is situated in Broken Hill NSW.

Where are the easements? There must be at least one.

Any heritage overlay?

This home is not heritage listed.

Such a lot of potential. I only know Manias from Houzz, but they have never posted a comment I thought was wrong. Worth looking into their services.

Hi Tribbletrouble44152k7 Trek

Thank you for your kind comments - greatly appreciated.

I must say that I also always found all your design comments very perceptive

Wish you the best for the future.

Regards

Michael Manias

Just a comment on the north / south discussion. It's really worth looking if you can get your living areas on the north side even if it means having to move your driveway. With the right eave widths you'll get all that lovey autumn/spring/winter sun and be able to keep out the summer heat.

Thanks mazcatt
I would like to have the living areas on the north side of the home, I hope it's achievable as having an open plan kitchen/living, dining that seamlessly opens to an entertaining area is important to me.

Hi dspice02

I did get your email - thank you and replied Saturday - and today

Something went wrong - you can ring me if you like (03) 93477347

M: 0417567123

Cheers Michael

It's a Victorian House. Try the Penny post!!

hi Tribbletrouble44152k7 Trek

"very Good" - I will have to find a penny - I can still remember them!

Geepers, you are experienced! How long have you been an architect?