Hi Ben, advise you engage a Pro to assist you with the front end design process. All these design decisions need to be founded securely on construction cost knowledge, and it's invariably about balancing your requirements to budget within context. Whether it's sub floor, 2nd storey or going out or whatever there are always options on how to achieve your needs and pro/cons & costs to stack up. Working out various configurations of spaces etc is relatively easy, however designing to budget is not, which is where you get the value of utilising professional services for this. These types of projects and investments involved are with all due respect too large, complex and significant to risk DIY'ing the critical front end. You can give it a go but I'll bet you continue to go round in circles. As we explain to our clients in the preliminary conversations, it's not your job to "work it out". All you need to "work out" at this stage is clarifying your particular living requirements and nominate a budget. The "how" and balancing up/negotiation/compromising between the project priorities/requirements and the budget limit is the job of the professional, what the design process deals with, and what we (as design professionals) have the superior capacity/experience to assist you working through it all to achieve the best solution for your particular situation/scenario. That's your best bet here. Hope this helps steer you in the right direction. Cheers PD

Interesting to see the previous floorplan, but what we need is the width and depth of the current laundry and Wine Cellar. A couple of 3D versions of what I suggest, please understand that my CAD program was produced in 1997 hence thee old style furniture appliances etc, mind you it's still an excellent program which is no longer produced. I had considered having the fridge on the return wall but! if it was done within the current kitchen floorplan it would reduce the length of a lovely big island. Then guessing the size of the laundry, Taking space from the current laundry to fit the fridge on the return wall would leave nothing for a good Pantry without moving walls. So trying to work with current walls and doors and windows and still having separate WIP and Laundry, I suggest the following, when you enter the house from the side door you will be in the Pantry, if you turn left you would be in the Laundry Mudroom, The fridge could be slid across into the WIP but this would require removing the window. Configuration of the Pantry cabinets to be decided by you, but it could be great for appliances, making tea and toast in the morning and dropping shopping (select the drawings to enlarge)

For a house that age, do an asbestos assessment before you do anything else. It is important for health and safety, and for knowing what additional costs you might be up for. It really needs to be the first thing you do. I've seen pictures of bathrooms where the two windows srtill work well functionally and visually, so work out the best layout first and then decide which window or both of them suit that layout. Keep in mind too that windows reduce wallspace and you need to allow enough walls not just for the major items but the little things too like towel rails. I've seen beautiful luxe bathrooms in display homes, and then I look around and realise we'll have to share one very small towel.

always about compromise and if the laundry window is reinstated in the original location that restricts options for tall storage so i've included a skinny sink next to the window, a stacked washer and dryer and left the rest of the space open to use for overhead cabinets and/or shelves, tall space under wall cabinets for broom, ironing board, vacuum, baskets etc and hooks on the window wall for work clothes and dog leads...any custom built cabinets would be cramped and very expensive so use the open floor space for storage without doors...the location of the back door opening and doorways from hallway and front entry would also make it too cramped for the narrow cabinet that you wanted unless you make the laundry and powder room too small for the cavity sliding doors so, with so much extra kitchen cabinets for pantry storage (eg between fridge and stove or island drawers?) why not use the central cabinet for your mini office and keep the original wall between entry and living would save demolition and could allow a location for your sideboard.. striped wall sections show dog gates without doors and under a sofa table would make a great nook for the dog beds