Louie - pretty well I think. See my latest renditions below. I have been playing around with how to screen off that toilet/shower area from the living room. Not only would it be preferable to keep the toilet out of sight, but it would also be nice if people pop go down and up the stairs to visit the toilet or shower without having to do a short "walk-of-shame" past the potentially occupied living/dining room. I was thinking a of having a partially-drawn pair of curtains or perhaps one of those dangle-y "fly curtain" type things to disrupt the view a bit, but then I thought a set of swinging doors with tinted/diffuse glass in them, because: 1. You can charge in and out of this busy area by just pushing through the set of doors, and letting them swing back in to place behind you (like saloon doors) 2. The glass panes will still allow the person to see if anyone is on the other side, so they don't bowl them over. Will also let natural light in. Also means could do away with the laundry door perhaps, since it will be kind-of redundant (main purpose was to eliminate washing machine noise in the living area) 3. The doors also stop heat from the fireplace drifting up the stairs on cold winter nights when the fire is going. Not a crucial thing at all, but a nice additional benefit Thanks for sharing the floor plans - it's given me a much clearer picture of what you've done with that pole house...looks fantastic! brizcs - great point about the chair by the window, that's really struck a chord with me so I am toying with ways to do this. One idea I had is in the plan below: Rather than put a narrow table hard against the glass, maybe swing the kitchen table 90 degrees, make it longer, and have people sit along the south side looking out the windows most of the time. When it's night time or there are lots of guests or whatever just drag the chairs to the other side and you're back to the conventional set up. If a table where flush against the windows it would mean a lot of direct sunlight on its surface throughout the cooler months, due to the low angle of the sun (glare might become a problem?)

Hi Michelle, I will just presume that this is an interior staircase - of which there are multiple options to build out with shelving, wine racks, or conceal into hidden storage. Have a look through some of our previous jobs to get an idea of how we treat this void space. Best of luck!

Tell me about it, the ones across the road were going all day and night in the front yard, including revving up a motor bike they're not allowed to ride! my hubby wears flannie shirts when he's not in work gear. He likes ripping them, that's a trend that should end. of course, all Australian flag thongs (flip flops) are made in China!

my suggestion has the bathroom at the end without any changes to other walls, door or windows and i've include furniture to suit young long term student tenants and this could be altered to suit other guests...all the furniture, cabinets and fixtures are based on readily available flat pac options like Ikea and Kaboodle and the only custom carpentry will be the new bathroom wall and storage under the stairs and the usual trades for plumbing and electrical etc and i would use a shower cubicle rather than tiles so that you could use continuous vinyl flooring throughout the whole flat and minimise tiles...careful choices of all fixtures and fittings and maybe some basic DIY from your daughter and her boyfriend to assemble flat pacs and with painting? should allow the renovation within your budget and don't forget an outdoor sitting area with decking boards, outdoor furniture and a pullout clothesline rather than a dryer