Hi Debbie, The window was always there, the blinds are just down in the Before shot. The sink and dishwasher actually didn't move so you can see how they match up in the pictures. Yes, the benchtops are recon stone by Caesarstone. The process is slightly different for everyone depending on the scope of the job. Here is a link to our website that breaks down the process: http://www.thekitchendesigncentre.com.au/renovation-extension-or-new-build/ Because this kitchen features profile, 2pac doors and Caesarstone Super Natural range stone, the cost for this kitchen would be somewhere between $35-45K however I don't have this exact information so its just an educated guess. This would include the trades but not the appliances.

Hi Kat your house reminds me of our first single front Federation, it had one main room (bedroom) at the front that went to the boundary, set back on the other side was the entry to a narrow entrance the width of the front room, on the right were double glass doors which opened into the living room with fireplace on the left and a beautiful large leadlight window on the right which you looked at the neighbours brick wall of their house approx 1 m away. Then behind this room there was another large room dining/family which had French doors opening onto the narrow side access to the rear of the house. (neighbours wall) In the rear space of the house was a bathroom and a galley shaped kitchen on the left side with the square space cornered by both the kitchen and dining room a covered in Verandah which became the only other bedroom. The toilet was out the back. So I think your house started out in a similar layout, except unlike us you had a long passage to access your rooms where as we had to walk through two of our rooms to access the kitchen etc. Definately think that your now ensuite was a verandah and the room behind that possibly an enclosed Verandah (fixed walls on the lower level with windows above, the lower walls would not have been lined) which would have been as you said laundry etc, I wonder where the original bathroom was Would be good to check with council to see how it looked when first built. cheers

Hi Sarah, I completely sympathise with your situation and very sorry to hear about it for you. You're in a complete mess with this. As a Pro it's super frustrating to look on and hear of these stories because 100% this is so easily avoided with the right approach and astute investment in using a competent design professional. I've lost count of the number of times I've had people eventually come to find us, but in a bit of state/heads done in/in a shemozzle of a situation, after spending time/(sometimes years) and money getting nowhere, being disappointed with higher than expected quotes etc yet still pretty much back exactly where they begun with no logical plan forward.........sound familiar? The common thread is lack of alignment or management of expectations of Project budget to Project brief relationship. And that's why we have a job as professional designers - we develop solutions for specific needs, balanced within context and balanced within constraints, the biggest one always being budget. You just can't bypass this process and expect to get good results. And you won't achieve it effectively on a Houzz forum. Hopefully though a few of our Pro responses will help steer you in the right direction. Unfortunately people think it's a good way to save money on their projects to not pay for design - it's actually quite the opposite. There's no easy answer here of say "move the kitchen there, flip that over, change this or that" etc unfortunately you're back to the drawing board....and you're best to accept the time and money put in so far is actually part of the process and your particular journey. This reminds me of a project years back where clients came in asking me to tweak and draw up a design that someone else had done - they already spent $40K and had a planning permit for it but there were big budget problems - it was clearly/unfortunately a poor & inefficiently resolved design beyond budget (similar to yours) & I could visualise a much better alternative solution. So I convinced them to move on, toss it all away and we go back to the drawing board - I'd redesign it from scratch much better and better value/cost effective overall - they reluctantly agreed and that's exactly what I did. Fortunately they did themselves a favour knowing deep down that they had to go backwards to go forwards. I designed and delivered a far better, less expensive and more impressive home. that they are eternally grateful for, and for my honesty and advice at the time that was ultimately in their best interests. Like always, with all projects, it ALWAYS comes down to money.........so their success relies predominantly in the design solution..... I'll try and keep it simple: 1. Design is a process of balancing requirements within context within constraint/limits 2. Good design decisions involve having understanding of cost/budget consequences 3. the above points are primarily what distinguishes design professionals from amateurs 4. It's therefore false economy trying to DIY design and/or pursue projects of this scale as Owner Builder unless you (a) have a passive income (b) significant construction experience (c) a flexible budget and are just in it for a hit & a giggle So our Advice: Seek Professional Design assistance How we manage these types of projects is by starting with clarifying the project brief in writing - forget about the floor plan - define and specify your brief requirements and goals and define the budget. The next step is to look at broad form options that we develop in a "Feasibility' stage of service in which we analyse the context, identify some logical options/variations of format for a nominated project scope relative to context and apply accurate construction cost projects to each to compare. So in your case we'd be looking at answering the critical questions of in what particular format can we best meet the requirements? Is it with an extension, or hybrid alterations&additions, do we go up, down or out, what are the cost differences and pro's and cons to the different configuration options, how much should we renovate, how does the investment one way or the other stack up in regards to property value? Is it actually better value to do more than less (more often yes!) Is staging/breaking up a project into parts beneficial or proven to be less cost effective? So many questions that need professional assistance and experience to answer to get the best outcome for you and your family. It's not easy business........Labour cost these days is the killer on renos - if you don't know what you're doing (ie understanding how certain design decisions translate to X cost) then you've got no hope in balancing the numbers to success................ Apologies for the long winded response! Hope this helps Sarah. Trust us, we know what we're talking about. Happy to provide further advice/assistance if you'd like to contact us directly Kind regards, Paul Di Stefano Paul Di Stefano Design www.pauldistefanodesign.com

Anything can be done , and while you say about doing it in stages , I see some warning signs . Due to the age of the house , the bricks , the fact it is double brick , and then add in things like plumbing and electricity , and I think you'd have to have a pretty strong reason , and a pretty strong budget , to do this . A knock down / rebuild if it is the only land in the area would be a possibility -- then you would get what you actually want with not many compromises , and all new facilities and services ; moving may get you something that suits better and that you are even happier with . If its a highly sought after area with already larger places and larger sale prices , you might get your money back , but your wish list sounds like it could easily be in the $200-500k region , on top of the current worth , so is it worthwhile ?