Great decision to include a 3 way bath if possible, the one we have has separate toilet, shower and bath, I notice that Okouise has the shower and bath in the one space. Good to be able to bath small kids and have private access to a shower. You have done very well with surviving on one TV, we couldn't as the man of the house always wants to have his way, ABC,football, cricket, biggest kid of all.

Bendyl, I'am sure oklouise has the storage sorted this is just another of her "ideas" layout, Forgot to mention that our shower doesn't have a shower screen, it's a small shower room which has a pocket door going to the left behind the shower same with the toilet, bath and vanity share the same space behind a door.

Bathhurst my brother inlaw using Paal, is having the exterior wall' s built with Hebal (Hebel?) sheets and that then finished with.........., quick to build. We used Hebal bricks for a shower wall which was tiled over.

Re ensuite size, the following 1.2 wide x 3.6 long this has a pocket door in approx the center of the 3.6 wall directly in front is a long vanity, the shower is at one end and the toilet at the other end under the window, this works really well especially if you're trying to reduce space, best to have a good 3 way bathroom the family and guests.

another variation with some extra options

Hi oklouise, gosh you're quick with plans, looks good to me but I would move the ensuite to the exterior wall as per my earlier suggestion, three way bath looks good. For me I would prefer to keep the laundry as before as I can see that it could have potential to become an ensuite to the entrance bedroom/Living etc, we all have aging parents that might need a bit of looking after. , Hope Bathurst doesn't mind all the chit chat, as my mother always said"there's more than one to skin a rabbit"

I don't mind the chit chat. I just need time to process it all.

Hi Bendyl, The Paal kit homes that supplied the house and the owner chose the Hebel panels which are rendered to finish, great material

responding to siriusky there's nothing better in a cold climate than a bathroom with a northerly aspect and a gorgeous view of the countryside..having enjoyed that experience myself i encourage anyone with that opportunity to take full advantage with windows down low enough to enjoy the view from the tub and have a "loo with a view" for both ensuite and family bath..simple venetians control privacy if/when needed but still allow for that view BTW i changed the three way to a four way bath but that does use more space for doors and standing room. I think my personal choice would be to have the master suite near the front door with the minor bedrooms, family bath, laundry and rumpus/guest room on the north west wing and two separate areas instead of the big open plan room but designing to suit the owners is what makes this process so challenging and enjoyable

As a mum of 3 who are all adults now I found a second living area very valuable. They could be on laptops, computers etc or watching TV and there was a separate quiet space for parents. Can always be used once they leave home as a hobby room, sewing room etc.

I actually looked back on Bathurst's drawing and saw that it has really good ideas, one thing I'd like to see is when you have back to back bedrooms, share the one wall for robes, ie: half of the shared wall has a wardrobe in each bedroom the back of wardrobe is the wall in the adjoining room , this makes doorways into each room unobstructed instead of looking into the end of a wardrobe, it also makes the rooms feel bigger. I also like computers to be used in the family area when children are using them. Happy Australia Day

Is that the original drawing or the second siriuskey?

Hi Bathurst, I'am leaning towards your 2nd drawing and OKlouise under 200 sq minus the wall between the living dining. Would separate parents bedroom from teenagers. Like the laundry running off the kitchen wall as per the photos I have posted. You have many ideas to play with and choose what suits you best.

Hi Bathurst, Seriously consider enlarging the garage, I went for a 6m x 6m and it turned out to be the external measurements and the wall thickness made it 5.7 x 5.7.

This may help fine tune your plans,

https://floorplanner.com/ 

Also can you find another 500mm to the entry hall, to make the front door a double one as it makes a great house better.

Hey oklouise, that Laundry from 20/1 4.35pm is an awesome size :) lol.

To start designing a new home with new materials i would imagine that instead of reproducing a typical home one would be considering something more creative, more personal, more one off.

Moving the rooms all over the place anyone can do, but to create that master piece one that you want to come home to for years, you have to include the site and what you do on the outside as well as what you do on the inside. Positive and Negative space or indoors and outdoors.

Why are you not considering the front yard as part of your living area, we waste a lot of very expensive land ignoring that massive piece of land, especially one with such a long frontage as this site seems to have. If not allowed to fence parts high, i would plant out a section with hedges to make a private garden.

Is this design being hemmed in by the setbacks, why is it a big rectangle?

To me if you want the same old same old designs being built since the 40's and 50's go get a project home, more bang for your bucks, selling at the other end might be more difficult with your home competing with thousands of similar homes, but if you are going down the custom build, make sure the design is worth it.

Go wild, plan with bubbles what has to go with what, put arrows to show what needs to have the outdoor connection, plan private spaces, if you have a lot of kids where is their area, how can the kitchen connect to the outdoors, to me i see none of this happening. you need to step back retain what you have, number your sheets as you do this, and if you go too far, be brave and go back.

We have to stop and think why are we reproducing plans of houses from a time when technology, living styles, and entertaining ideals were completely different from this time. Ros

I think Bathurst has all of the above in mind and at the moment is just working on a floor plan that suits him and his family while trying to make a smaller foot print. As Bathurst mentioned it's early days yet, the subdivision hadn't been completed, Research Research. Love Mid Century Houses

Hi Siriuskey and marcos2. Thanks for your comments.

The block is 23 metres (wide) x 38.3 long. The required frontage set back is 7 metres. The rear faces north out to a beautiful view and the front faces south to the road. I am keen to have an open deck at the rear off the living areas to enjoy the outlook, perhaps with some form of flexible awning that can be used in summer to provide shade to the deck. The house will utilise the east to west width of the block thereby reducing the length of the house and allowing a decent size back yard for the kids to use, which they like to do.

I am keen to keep the house smaller in size as I feel many houses today are just too big with much wastage, not to mention the cost of building big. I would rather build something smaller of quality. Our current house is 203 square metres, which has suited us fine as a family of four.

In terms of passive design, with the north at the rear I'm keen to have living areas, kitchen and main bedroom facing north to benefit from the sun. This is important as Bathurst is cold in winter. Eaves will be the appropriate size so as to block direct sunlight coming into the house in summer. I hope to have the other bedrooms on the south facing front and the garage on the south western side. It would also be good to have the living areas on the north eastern side to benefit from added light and extra breezes.

Having a main bedroom that is separate would be good but not the most important thing for us. We currently have 2 living areas and would like to keep it that, given they may be both on the northern side next to each other, perhaps some kind of division between the living and family room might be handy. It would be useful to have a slightly larger spare guest bedroom for the kids to have their own space to hang out if they want. I think with a good floor plan these things will be achievable leading to a functional home for us.

In terms of how the house looks. I am definitely open to something that's different from the standard look, however, as I have time on my side, at the moment I'm just focusing more on the floor plan. Any ideas regarding design would be appreciated.

Here's our floorplan. Works well with views at the back. Lots of space and lots of light. It suits a wide, squarish block like yours.

looks like a really good design especially for QLD's weather, be careful of noise across the courtyard, we had a friend with a similar design and noise did become a problem good luck

Hi House builders, I really like your enthusiasm and willingness to take on this project. It will not be without it's ups and downs, so obviously the planning stage is extremely important. With modern housing and the costs involved, I think getting it right the first time should be your main objective. Remember teenagers eventually leave home (hopefully) but a four bedroom house will have immense resale potential in the future.

I agree with the idea of positioning your master suite to the back of the house to over look the lovely views you have described. This could provide for a nice paved seating area for lazy days and a glass of beverage would be a relaxing place to unwind so large sliding doors would be ideal.

A butlers pantry off the kitchen will provide loads of storage room, think extra freezer, vacuum cleaner, mops, brooms and bucket, electrical appliances etc. and help keep the kitchen free of clutter and maximise use of bench space. Keeping your your family room, dining and kitchen area facing north is a great idea for obvious reasons.

Perhaps a hallway leading off the garage separating the family living areas to the left with the front bedroom and entry to the right would help delineate different areas. For example, Bedroom (1) could also double as a study area for your teenagers with a lounge that folds out into a double bed to accommodate guests. The three front bedrooms would benefit from a centrally located main bathroom with separate powder room off the entrance which extra width of hallway would allow.

You could squeeze a galley laundry in between main bathroom/powder and your ensuite, WIR which would provide a noise barrier from laundry and main bathroom but keep all pipework running parallel.This would help keep plumbing costs down.

It's an exciting time seeing your plans come to fruition. Good luck and I wish you well. .

Hi, I'd swap the bathroom and the laundry if possible. Early morning washing would not wake up sleepy folks still in bed. Also it would bring the bathroom closer to the bedrooms so less nudie runs to those bedrooms. You could still move the door on the now laundry. We just moved a laundry door in a house plan because the laundry was going to be visible from the entry.

regards susan

Also agree, re the WIR. Unless it is fairly spacious a wall of robes gives you more storage. You could narrow the width of the now robe/ensuite to 1.5, and make it an ensuite with a shower at one end and a sep toilet at the other with vanity in between. You could then have a wall of robes along the east wall, giving you a full 4 m of useable wardrobe space and a more spacious ensuite with a separate toilet

https://www.designhunter.net/bourne-blue-blueys-beach-4/

Hi Bathurst House. Exciting times. We built about 18mths ago (first time), having had our 1ha block for a couple of years, so we knew lots about it. Lived in the Central West for years, so familiar with climate! *I love our skillion roof, simplicity of it, and sense of opening up to our north facing views. I really like your initial plan (has similarities to ours!!), though think there are several areas would benefit from tweaking. So, in no particular order, here are my random thoughts. *We have a great back door: double glazed, with venetian blind to protect us from Western sun, but lights our wide hallway beautifully...you could use one on laundry to give light to the hallway. *We so value the sense of space and generosity that the wide hallway gives us (1400mm) Also great when moving furniture around! *Will you be housing 2 cars in the garage? Or is it just for "stuff" ? We have just a car port so that we can't have "stuff" taking over our lives! Mostly working well! We do have a store room internally which is proving MOST useful! Where else would be put the Christmas tree, files, tools, oh,and general stuff? !! * I'm not a fan of WIR as they seem so greedy on space. having built ins mean you share the circulation space needed for bedroom and clothes storage. *For your ensuite (which I have always thought should be the best bathroom in the house. We designed with just one full bathroom mind you!) we have had one which was just 900mm wide (same as many dining tables!) which was too stingy, but nonetheless functional. I think someone else has mentioned the style though...long skinny, door in middle. We had sink right in front of door, loo to left and shower to right. Again making use of shared circulation space. Too stingy, but maybe you could use that premise in your plan,along with built ins, and *maybe get an additional cupboard/linen press at end of that current space, opening to hall. *our lounge/dining is 9500 long, plus 2800 width of kitchen, and plenty plenty long enough. We have created the separate spaces by the use of room sized rugs, no walls or structures. * will you use extra insulation on W wall, or take advantage of future neighbour likely to be your shield? * don't forget there's acoustic insulation you could use internally if really concerned about kitchen or laundry noise affecting sleeping babes! * we designed for us, not for re-sale, but where we could we built in for future, eg we have a space which would be easy enough to extend and make into full 2nd bathroom. Our library could easily become a 4th bedroom, my sewing room is so obvioulsy a 3rd bedroom, except for the flooring and no wardrobe. However, there is the space right there for a built in. I will try and work out how to post plan and photo of ours, if you would like! I am first time poster (cos I really like your initial plan as your starting point) so not too sure how! Just realised I am living vicariously here! Good luck, and remember paper is all but free, so keep playing, think conceptually as well as specifically. Lynne

Small is the way a lot of people are going these days and in my youth a 2.4 M x 3 M bedroom was the norm, nowadays people expect a much bigger size. With family rooms and kids, can the family room pick up some study area and bedrooms than can be a bit smaller?

Central courtyard houses are more expensive to build as the outside walls are a lot longer than than a square house, but if you have the space, wow great to live in, but you must do the courtyard properly.

The images above all have enticing courtyards which expands the internal living space, some can be private some more public.

An architect who has a 3D program should be able to give you year round shadow diagrams based on your street address, so there should be no guessing what the sun will do at any given time and date and location. No guess work involved. Ros

Indoor courtyards are wonderful private spaces and lovely in a hot climate like yours, we have a 3 sided internal courtyard with the garage making up the 3rd wall, mind you our house was built late 70"s, good luck with your new house and enjoy it. Macros2 , I really think that bedrooms apart from Master don't need to be large, as long as they are able to upgrade to a QB when and if needed, ie: when the kids grow up and a space for desk plus a good built in robe. when our kids were small they loved sharing a bedroom so we made the other BR into a play room.

Hi again Bathurst House, the link I sent you is of a house built in our area, not suitable for your climate but Architect plans give great ideas/layout for internal spaces, kitchen/bathrooms etc, enjoy

Yes i think passive means of cooling the house in a hot climate, and i live in Queensland, and we have just recorded our hottest January in a long time, are essential and maybe costs a bit more up front but in the long run, a lot cheaper.

Planting to the climate and the sun is a great way to provide green spaces, help keep the house and general climate that much cooler, and if we reduced the footprint of all our houses by building up, with gardens even roof top gardens our cities would be that much cooler.

Even in Queensland we do get a few days where one would think of heating the house, more important for cooler states, but future energy costs must be factored into the build. Ros

Totally agree Ros, but I think passive can work both ways, we are lucky to have solar it makes a bib big difference just need to save for the battery which is finally coming down in price, maybe Donald T will make these more affordable for all. cheers

Without telling you what room to put where... I'd be doing these things.

Ensure the garage is big enough to have a wall of storage about 600mm deep down one side.

Ensure that the lounge/family/kitchen/master bed, and as many other beds as possible get northern sun.

Ensure that the garage, laundry, bathrooms get western - south/western sun.

Ensure that air can flow through the house - don't stack rooms too deep and ensure openings can permit air flow.

Put laundry next to kitchen.

Consider a wall of cupboards in the bedroom rather than WIR. I know they are popular but they are such a waste of space.

Consider the noise transference between lounge and family if 2 x TV's going.

I'd consider 2 entertainment zones so teenagers have somewhere to go.

MB Design, I agree about WIR, we have a huge wall of built in robes, with drawers, shelves, double hanging etc. instead of a WIR. We wanted to have a extra large ensuite that could accommodate a small wheelchair in our old age if needed. I personally spend a lot more time in the bathroom than I do in my wardrobe.

there have been so many great suggestions and we'd love to see your latest selections

I agree oklouise, great suggestions, thanks everyone. There are so many good suggestions I need to sift through it all, especially the more recent comments to see what can work. I will come back with my thoughts though. Hi lynneanlezark, thanks for the interest, I would love it if you could post the plan etc.

Use sliding doors everywhere, wardrobes, bedroom entry doors, well every room! They are fantastic and you have the whole floor space of the room to use instead of taking up about a meter square in every room to allow for the doors to open. I have done this in two renos and it is amazing how spacious it makes a smaller space feel. Also skylights let in a lot of light and make smaller spaces appear larger, use mirrors where possible, on wardrobe doors, in the family and dining rooms, they also make a good kitchen splash-back. Paint light colours and using white tiles all add to the illusion of a bigger space.

Use sliding doors everywhere, wardrobes, bedroom entry doors, well every room! They are fantastic and you have the whole floor space of the room to use instead of taking up about a meter square in every room to allow for the doors to open. I have done this in two renos and it is amazing how spacious it makes a smaller space feel. Also skylights let in a lot of light and make smaller spaces appear larger, use mirrors where possible, on wardrobe doors, in the family and dining rooms, they also make a good kitchen splash-back. Paint light colours and using white tiles all add to the illusion of a bigger space.

This might be helpful

Hi Bathurst, have you seen GJGardner homes, it might give some visual inspiration, don't worry with the 3D, scroll down in the individual property to gallery. cheers http://www.gjgardner.com.au/3d-tours.aspx

Thanks siriuskey, I have a look

good luck with todays terrible weather, keep you and your family safe, we are on the Mid North Coast of NSW so it's a bit better for us, cheers

Hi siriuskey, thanks for your thoughts. Mid North Coast sounds positively ideal on a day like today. I'd be heading straight for the beach!