Hi Everyone. It's been a while and not sure if anyone on here will even see this post but thought I would provide a quick update after almost 2 years. We finally moved in a couple of months ago and will host our first Christmas. We never did find a builder, and I did have some legal issues to sort out, including the previous building breaking in and taking anything but we had someone project manage different stages to the point that it is livable. The house is no where near finished and it has been a difficult journey but we are there. Next year I hope to find a builder to take on Stage 2 so that I can say that after 10 years, it is finally finished. A big thank you to Two's Company who got me started. If it wasn't for your advise and assistance I really don't know what would have happened.

Hi Susan, My husband and I have just completed a tiny house build, and I can definitely recommend it. The price works out much cheaper than a shipping container house according to my research ($60,000 as compared to close to $100,000 fully finished) and you can easily enough rent a parcel of land to live on rather than buying to build on, at least initially. Obviously you need to carefully research council restrictions for wherever you decide to live, but this could be a much easier and cheaper option for you. Depending on the size, setup and local zoning, tiny houses generally don't need DA approval. Instead you register it as a caravan and if you rent a parcel on someone else's land where there already is a permanent dwelling, you're generally fine to live there (though I'm certainly not an expert on the legalities). Then if, in the future, you're able to buy your own block, you can hitch it up to a ute or 4WD and move it with you. Something to consider anyway, and starting from scratch with a tiny house on wheels can actually work out a lot easier than retrofitting a shipping container with internal framing and walls, insulation, windows, doors, etc. But as everyone else has suggested, make sure you do your research properly and do what will work best for you in the long run.

Do you own the worst house on the best street or have a dream to sell up for bigger and better surrounds? An extension or renovation could allow you to achieve the best from your property whether you want to add value for sale or expand your living space to improve your lifestyle. When the time comes to make the move from a compact, family or even childhood home into a larger property consider your options, as buying or moving, although idyllic and often cheaper on face value, can cost considerably more than a well designed renovation. Director of The Outside Perspective, Nathalie Knight, advises home-owners to carefully consider their options and calculate the true costs associated with moving and buying into a larger property before proceeding. She says the stamp duty and legal charges alone could cost upwards of $100,000, which comes after your real estate fee’s and moving costs. In Queensland you can expect to pay around 5% of the first $18,000 and 2.5% of the balance of your sales value to your real estate agent. For the median house price of $500,000 this equates to approximately $13,000. You can expect to pay a further $15-18,000 in stamp duty, legal fee’s and moving costs associated with your next property purchase. Together these costs combine to be a substantial chunk of a renovation bill, or even a whole project depending on the scope. Kitchens Sell Houses While one aspect of a home, like a kitchen might not be the only reason a house sells well, a beautiful kitchen certainly makes your home more saleable. Why does this matter if you have decided not to sell and renovate? Well for some, it won’t matter at all. Like everything we purchase, the value of the product it measured in two ways. The intrinsic value placed on it by the merchant, and the functional value placed on it by you as the end user. A kitchen, will to a point, make your home more valuable, but a well designer kitchen will improve both your home and lifestyle and it is a space you and your family will enjoy on a daily basis. As a general rule of thumb, a well executed kitchen design could add up to 10% to the value of your home, especially if you hold on to the property for more than 5-years. Kitchen a generally a simple renovation to undertake and many do not need any planning or certification for the works to be carried out. To get the most out of your space, speak to the team of The Outside Perspective and arrange an in home consultation. Kitchens (and Bathrooms) Sell Houses Insert text from above here… Much like a fresh kitchen, bathrooms will also add value to your home and improve your lifestyle and the same renovation rules apply. However, it is important to be practical. If you’re renovating your three bed, one bathroom home and removing the bath tub and installing a steam driven wet room you may not recoup your costs. A family home should always have at least one practical family bathroom, save the steam room for the next addition. Not One But Two On paper, your home might read as three bed, one bathroom and a powder room. After a kitchen and bathroom renovation your home might read as a three bed, one bathroom and a powder room. Sure your new glamorous bathroom will add value and make your home more saleable, but to really boost your sales value additions or extension may be the way to go. Adding an ensuite, a fourth bedroom or an extra living area will increase your home specification and could ultimately add up to $100,000 value to your home. Bring the Indoors Out or Outdoors In Houses in the suburbs of Brisbane built prior to the 1980’s had one major failing. They rarely address the properties outdoor space. Over the last 30 years, Australians have embraced their climate, their love for the outdoors, the sun and the good old fashioned weekend BBQ lunch and it wasn’t until the 1980’s that we started building houses that reflected this. Many of these older style homes built in the suburbs of Brisbane including Kenmore, Chapel Hill, Indooroopilly, Chelmer, Graceville and Sherwood have living spaces located at the front of the house, kitchens and single bathrooms central and living quarters at the rear. Compare this to new homes built today, where open plan living is king, bi-fold doors, over-sized decks, sprawling family rooms that seamlessly roll into the tiled outdoor entertainment area. Bedrooms are confined to one side or the upper floors allowing expansive living and recreation space blurring the line of inside and out. The challenge in these older homes is creating spaces that can better address their outdoor space of which there is usually an abundance. Flipped the homes layout moving bedrooms towards the front of the home and pushing living spaces towards the rear is a great way of achieving this. Opening up the space and using furniture both fixed and moveable to delineate the usable areas. The simple addition of stacking sliding doors or bi-folds flowing onto a deck or patio off the kitchen of dining rooms instantly will transform a family home.

All - Thank you so much for your suggestions. Very helpful! Oklouise – Thanks for your suggestions. I like what you’ve done. I had not thought of the the off-centre solid wall suggestion in the tv room. This will make the space more functional. Very helpful. Thanks. Siriuskey – your design was similar to oklouise’s, so again many thanks for this. I like what you did with the entry area so will see if I can make this work given the dimensions of the house. BTW - the house is brick but I am thinking of partly limewashing/whitewashing it - but this is a very low priority item right now. Dr Retro – thanks for your comments. Appreciated. Yes, I'll check the sizing of furniture etc. Kate – thanks for your question re: wall at the end of the dining area. I’d like to create an attractive focal point from the kitchen to the garage wall, rather than just have an off-centre garage door (i.e. going for a look more like the below). I’d also like more storage so I added the partition wall, which could also have cupboards on the garage side. But your vestibule idea could work too. I will look into that while taking into account the other ideas from houzzers here too. All very helpful. Thank you. Dreamer – thanks for your suggestions as well. These give me food for thought so need to ponder more. I’m not sure there will be enough space for a fridge and an island but will draw it up and see. Just to give you more info here, not essential, but I would have liked to be able to have another tv (hidden in a wall-mounted cabinet) on the existing east-west wall that divides the kitchen-tv-formal zones now where the tv faces the kitchen so I can watch the news while cooking. I have looked at adding storage to the entry area as I think the house needs more storage so I will look at this some more again. Thanks again. Really appreciate you taking the time to get back to me on this. Cheers. Thanks again everyone. Cheers.