hi Adrian and Erin, now that looks flash! and it is amazing the difference the small things make! we will certainly look at this and Erin, tks so much for the photo. Do you think the new square posts holding up the veranda should be painted the same colour as the windows ( we think we will restore the windows to the existing white) or made a feature, ie maybe dressed timber or another colour? Our landscape plan includes a pergola ( maybe dressed timber or painted white) leading up to the front porch and a few low retaining walls ( maybe rendered or sandstone?) and maybe the post colour can tie in somewhere? cheers kim

Congratulations on your purchase. We have recently completed a renovation which included an excavation. If you are wanting to have parking in the basement, it may cost you in excess of $80K due to the excavation involved. This includes steel beams, concreting etc. We also had to pay an additional amount for underpinning. I think building one home would be better for the size of block, across 2 levels. Or 3 levels, if you prefer. Three levels will be more expensive so depends on how much you're willing to spend. Our builder arranged the trades for the bathroom. We purchased all the tiles and fixtures. My builder did have a kitchen company he uses. However, I found a great place that I wanted to use. My builder organised the trades. I'm happy to share other costs with you if you contact me directly to give you an idea. We are about 10km from Darlinghurst. Our renovation involved both an extension and excavation. We do have a DA approved to add another level, however we have estimated that will cost about $150k. Which we may do in a few years if needed.

The house seem to be really adequately planned, you appeared to have purchased a good property just from the plan point of view. As I have no idea where you are located it is difficult to determine the market you are trying to pitch the property, are four bedroom plus a selling point in the area? But just as an initial idea I think that the kitchen dining area may require to be redone perhaps using an island bench and maybe even a scullery and large walk in pantry. Four bedroom may house more than five or six people and that requires a decedent amount of food storage including a large fridge and a freezer and a butlers pantry. The entry seems to have a large number of stairs and is relatively narrow - carting the groceries up those stairs once a week for a large family I do not see as a good selling point. Some redesign for a greater access could be a good idea, depends a bit on the slope etc. (Indication of levels or a photo would help) I assume that the carport is at the front (Not the garage) - Its difficult to determine 'curb appeal' from the information you have provided - but I would suggest that this should be looked into carefully, for after all, this is the first thing the prospective purchases sees - and if they are bidding on the property at auction its ever present during the auction process. Here are some of the things that I would attempt (you may have already considered these points): 1. Contact the preferred selling agent and ask what kind of property is the best selling option i.e. - Number of bedrooms, open kitchen, man cave room, car garage or carport, extent of curb appeal, energy efficiency - heating and cooling. 2. Do a design proposal - I have found from the twenty odd years that I have been doing design proposal that it takes about three goes before you are happy with the result. 3. Show the final design proposal that you and your chosen Building Designer are happy with to a couple of real estate agents which you are most likely to employ. 4. Edit your design to incorporate some final ideas that you may have missed. 5. Do your application approvals for building the changes. I hope this is of some help - I would be happy to talk to you further about this project. Michael Manias mm407p@gmail.com Working online using - email, skype, PayPal, PDF- A3 Drawings.

If moving plumbing, etc is too much for your budget, why don't you leave existing kitchen where it is, open up the wall to the hallway and that bedroom that faces into the pool area. Close off a wall near the entrance/formal living room to replace the bedroom. Advantages are a) not moving expensive kitchen wiring, plumbing etc. Kitchen window still looks out into entrance to see comings and goings AND back to pool for informal living (maybe casual dining at an island seating area, casual sitting for pool). b) the existing dining, living room is a separate space (great when your kids are older to have two living options for noise isolation - adults in one, kids in the other). Both sets of rooms open off the entrance way, and that new bedroom can be the one you use as home office or guest (leaving other bedrooms for family).