if you want to be able to open the doors, load the boot and walk around i think you need at least 9m x 7m but if you to also want useable work benches and storage spaces (eg for the lawn mower etc) add at least 1 m to width and length

I'm sure there's plenty of confusion about the why's and wherefore's of house orientation. The reality, as I have recently discovered, is that if want to live in an area that is older, developed, close to facilities, you take whatever orientation the block actually happens to be and do the best you can with it. Unless you're out in the country, or buying something in a new estate, you may not get a choice of orientation: we certainly didn't. And yes, our garage does have the best aspect - because there was nowhere else to put it - it had to face the street - but we live walking distance to shops (think of the petrol saved on not having to get into the car), we've got clerestory windows on the west side so no afternoon sun issues, and we're assembling a collection of sails for the south side, where the deck is, to provide shade from the late afternoon sun. Oh, and skylights for the kitchen. No, not ideal. But the location is, and the designers have worked around the constraints of orientation. And that's reality for a lot of us.

1.4 x 1.4 is pretty pokey , and no , I suspect an 820 door will be too wide unless you swing it outwards , which is just weird . If it swings inwards , even if it at 90 degrees to the toilet itself , there will be almost no room for a person , a WC and the door 'swing' . Most doors are at the end of the room , the WC at the other end , and that will make it even worse -- if the WC protrudes 50cm from the wall , and your door is 820 , you have 8cm in which to stand ! Setting the WC 'offcentre , the door off-centre the other way gives a bit more space , but add a basin and you have an obstacle course to negotiate . Is there any way you can take the length to around 1.8-2 metres ? A width of 1.2 works , 1.4 might sound better , but with only 1.4 of length you are pretty much stuffed . .

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice. I assumed my layout would be similar to that of other Californian Bungalows of the same period. It is helpful to learn my layout is reasonably uncommon and I am probably looking for inspiration in the wrong places. It sounds like Dr Retro House Calls and JRED are correct in steering me towards an interior designer. I hadn’t considered that option as I thought I would need a large budget for furniture and décor if going down that path. I’ll give Bigreader’s suggestion a go first and use scaled cut-outs of furniture to play around with furniture placement. If I still need guidance after that, I will look into interior design services. I initially shared your thoughts – Melt in ACT - and was thinking about turning the laundry space into a large bathroom and then moving the laundry to the small bathroom. Ultimately it was going to be too expensive… and seeing as I have young boys who get every item of clothing they wear dirty within 5 minutes of putting it on, it will be a bit of a luxury to have a big laundry. It's an idea I might revisit in the future though. Oklouise, I love all your ideas and suggestions and am really grateful for the time you’ve taken to respond. The floorplan you’ve put together is super helpful. I was bummed about the lack of space for an entry set down area and would have never thought about moving the bedroom door. I will definitely look into that. Good memory siriuskey- I did previously post about this house and I received a couple of good suggestions (including advice from you) around maximising kitchen bench space with a kitchen island and adding a storage wall near the small living spaces. I felt the advice sought in this post is sufficiently different to justify asking a new question about whether there are resources I may not be aware of and if people have ideas about the floor plan as a whole, including spaces I had not previously asked about. I’ve got lots of new ideas and really appreciate everyone taking the time to share their advice. This is a great forum/ community!