Air condition is called aircon, the combo air conditioner & heaters that you hang high on a wall are called swingers. Countertops are called benches, yards are called a gardens, closets-wardrobe, bonus room-rumpus room, hardwood floors or any wood is called timber. Living in the country is living in the Bush. Carpenters are called a Chippy, electrician -Sparky, brick layer-bricky, plumber-dunny driver. Downtown is called CBD. Neighbor is spelled neighbour. If a room is painted and decorated in updated colors & pattens they are called “Fresh”. If a house is updated in higher end-sophisticated materials it’s called “smart”. Fittings-are basically light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, appliances. Color is spelled colour. Picture rails are still pretty common. Queenslander-is a traditional style of home in Queensland that has a bungalow/Victorian/country/cottage feel. “security screens” are popular on windows & doors-which is a metal lattice. Full fences around your property are also popular.

We have learnt that creating a connection between our indoor and outdoor spaces and breaking down the boundaries through thoughtful design has added huge benefits to both spaces. Everyone should consider this in the design process no matter whether the view is amazing or not it is possible to create your own view in even the smallest spaces. We renovated deliberately with this in mind so that the living rooms flowed to the out doors which face north so plenty of glass sliding doors. The sense of connection makes the rooms feel much bigger and our landscaping and pool are visible through through to the back yard. The entry is half a flight of stairs below the living and the first thing you see at the top of the stairs is the outside through the glass doors. For entertaining the kitchen, dining and lounge can all view and interact with the outdoor covered deck leading to the pool. Our laundry on the end of this area is multi function with a bar fridge and bi-fold servery window opening to the out side deck as well. Lastly we installed a WC in there so that our guests could use this without going through to the rest of the house. It all works a treat and we love how it flows and the sense of light, views and space.

Thanks siriuskey for your suggestions. I don't really know what style my taste/style of house is really. I like the simplicity of mid century furniture and have a mid century Parker sideboard. Other than that, the house is a bit of a blank canvas at the moment. (the kitchen is fairly modern though with almost white glass splash back, white cupboards, and stone bench tops that are in a colour like Caesarstone Osprey (but are essastone). I do like things from the late 1950's/1960's.....and I like Audrey Hepburn. I also like the Parisian type black n white art from that era. (but I also like naive art - big colour artworks of people or animals that look like they have almost been painted by a child). If I had the money I would buy a high ceiling mid-century home like they have in USA (a modern yet mid-century Brady Bunch style home). My house is a 1962 chamfer board on concrete posts and batterns around the bottom and currently just has satin polished mixed hardwood timber floors throughout. Most of the walls are either natural white as in the study or snowy mountain quarter strength (and in smallest bedroom - half strength russian toffee). Because I am always scared that things will date if they follow trends too much, I always seem to do fairly conservative or timeless things in house renovations and rely on the furniture and accessories to add colour and style. (I like the idea of renovations and the ripping out of old stuff to create something new, but I really don't like have to make all the creative decisions etc along the way)......so I do appreciate it when I get advice from others. I have printed your suggestions and will have a look at them. (I guess the barn door look is actually similar in concept to some of the timber veneer sliding doors seen in midcentury homes). Thanks again.

OP, OKL's plan is better from an energy efficiency point of view than your plan (your plan wastes the northern aspect with bathrooms). But DON'T just flip OKL's plan, as the orientation would then be all wrong! It's important to get the orientation right, this will greatly effect the comfort of your home & your heating/cooling requirements (& hence your bills). Read this. It's all very useful, but maybe focus on the section about orientation first. http://yourhome.gov.au/passive-design Below are some generalisations. As has been requested, it would be nice to know your general location, as climates vary across our big country, so building requirements change. But generally, you want your living areas (& a large proportion of your glazing facing north). If possible, have a smaller portion of your glazing facing south & east, for cross ventilation, & try to eliminate western glazing. Bedrooms to the south & east (if they won't also fit in the north), & rarely used rooms, like garages, bathrooms & laundries to the west. Your verandah is south facing, good, as it won't shade your home in winter. Hopefully you have north facing eaves & they aren't too large. If they are the right size you'll get sun through your northern windows in winter, but the eaves will shade the house in summer, when the sun is higher in the sky. So can you knock out windows & doors wherever you want? Would be good to know where they are currently, the size of the verandah, the block dimensions & any other structures which will influence shading & privacy. I'd also be looking at some tiny house blogs/websites. 72sqm isn't tiny, but you really want an efficient house that works well, & you'll find some ingenious storage solutions that are used in tiny houses. Well designed built in storage is definitely very important in a small home. Can't see if it all fits now, while using the app on my phone. But I'd aim for something like this. The kitchen in the NE corner, running down the eastern wall (so you get good morning sun). An island bench for dining, separating the living area on the northern wall. Master in the NW corner, with the ensuite on the western wall (if it fits - important not to have the master bedroom window facing west). Minor bedrooms (& windows) on the south wall. Main bathroom or powder room somewhere on the southern wall, in the SW corner would be nice if it fits there. No idea is that all fits, just some ideas. If you're not fussed about an easy facing kitchen, you could flip this all, & have the kitchen in the NW corner, & the master in the NE corner. If you're taking off external or internal cladding, this is a good time to insulate you're walls. Also up insulation levels in the roof cavity of they're inadequate. It will greatly effect comfort, is quite cheap & the walls are very hard to do at other times. Edit: as I got the verandah location wrong, then added to my post.