No... for us bedrooms are for sleeping in not playing in, and we all like to snuggle up together. We have two beds all pushed together and we are all in together. Maybe when my 2 kids are older they will share a room, but they will no doubt want to share a double bed. Perhaps they would just like a little nook in a shared room when they reach their teens. We all enjoy the intimacy of shared space. We like to be right on top of each other... we currently have separate kitchen, but everyone crowds in there while we cook. Play areas are in the living room, as well as craft stuff, desks, computer desks, books, toys, We have a typical 3 bed brick house and it does not fit how we live. We mostly only live in half the house. The 2 other bedrooms are just used for storage. Realistically we probably only need a 3 room house. One large sleeping area, one larger living area with zones for our different activities, and open plan kitchen. And a bathroom/laundry. I'd probably even spring for a communal walk in robe off the bathroom/laundry.

DEIA..yes tactile also if there's a problem I've got someone to go to . I'm old fashion that way.. ie. bought a pair of shoes..no stock in the store so they ordered online for me..it came badly made so I went back to the store to return ..showed my receipt ..no question asked.. or another time bought shoes for son broke apart after 2-3 times went back with my receipt..and got exchanged right away despite I've read online that that company have had a bad reputation with complaints online..I've never encountered face to face.. or saw some colander online looked quite good..went to Sydney to check them out awful quality and well at $10 a pop no go I do buy online ..not sheets more so decorative items that I've seen and can't source in physical shops

Hi Karina. Haha very funny re your art piece, KitchenAid! Baking is so much fun; I'm a baker from way way back, and you learn by just jumping in and doing it. About the height of your combined dining/bench table, it's pretty important to have a height that's comfortable for you whilst you work. I'm tall and my family is too, so we had the benchtop height built higher so we are not getting backaches from constantly having to bend over to work. It's really more important for the one who does all or most of the cooking & baking to be comfortable as you can spend long periods of time reading and working out recipes, then putting it all together. Likewise, if you are shorter, choose a table that suits you. Best wishes and keep us posted.

Jacinta, am very sorry to hear that you've had no luck with your project pursuits......but may I also add your story is unfortunately not too uncommon and it doesn't surprise me...........after doing this for a fair while now may I add a comment or two.....skimming through the post above, a completely underestimated and often overlooked skill required by a design professional, whether categorised as an architect, designer, drafty or whatever is their capacity to manage the client's expectations of what is viable in a certain situation for a certain budget with their experience and knowledge. Yes construction costs have risen, and will continue to do so, and that's nothing new. $350K depending upon what you're doing and where, once upon a time was a healthy budget, but not anymore when you stack up the components. that is not to say that you cannot do anything, but to achieve something you'll need to be working with people who are all over the current construction costs and can help you strategically and logically consolidate your priorities simultaneously within the design/creative process to resolve an appropriate solution. There is always a (creative) solution to a scenario and a way to successfully navigate/negotiate challenges such as council limitations, challenging context, budget or whatever. Honestly, as a designer that's the easy bit, the hard(er) part is managing people in negotiating their particular "wants" and expectations and relative costs. What I understand really gets to people (like you have clearly experienced here ) is the unpleasant surprise and disappointment down the track after investing time and money with a company/designer in believing that you're working towards a feasible outcome when in reality the concept/direction is revealed to be non-viable, stonewalled or beyond budget. To avoid exactly this issue I service the front end of projects very broadly considering hard costed concept scenario options and hence "cutting to the chase" in order to appropriately align project requirements and project budget against the relevant specific contextual backdrop. Very quickly we endeavour get a realistic and accurate handle on whether a particular project direction is going to be viable or not and manage the client's expectations appropriately and fairly with minimal time and investment from their end. Depending upon the client and situation this step of the process initiates recalibration of client expectations (on budget or brief) and identification of what is possible one way or another so moving forward can occur with confidence and efficiency. From experience this has proven to avoid the exact situation you've unfortunately experienced. This should not be a "nightmare", rather it should be an exciting time in the process. At the end of the day it all comes down to money, it is invariably the ultimate controller of the decision-making process and accordingly you need to find and work with people who inherently understand this and can design honestly for you with respect to this factor and your specific needs. I hope this helps in some way and completely understand and sympathise with your situation :)