Non-professional comments: - what is the purpose of the room which accesses the WIR? It's entrance is from the "public" hallway, yet it provides entry into the WIR which is unique. Is this a nursery (i.e. a room for the baby so that it is close to you both during the night)? If so, is the access through the WIR really necessary? - do you want a standard hinged door in the main bedroom? I think French doors or a sliding door would be more aesthetically pleasing than a hinged door. - do you need a bath in the ensuite? Would it be more practical to use that space to separate the toilet for acoustic and visual privacy? - do you really need a butler's pantry? How often do you hire help when hosting dinner parties? - if the fridge doors are opened, no-one will be able to pass through the gap between the fridge and the island bench. I'd consider moving the fridge towards the pantry a little so that when the doors are open, there is still room for movement around the fridge. - I'm not sure the scaling on the furniture in the living room is right. I'd adjust the mock-up to get a better idea of the size of the room and the ease of movement you will have if you did have such a large dining table. Given the overall size of the house, the kitchen / dining / living space actually looks a little small and cramped, even though it will presumably be your main living area. I'd look at taking some space from the dedicated theatre room and playroom. - how wide is the central corridor? I'd make it generous if possible and also include some sky lights to help keep it bright and light so that it doesn't just look like two long, dark tunnels running off into opposite directions. - what purpose does the mud room near the front door serve? Would it be better located as a thoroughfare from the garage or accessible from the alternative front door which leads to the laundry? Do you really want to track mud, etc into your "formal" entry to access the mud room? - I'd try to include a double vanity in the main bathroom (by removing the cupboard (?) that is taking up valuable space) if you're hoping for two or more children. - I don't think the access to the shower room from one of the bedrooms is necessary. I'd remove that door and make that space a true wet room (i.e. without an "enclosed / small" shower. - I'd place a BIR on the wall between the laundry and the bedroom for noise dampening. - I'd place a BIR on the walls between the garage and the other two bedrooms also for noise dampening. - would built in storage in the play room be beneficial? Or possibly even a built in study nook for homework, etc. Would it also be beneficial if the playroom could be closed off from the hallway (noting that there is already a door in the hallway to close off that entire wing of the house). Especially if you ever needed to "sell" it as another bedroom? - as noted, the entire home is large. I'd personally reconsider whether it's possible to reduce the number of rooms, but to make some of the rooms serve a dual purpose. At most, it sounds like you will have four people living in the room, yet you have essentially three living rooms and five bedrooms! A fourth bedroom could easily serve as both a playroom and a guest bedroom (when needed). And while the baby is young, that room could also easily serve as a home theatre. Good luck!

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

Appreciate the thoughts and this may be a solid option elsewhere in the country but in my circumstances I don't plan to be moving from this property any time before the kids are 18. It is located in Sydney's inner west, and in a specific high school catchment I plan to take advantage of when the kids are older. Stamp duty to buy the property was close to $100k and if moving out even in ten years to a larger property; that averages $10k a year spent on stamp duty. I know 115m2 internal is tight, as is the fixed layout due to existing bedroom walls, ceiling heights, wet areas, and the like - but there has to be a way to make this work... I have read that 4 bedroom apartments should be 102m2 or bigger. I am willing to make compromises where possible but I really want to create that extra separate room "Multi-purpose room" which can double as a study/work area/kids play area/media room/ad-hoc sleeping accommodation". Paul Di Stefano: I don't think these changes essentially equate to 'rearranging a sock drawer' - this is my PPOR so I am not too concerned what other buyers want or resale value if I plan to hold the property for 10-20 years +... (any trends we design for now may well be outdated by then anyway). Many buyers highly value indoor-outdoor integration. By moving the kitchen to centre, it opens up the rear and creates indoor living->outdoor living link. If I get IKEA flatpack kitchen and DIY as much as possible - have a friend reroute the water/drainage/+his licenced electrical friend...hopefully this work would cost sub-$20k. Adding the sliding door to rear is $2.5k. Ensuite, bathroom and laundry I believe I can fitout for $10-15k all up- let's say 15k (again, tiling, raise flooring, showers/fixtures/flat pack laudnry cabinetry install all done in-house without tradies). The only thing I really need professionals for is to move the gas line in kitchen, BIR installs, stone benchtop, and maybe a few adhoc wall demo/construction/doorway moving - lets call that 10k. All up ballpark that is 47.5k? Sirius- If I go with your style plan then I lose the potential 4th bed space and have no where for relatives to stay, babysitter, nanny; etc :( Maybe it is a possibility that the main living space be used for lounge room and kitchen, we can always put dining table in the Multi-purpose room, then when that room is needed for sleeping accommodation, the dining table be moved to the side and kids can eat dinner on island bench bar; lounge or outside table... ? those doors to each side of the fireplace as you suggest - this space is very cramped outside (2.45m width) and potentially would be used to store trailer or garden shed, there is an old terrace built on zero-boundary there and they have a DA to go 2 storeys; which will shadow the whole area. This is why I planned to make the rear south corner a raised deck and try to channel house activity leading out the existing glass french door to that deck, or the rear sliding door. See photo-(my house is on the left, terrace zero boundary on right, and front on is a wooden dividing fence which on the opposite side is the driveway/1 car park and front street.

Thanks everyone There‘a a few comments regarding the location of the garage. Sadly we cannot put the garage on the south side. The tree showing on the council land is regulated and we have been unsuccessful in getting approval to remove it so have no choice but to put it on the north side. We want the main living areas (kitchen/dining/living) all at the back of the block as we spend a lot of time outdoors and want to integrate the indoor/outdoor living. We also wanted to avoid having the bedrooms in the back so when either us, or the kids when they get older, are entertaining, we are not affected by noise. dreamer - do you know a way in which I can model the sun? We’ve played with many different pool locations but decided that’s the best place as it’s close to the entertaining area and not tucked far away in a corner. I would have thought it was far enough away from both the alfresco and the fence to get maximum sun. macyjean - yes I started again to include more info and better pictures in hopes of gaining more informed feedback. afjp - we did consider having the main living on the north but would prefer to have the main living areas integrating with the main part of the backyard. Sadly we have no choice in the location of the garage as above pottsy99 - yes I’ve added a toilet on the magic plan and will get the drafter to add to the proper plan. Yes it would be a solid roof over the alfresco but have considered putting ceiling height windows to get light into the kitchen. Haha we are very food orientated and outdoor people so the alfresco and the backyard will be our “relaxation” space - even in winter. kate - do you think the if I change the entry to the walk in robe it will be too far to walk to the toilet? The wardrobe is 4m long. Definitely agree about not having it too close to the bed though as yes I too am concerned it will impede on personal space so trying to find a balance between the two. I am considering recessing the hallway into the master wardrobe a little to allow for a bench in place of a hallway table. We’ve got linen storage in the kids wing and will have a small shed in the pool corner for pool toys. Will also have plenty of storage in the garage as whilst we’re allowing for 3 cars, we currently only have two. I too was concerned about it being a long way to take the dirty clothes, but I‘ve decided I’m willing to compromise as I really want the laundry close to the kitchen and at the back of the house. I currently have my dryer on the bench where we’re living now and quite like it. I was thinking though that it’s maybe more visually appealing to have both washer and dryer on the floor, but if it’s not considered functional (ie too much bending) I’d stick with having one on top of the other.