Wow! Love everything you have done. Kudos to the demolition of extra bedroom in order to reclaim the outdoors. Great job.

Yes (unfortunately) you're dreaming with the endeavour to raise the house, change/reno the upper levels AND develop a whole new lower level for $250K.......UNLESS potentially it's a DIY project. Practically Impossible in a professionally contracted scenario. It's closer to $400Kmin thing Also if you are removing bedrooms for the sake of larger living it's not a very cost effective proposal in that you're essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul from a property value point of view. It would be arguably a cheaper option to consider a new living/kitchen dining extension, rather than a raise/complete floor plan overhaul You're provably best to get some pro design assistance to help sift through your options Good luck PD

Having had 4 x 2 bedroom holiday Villas I would suggest that one bath for two couples to share doesn't work.. When booking the 2 bedder for one couple we always locked off the other bedroom as people will still use it for bags etc or just another bed and expect not to pay for the extra bedroom and Bathroom which always needs to be serviced So a bath in each bedroom with a view, plus a TV for separation and not having to watch FOOTBALL. The deck space can be better used within the Chalet by having a narrow railing glass Juliet style across the large opening doors. We found that everyone loved sitting at the island, the coffee table can be extendable to become a dining table when needed. If you do add a deck one table services both spaces. The following suggestions that you can play with and resize to suit

If you have a dresser in the same wood then use that. You can put beautiful sheets/quilt cover on the bed, to distract from the timber. It would be a shame do purchase another dresser, both in an environmental sense and cost.