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Hey Paul! Firstly, congrats on starting to adult. I'm yet to begin the homeowning part of that journey but nonetheless will relish in offering my thoughts on your male-accountant-esque aesthetic skills. 1) Glass panels - scrap them! $500 could be better spent elsewhere and it's common, like mentioned above, that people don't want the insides of their cupboards visible. 2) Blackbutt laminate floors and gloss white cupboards - matt benchtop colour I think should also be dependant on paint colour of the walls as well as other furniture. Not sure if you've mentioned that? Neutral is always safe though. In terms of flooring, I agree with the other commenters again in suggesting you rip up the carpet yourself and see the situation on your hands. A bit of elbow grease (and probably a few swear words) and you'll have saved some cash you can invest in the appliances. The amount you're investing in renovating the kitchen should also depending on the scope of your other renovations of the place (how much you're changing/investing in living, bathrooms etc). Side note, but an important consideration, is thinking of the kind of future tenants you would want living in the space and what they would consider important. Kitchens are often the heart of the home, so investing a little more here, especially if visible from front door, IMO isn't completely irrational. In terms of payment/thanks for input - please send cookies.

You really can't beat Kmart for starting out. They have a great kitchen starter pack that will give you all the basics - saucepans, utensils, etc. Also you can buy packs of 10 plates for $10 so there's no going wrong really. Don't forget cleaning supplies - broom, dishwashing liquid, a bucket, soap, toilet brush, dustpan and brush and BINS! Check if you'll need a shower curtain, showering without one that first night will be a disaster. Good luck with your move, I remember what it's like but try and have fun with everything. Trust me though, Kmart will be your best friend. It's even better than IKEA for some things ;)

Your house won't fit on your section! Your front rooms plus garage add up to 23m wide, and that's not allowing for the thicknesses of the walls and cladding, plus any eaves. Before you start designing, you will need to find out about setbacks and recession planes so you know how much of your section you can actually build on. You also need to consider things like the path of the sun, prevailing winds, climate, views, proximity to neighbours, privacy, flow (both through the house and outside), placement of utility areas etc. You also need a clear idea of the style of house you would like and you need to design to suit the way you live now, plus think really hard about how you are likely to live in the future (to give just one example, I can almost guarantee that kids won't use that toy room, as they like being close to Mum and Dad when they are little). Beyond that, you need to give thought to sustainable building, and how far down that path you will choose to go. There are many things such as passive solar design that are effectively free to do at the design stage, which will make your house cheaper to run and more comfortable to live in, and these should absolutely be part of your brief. There may be minor extra costs for things like better insulation, low- or no-VOC products and finishes, energy efficient appliances and fittings etc, which could pay for themselves in a short space of time and/or make your home more pleasant to inhabit. Other features such as solar power and grey water recycling may fall outside your budget now, but it may be wise to allow for these to be easily retrofitted in the future. This is a HUGE house - why do you want it to be so big? I'm not sure what average building costs are where you live but that would be a million dollar house in NZ, with only average features and finishings (e.g. acrylic, rather than tiled showers, laminate kitchen etc). As the global trend seems to be moving towards smaller but better quality houses, it might be worth considering resale potential in the future. It is not easy to design a home, and it is such a massive investment that you want to be really sure you've got it just right. You'd probably be better to employ an architect if you want a unique home, unless you are prepared to spend months or even years educating yourself to a point that you can confidently design a house that takes into consideration all the issues I've raised above (and that's only just scratching the surface of the many decisions you will need to make). Good luck!