multi purpose not extra rooms eg garages that double as rumpus rooms for wet weather crowds, separate toilet with handbasins, aim to have bright daylit rooms, generous outdoor spaces, compartmented bathrooms with twin handbasins in the family bathrooms, one bath in the family bathroom or the ensuite not both, kitchens styled and sized to suit the way you like to work not the latest fashion, spacious dining area with extendable table and smaller family sitting areas, zoned areas able to be closed off for privacy and noise, enjoy the kids junk in the family living areas and teach them to put things away in dedicated storage, consider traffic patterns and furniture placement instead of knocking out whole walls, bigger rooms are not always better...consider the size of the mortgage that keeps you worried instead of enjoying a more modest home nb the kids don't care about a fancy hook for their schoolbags they just need a peaceful home and happy parents

OkLouise, some great thought-provoking comments there, love your approach, thank you! Yes, our house is 1940s and whilst there are some elements I don't like, there's lots of smart ideas that aren't necessarily on trend now such as separate toilets, a small but surprisingly versatile sunroom (currently a beautiful sun drenched study), separate lounge and dining rooms (still makes a quick weeknight meal feel special) etc. We've had a few friends recently comment about how 'homely' it feels and we want to maintain that.

Also, we've moved from a tiny 2 bedroom Victorian terrace with 2 small children, so we had a less is more approach in terms of scale and belongings and learnt the importance and peace that comes with trying to keep things orderly! Plus I hate cleaning, so would hate a huge house with numerous bathrooms!

Good point about the kids junk in the family areas, it drives me crazy sometimes as we just have one (not large) living room, but they have understood from an early age (my son used to say 'make space' when he was 18 months!), that tidying a few times during the day keeps things nice. I had been thinking a dedicated playroom that I could close the doors on would be the answer, but on thinking more about it, I think it would stress me more knowing that it would actually allow for more junk to accumulate, and closing the door wouldn't mean it still wasn't there! Plus I'd much rather an extra room be for guests, a study or a second sitting room.

And agree about the size of the house, I think they've grown up in relatively small houses, so we'd probably still all gravitate to the one area anyway!

Thanks so much for your time.

North Hem, yes I'm pretty keen on a wall of flush cupboards with shelves inside for all those various things! I even want boxes on wheels (like a small toy box) for below the lowest shelf that can simply be pulled out for playtime/craft or whatever then wheeled back in. Not sure if such a thing exists!

Great idea re the drawers for the children's rooms. We've never had built ins, just a large chest of drawers for each of them and you're right, I think they make sense even if we do ever get built-ins added.

Thank you!

We have just finished our plan for a small house (under 20sq inc. garage) for a family of 5. Some of the things included are:

laundry in the garage, school bag drop zone, multi purpose living room that can be used as a guest/study/ hobby room with a 2 way bathrrom that can be used as an ensuite/ powder room, loft bed, window seats with storage underneath, broken plan living/kitchen diner with sliding doors to close off sound and make spaces smaller for heating, walk in pantry, island bench free of services, high ceilings in living areas,

Some really good ideas above. when our kids were little they loved sharing a room which made the other bedroom available as a play room with small table and chairs, bean bags which can be used in other spaces and baskets that allowed for quick clean ups

We found plastic bins with wheels and lids that fitted under the beds which were great until they found they could be driven wildly around the house, especially the boys.

Don't worry about built In cupboards just make hanging dept store style with rods/racks on the wall and boxes for non hanging things (A bit like the photo above but with the racks). And dirty clothes basket on wheels in the bedroom which were taken to the laundry, washed/dried and reloaded and wheeled back to the bedroom.

Kitchen with lots of draws and if any pantry cupboards are deep, drawers in them as well, much better use of storage space. cheers

Thanks Tilly, yes I think it'll be a really good exercise to think about how we live every day and what will support that. For example we had a BBQ on the weekend and the weather was quite cool, so my husband said how about a covered entertaining area to the rear of the house (north facing), but I'd rather have it open so the sun comes into the house every other day of the year! So we're investigating these fabric folding awnings... I might get us both to sit down and virtually go through our day to work out our ideal items. Thanks!

Holly, thanks for sharing, some great ideas there. Yes I don't want a huge footprint, and survived for 10 years in a small Victorian terrace with a 'Euro' laundry behind fold-back cupboards in the bathroom and it never bothered me, so you've reminded me that I'd much rather that space devoted to more enjoyable areas! And keen on the versatility of a multi-purpose room, sounds like such a great approach, I work part-time from home plus my family is interstate so doubling as a guest bedroom would be perfect for us. Love the window bench with storage idea and yes I want an island bench that's clear of sinks etc. Wow those loft beds are amazing! Might pencil that in as an idea. Wonderful, thanks!

wanting a similar wet weather area without compromising northern sunlight we were able to create a covered verandah between the house and the garage which makes a great sheltered space...less than 2 m deep but still plenty o space for a few chairs and a small table and the barbq...and another option is to have the covered outdoor entertaining area along the back or side fence instead of attached attached to the house

Thanks for your great thoughts Siriuskey, I do love the idea of the children sharing a room from a space and sibling relationship point of view, I might work on that as my smallest gets a bit older - she's a bit of a party animal at 18months! Under bed storage is a smart tip too. And such a great idea for the wheeled laundry basket, I'd never have considered that.

Agree, drawers in the kitchen are a brilliant idea, definitely adding that one as a must-do to the list. And hoping for a tall shallow pantry for that very reason.

Much appreciated, thank you!

That's a great consideration oklouise, we do have a redundant driveway (made for very narrow mid-century cars!) along one side of the house which I'm keen to utilise either by pushing an extension out there for an additional bedroom / bathroom, but if we don't do that then it would be ideal for that, and would hopefully open off the living area too which would work well.

actually , I love the idea of having a pergola/outdoor against the rear fence - not entirely practical in terms of logistics, but it would look lovely! We could potentially have a retractable awning on that too.

I'm a Sydney-sider now living in Melbourne, so I think that's why I crave sunlight especially through winter! Our last home had a north facing rear with big trifold glass doors and it flooded the room in winter when the sun was low, but was still pleasant through summer on all but the hottest days. In fact I almost cared more about the aspect than the house when we were house hunting more recently!

Great food for thought, thank you!

reading all the excellent suggestions for storage i'm reminded that when downsizing into our latest home we decided that we didn't need more storage we needed less STUFF and i'm very happy to report that restricting storage to carefully planned areas to suit the things we need and use was one of our best decisions

My idea has always been small house, big shed and as the years go by that shed gets bigger.

Oklouise, I was pregnant with my 2nd baby around the time Marie Kondo's book came out, so whilst our previous home was small so I couldn't nest/set up a nursery, I instead minimised (though I didn't quite get to the very specific sock folding etc)!! So even though we've now moved into a comparably larger home I'm determined not to let the 'stuff' increase. In terms of storage, I really just want a smart place for all the essentials.

Funny you say that SiriusKey, as we've moved into precisely that - a small house with a huge shed (11m x 4m - larger than our previous home)! The late owner was a builder and had built the house in 1941 in his early 20s and lived here and beautifully maintained the house until last year. Being a builder, it seems to have been his workshop and though very old, is quite amazing! We will rebuild/reduce the size of the shed though as I'd rather more garden space and I really don't want us to accumulate just because we have a huge shed which could very easily happen! - out of sight...

Thanks ladies, all these suggestions are really helpful - new ones to add to my list and others that clarify what my approach should be!