It's expensive to replace and a lot of work to move. Better to prune right back. They will look ordinary for a while but eventually make a comeback. You could phone a duranta grower, growers are helpful.

From a "passive solar design" point of view, everything is right. Rectangular home facing north/south. With north facing living rooms, rarely used rooms to the west. But one other thing to consider, plumbing. Locating it close together will lower building costs, & the wastage of water, waiting for hot water. So I'd consider swapping bedroom 4 for the western wet areas. Behind the kitchen is have the laundry, then bathroom, then linen, the bedroom furthest to the west. I'm not mad about western bedrooms, especially in hot climates. But in this case it sounds like it would be used sparingly. Plus if make sure there was no western window, just a northern one. Insulating the western wall well, & using a radiant barrier (reflective insulation). The approach will also significantly shorten the length of the western hallway. Greatly increasing the size of bedroom 4. Talking room sizes, & room numbers, from a sustainability point of view, I think the home is too large for what is likely to be a two person home for much of the time. The embodied energy (emissions created) from a new build home is huge, averaging 15 years of operational energy. I'd be looking to reduce the house size, by using multipurpose rooms. The occasional kids housed in the study, or the media room. This can work out great with clever design (like incorporating murphy beds). How will the media room be used? Will noise be an issue. Will you be happy to have it so close to the master bed? The building orientation/shape will be great for solar PV, with a large roof area facing north. I'd I was building nowadays, is be aiming for an all-electric home. Ditching gas - of its even available where you are - in favour of efficient electric appliances. Reverse cycle AC for heating (if it's required), supplemented by fans for cooling, hot water heat pump (extremely efficient), induction cooktop (sensitive, fast acting, easy to clean). All powered by solar PV. If it's an option, I'd look at 3 phase power, which will let you install a larger PV system. It will also allow you install a fast charger for EV, likely to be your next car purchase, or soon after.

I'm thinking of changing the name of my bedroom to the Activity Area too haha . . . . . . . . On a more serious note , the actual open space in bed 1 looks to be more than in bed 2 , plus there is already an ensuite and an 'average' sized WIR too . If you were to use Bed 2 as the Master , you'd probably need to put a door basically by the stairs , enclosing the Bed , Activity Area , Bathroom and Linen . Otherwise you are sharing the Bathroom with everyone . Mightn't be a huge problem if there's only 2 of you , but imagine family , or family staying , or other guests . Then there's the Bed 3 bathroom problem , and whilst inter-related , the WC 'problem' . So you spend $20k on doors and walls , plus paint and decor , to not achieve anything , and make some things worse . Or you spend $10k , but go from having an ensuite and a WIR with a door , to sharing a bath and having an 'open' Robe ? I can't see many upsides . . . . . . . . .

How long is your lounge and how long is the wall with the artwork. The French doors open out, so if you place the lounge closer to the corner opposite the French doors, then I don’t think it would be an issue. Move the lounge and see. If that doesn’t work, then individual chairs would work perfectly.