Are you in the north of the state? Because lots of glass equals lots of heat. Throw us a photo of your current sketch.

Yes, far north! Very hot, but we so enjoy our long summer days and outdoor living. I love the idea of bringing the outside in, but hopefully there's a way we can do that, that takes into consideration the temperatures we get.

I'll have to get back to you with a sketch as I'm doing it on Magicplan and can't seem to get dimensions or concepts right.

There's tinted glass , double glazing and e glass. None are as cool as an insulated wall.

However, the back of your house is east, so at least it's not afternoon sun. Shade devices should be vertical for hot mornings.

congrats on your great house..is this rough sketch what you mean?

Hi Newlywed1311

Of all he proposal that I have viewed in HOUZZ this is certainly one of the best if not the best. You have provided a great brief explanations of the current house and your expectations, great start for giving instructions to a Building Designer. Furthermore you have good size block on relatively flat land which is a great aid to hopefully get you a great result. The only thing that was not provided was the extent of the site, showing the boundaries, this would be a great help. The correct dimensions of the site are found in your title plan and sometimes if you are lucky you might have a site layout on your real-estate plan although you might have to check for accuracy.

There are a few items that you night like to consider;

1. A separation between old and new, which would allow you to retain the the heritage part of the existing and then add new in a modern or preferred style. This is simply done with a "link" which tends to reduce complex and expensive roof joints)
2. Determining the size of the garage (one or two cars) and where the entry point is, i.e. the driveway. Theses are large items and a major influence on the site and the form of the design.
3. Determining the orientation of the kitchen is always a help, as some people do not like kitchens orientated to the west side (to much heat in summer unless you have very wide eaves) and others prefer an east orientated kitchen for the morning sun.
4. Some idea of the number of people, pets if any, and the maximum number of people that you might entertain in you functions is also a great help in determining entertainment areas.

There are many approaches that you could take, a free hand sketch is always a good idea, as it allows great flexibility, I always begin my proposals using freehand sketches, after the first dozen or so I seem to get some idea of what I'm doing. Also it is good to look at some of the larger fixtures as these influence room sizes, would help.

I would be happy to comment further on this proposal.

Michael Manias

Manias Associates Building Designers

And spot on.

Thanks Bigreader and Tribbletrouble44152k7 Trek - by the way great pic of the dog - you must really know how to handle your graphics programs Tribbletrouble44152k7 Trek.

oklouise - thank you for your contribution. Yes, that's what a rough sketch should look like. I've pulled one together, which I'll upload shortly. I think we'll get rid of the old fireplace in the middle of the house. As much as we love the idea of preserving some of the original elements of the house - it sits right in the middle and takes up valuable space. It's currently got an original wood fire in it!

I love what you've done with the back end of the house down the RHS. We'd like open plan kitchen/living and an extra bedroom as well... but you've definitely got the gist of what I'm considering.

I've included a very rough sketch to show the layout of the house on the block of land, which is around 980sqm. You can see that most of our land falls to the LHS of the house and from the back end of the house to the lane. Our old concrete drive way runs up the left hand side of the house currently, and there is an old garage (which will be demolished eventually) sitting at the end on the back left hand side corner of the house. We don't necessarily want access all the way through from the front to the back of the house, because we have rear lane access which we will keep (gated entrance).

We will look at a carport on the LHS of the block, and consider access into the house from that side (perhaps into a Butler's pantry/mud room). The rear access on the property is only a pedestrian gate at the moment, but we will work out where this access goes once my husband puts his shed in - proposed to be down the back right hand corner of the property. He'll have double width access into this shed, opening onto the laneway. This will really only be for his work trailer - our primary access into the property will be through the front gates - hence the need for a carport.

Michael, thanks for your thoughtful reply. I've now included some more information about the site layout.

Thank you for the advice about how to mix the old and the new. I was not aware that there may be some cost savings by utilizing a 'link' as opposed to trying to build into the current roof line. That makes sense. I did wonder about the complexity of trying to continue the current roofline right through the house - your suggestion may provide a cheaper alternative. It wouldn't be seen from the front, I wouldn't think, so may not be problematic from a planning perspective. I'd really like to keep the high ceilings in the extension - depending on cost, as I love the spaciousness it gives.

I think we would like a double carport. I think there is enough space to do that on the left hand side of the site. This is where the current driveway is located, but we'd like to pull up the concrete one day and lay with old red brick. Maybe a dream, but a vision we have. We could build a carport that was in keeping with the era of the house.

I have no idea about kitchen orientation. I'm mindful of the light and the need to ensure we make the most of the northerly sun... but that's about where my knowledge stops. I think I like the early morning sun coming into the kitchen/living area, so it would have to be somewhere down the left hand side of the house... or at least have the capacity for light to come in from that side into the open kitchen/dining area.

There are five in our family. We have 2 teenage girls and a younger boy. All need their own bedroom, unfortunately! Likely we'll need that for the next 10 years or so as eldest girl is quite likely to be living at home as she completes her tertiary studies. If we could have got away with 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom - that would have been cheaper... but I don't think that's possible. We also have a dog - German Shorthaired Pointer - crazy mutt!! She's mainly outside but does come in from time to time. We're not an entertaining family - can't cook to save myself! We do have a big family around us but don't have people over for tea very often. We like the idea of keeping the separate formal lounge room to have a quite space away from the business of everyday life in the kitchen/living area. Considering kitchen/dining and lounge/tv area at back end of house - which doesn't have to be massive because we will have the separate lounge at the front. Oh, I forgot to add that I'd love a study nook that can be shut off. I also want lots of storage - love floor to ceiling cupboards down the hall. I have an ant eaten outside laundry at the moment, so looking forward to a clean laundry space with lots of storage too. Storage is our biggest issue now - so much still in boxes in the shed! I don't even have anywhere to put the vacuum cleaner or ironing board!

Is there any other information I could provide that would assist in some thoughts about the layout?

House is weatherboard - we'd probably like to keep that look all the way through. We also love different textures but at the moment just focusing on the floorplan.

Thanks everyone, for your thoughts.

Manias, I just google memes. If you have a strong stomach anyone can do it.

You need to put the easement(s) on the site plan. Can't build over those.

There are no easements.

Yes, we're very lucky. We bought the worst house in one of the nicest streets in our city. Only 3 blocks from the CBD! Now we hope our renovation can ensure we don't overcapitalize, and have an asset that sees us through the next 30+ years.

Tweeza, I know all about procrastinating!! Spent 4 days of the last two weekends doing an assignment that should have only taken me a day or so!!

So, thank you for your procrastination, you've achieved an outstanding result. I hope you've got onto those costumes! I can understand the procrastination - sewing kids costumes drives me nuts too!

I LOVE the built in cupboards along the hall - great use of space. We had thought of turning the dining room into the third bedroom - that idea has lots of merit too, particularly to avoid the right hand side profile being way longer than the left hand side of the house. Your suggestion balances it out much better.

I like the idea of the mud room coming into the hall way - rather than being combined with the butlers pantry. I could see that would become the main entrance into the house, but there's no issues with that. It could be such a useful room - storage, school bags, shoes, coats, vacuum cleaners, mops and buckets, etc.

I think I'd have to have a kitchen island bench in the kitchen somewhere. Current configuration doesn't look like it will be quite big enough. I also love the way you have added double glass (I assume!) doors on the left hand side into the kitchen/living area. That would let some lovely northern light into the living areas. I'm not sure the living area will be quite big enough though or will allow a suitable configuration for lounge and television stand... but it's definitely something to work with.

We were thinking it would be better for the laundry to kick out towards the right hand side fence line, as that's where we'd like to put our clothes line and that's where we have some useless space. It might just be a matter of pushing it out further - creating some space for more cupboards or built in display space along the hallway. The whole configuration of the extension can afford to go across 2m or so towards the fence line, as there's room that that will only be wasted otherwise.

I don't think we need a door down the second hallway (towards the main bedroom). It's well hidden enough around the corner from the kitchen.

I love the idea of the main bedroom towards the back of the house, too. I love the double doors opening out onto the patio - we had discussed the model in the past. Husband isn't too keen on it though. He's not sure about master being at the back.

I love the idea of recycling the double doors down the hallway.

The only other restriction I can see is that access to the bathroom/toilet is complicated if we are entertaining outside, or the kids need it while playing outside. People would have to come right back through the house to use the toilet - whereas putting the main bedroom at the front and every day bathroom at the back allows easier access.

Thank you so much for your time and thoughts. You've given me lots to think about. It will be interesting to see what difference there is to price to extend the current roofline into the extension vs creating an add or with a 'lean between'. Something for us to consider further. Husband adamant he doesn't want a flat roof at the back though.

I'll let you know how we go and I'll try and keep this thread active as we work our way through the process.

And the lilly pilly's have been planted along the other side fence - to cover it up and provide a backdrop for a more substantive garden bed.

We are beginning our search for a house designer / draughtsman to bed down our plans for the extension on the back of the house.

Do my photo's show? I don't think they are.

photos not showing

look forward to seeing photos of all your hard work, in the meantime here's some suggestions for your renovation that include some of the old kitchen as wardrobes for the smallest bedroom and storage in the central hallway, a small hall to improve access and privacy for the bathroom and separate toilet, i haven't been able to identify any advantage to removing the fireplace and there's space in the central hallway for a desk, bookshelves and a lounge chair by the fire, double doors from the old dining room could be relocated as entry to the new family living room which could be down a few steps to accommodate a slope, slab on ground and a high raked ceiling..the extension includes family living opening out to a screened room, eat in kitchen with pantry, laundry mud room and guest bathroom and master suite. The extension and link have a simple hip roof but the roof angles do not need to match the original, the screened room and verandahs roof continue the front verandah and carport and garage roofs could be hip or flat and there's room for a future swimming pool if the front yard were dedicated to people and plants and the backyard to cars, clothesline and chooks? The extension is roughly 100sqm plus the verandahs, carport and garage and the rooms can be easily sclaed up or down without changing the basic layout..Weatherboard and steel with timber windows and a shady garden will make a great house into a lovely airy home in a hot climate

oklouise, thank you for taking the time to pull together such a comprehensive and thoughtful design. There are lots of elements we like, and there are a few things we feel will be problematic.

The reorienting of the house towards the East doesn't sit well with our vision of our living areas facing into the back yard. I love the courtyard area (screened room) you've created, but would prefer something like that at the back of the house, not the side. There is insufficient room to make the NE side of the house the 'back yard'. I like the storage you've created in the hall way but I still see the need to remove the old fireplace in the old kitchen, if it's cost effective and structurally possible.

We'd like all bedrooms of a similar or standard size, so I'm not too sure about the smallish bedroom remaining the same size (the one with the toilet cut out of it). We'd like the front room to remain the main bedroom, and thus include an ensuite and WIR, rather than pushing the main bedroom to the back of the house.

We don't want or need a third bathroom - just unnecessary and more room to keep clean!! Plus, there's no room for guests, LOL.

We definitely want the garage to sit at the left hand side of the house, but probably a double carport moreso than a garage.

We also like the idea of a built in desk/study that can be closed off - without building a whole study (room).

So much to think about and your plan has provided some really different ways of thinking about the floor plan and orientation. Thank you for this. The parents outdoor retreat is divine!

every variation helps clarify what you need before you start paying for plans and revisions so here's some more ideas for consideration and hopefully other HOUZZERS will offer their critiques..you can see the backyard from the front door, the master suite is at the front, the link contains the 4th bedroom and the children's bedrooms are all similar sizes and grouped with the family bathroom, i've added the hideaway study nook and removed the fireplace, the mudroom becomes the side entry but i've left out the carport for now because, added to the end of the family living area the carport would have the prime NE position and steal light from the living areas and, although you did say you thought the laundry could face towards the street on the rhs, that position would also steal northern light and prime view overlooking the courtyard area but maybe the laundry and clothesline could be on the SW corner and provide access from the new shed..there's also outdoor living areas to consider but that's enough for now

Thank you very much. I think this is more like what we were thinking, with the living/kitchen at the back of the house. We did like the idea of mudroom/butlers pantry access into the house on the LHS, straight from the carport/driveway. So, in our mind, the kitchen would sit on the LHS of the back end of the house to align. The front of the house is looking more like we envisaged.

I like the laundry tucked in behind the kitchen there, those two rooms do often work together and that layout would enable us to have our clothes line on the RHS of the house, down beside the fence (rather than in the back yard).

Ideally, we'd probably prefer the study nook to sit closer or in the kitchen/living areas - just for practical purposes.

I hadn't really thought about courtyard's but it's definitely worth giving more consideration - viability, cost, location, purpose, etc.

It's interesting to see it evolve from an idea, through to a vision. Thank you for your help and time.

here's the latest offering btw the courtyard and the set back of the extensions on the left hand side are a result of allowing space for a double carport, fitting the new roof into the old and allowing the view from the front door through to the backyard..the width of the hallway in the extension is also bigger than average to allow the scale of the front hallway to flow through the extension..the compartmented bathroom with double handbasin is an idea that worked very well for my own teenage children