To clarify, which bedroom is being converted to ensuite?

what is the purpose of the second bathroom and where is the new laundry and how do you use the enclosed porch...we need to see a plan of the whole house in order to better understand your ideas...how many bedrooms and bathrooms will be in the converted house

Sorry, here's an idea I'm leaning towards, making the existing bathroom an ensuite for the smaller bedroom. As it's only a two bedroom house near the city, I'm targeting a small family or working professionals. By placing the ensuite entry right after the bedroom door, it means you won't have to travel through the room to get to it. I think this is a good idea incase a couple want to use the larger room as the master bedroom and keep the smaller room as a nursery/study/spare room etc. This dogleg entry to the room may also give a little more privacy from the living room.

The washing machine and dryer will be hidden in a cupboard in the second living area.

The porch used to be a study, I would use it as a second living area. In all, it will be a two bedroom, two bathroom, no laundry house. No laundry sink, if they need to fill a bucket they can use the bath :D

Please excuse the terrible drawing, I'm using a tablet!

Interesting article I happened upon:http://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/the-top-five-killer-features-your-home-should-have/news-story/c1c6756baf41e4ec463a00d08c460a51

Gerard, just out of curiosity, what is the outdoor space like?

So anyone using Bed 2 uses which bathroom?

Is there a door or just an opening between Bed 1 and hallway which leads to bathroom?

If conceivably both bedrooms have occupants: resident uses Bed 1 and guests use Bed 2, do guests in Bed 2 need to walk through living area to access that other bathroom?

The outdoor area isn't very large, but room for a pergola and clothes line etc.

Bed two would use the second bathroom and need to walk through the living room. Not ideal I know, but that's why I'm on here scratching my head getting ideas haha. The house is only small and I'd like to avoid putting any more doorways in the living room.

In the suggestion I drew above, there's only an archway to the bedroom to make it feel more like an ensuite but I can put a cavity slider in - I'm just concerned about how busy the house would be with so many doors in reach of each other.

Thanks MB - I'll plan that in!

I think need to rethink doors situation: a door opening into master suite hallway could conceivably smack into someone walking from bedroom to ensuite. I completely understand your wanting to make a potential master suite out of Bed 1 & added bathroom while allowing use of this bathroom by Bed 2.

If it were me using the space, I would want a proper hinged door on Bed 1 door and cavity sliding door at opening into master suite hallway. Is there any way this could be achieved and fit into your budget?

I can fit cavity doors no worries, just thought having them hinged would keep things uniform instead of two different styles of door opposite eachother into the rooms. Cavity to the ensuite wouldn't be out of place though.

I'm not saying this is a concrete plan by any means, just the best one I can come up with at the moment. Definitely open to ideas :)

Hey Gerard,

Here's a rough idea for you? Not to scale but I hope it helps :)

I have added an ensuite with a double vanity and potentially a double shower. I have created a bit more privacy by having the ensuite accessed by the master and it can not be seen in the doorway. I have added a linen cupboard in a hallway and moved the master bedroom door down. A family bath with shower over... .vanity and toilet but have provided access via the living room. Laundry in the garage for now. Nik

I don't think you can get away from having a laundry - I've had to live with a washing machine and no tub for too long and with a stuffed back, can not lift buckets for soaking - and soaking in a bathroom sink is not practical or acceptable so a laundry tub is a must :)

Gerard, I get your wanting to keep all doors uniform, and you have resolved the door smacking possibility very well. Like the change.

by moving the kitchen and adding a small covered alfresco including access from the garage you could have the two bathrooms and two bedrooms with biw and study spaces as well as keeping the laundry and also have an eat in kitchen and multipurpose space or third bedroom

thank you kiwimills, i agree about the laundry door but, not knowing what all the walls are made out of, i was leaving details like door moving until later...but i couldn't find any advantage to leaving out the laundry and keeping in mind potential occupants it's best to be as flexible as possible but all the metric measurements need to be confirmed and definite plans decided before any further demolition

True!

Now we are talking details.

( before knowing if doable )

But great plan!

Oklouise that looks awesome! What program is that you used too? My sketching on here is very painful haha I love your idea but unfortunately I can't afford to move the kitchen, all I'll be doing is a ceasarstone benchtop and a new splashback.

The walls are all bessa block and brick. I've got a builder coming on Friday to tell me which ones are structural, which should help push my options. The house is on a concrete slab so to level the house will be a big job, I've got a $40k budget to do everything so the big costs will be a good tiler and plumbing and building certifications, although I'll be doing a lot of the work myself (friends have some helpful trades to keep the costs down a bit).

my program is a vintage 3D Home Architect version 4 that i've been using for many years and i believe is no longer available but Siriusky has recently acquired a similar program ...i didn't mean "level the house" i meant add a raised timber floor to match the living room floor with the rest of the house...and, when costing your project make sure you do comparisons of all the options to consider best value for money spent...is the property for renovation and immediate resale, for your own use or for immediate rental? each option should have a different plan and a different budget and you need to cost each option to make the best decision and the suggested kitchen is a simple one line DIY flatpac with a simple island table and should be considered against the extra value of the third bedroom

If internal walls are concrete block when thinking of cavity doors try sliders on the wall instead plus add glamour with a mirror fixed to the bedroom side.

Gerard, I like your second plan. However, you say this is a slab-on-ground build. this means that you have to be very careful with what drainage points you change in the renovation, especially toilets. Sorry if I am telling you things you have already considered. Breaking through the slab to run new drains is no easy job and can easily become VERY expensive.

I also suggest you talk to a builder before you get too far down the track planning this. You might find that it is more cost-effective to add on an ensuite to the back (or side if there is room) than to reconfigure the internal layout too much because of all the existing heavy construction (concrete floor, brick/block internal walls).