Hi everyone, so... 3 years later and after many back and forth we have decided to knock down the house and rebuild. The cost of renovating was just too prohibitive and not to mention the unexpected surprises that surely would come with it. We should start the building of the new home in a month or less. Just wanted to thank everyone who helped in this thread, your opinions were very important and helped us decide. We are not doing a custom build, instead we chose one of those pre-designed homes (Dennis Family) but we are very happy and excited. Cant wait for it to be done. Will post photos when ready.

I have just renovated and moved my kitchen to the center of the house with a dual level island, have enlarged the old kitchen window area so we can view our new garden-to-be. A word of caution, ensure that your renovator checks out all the expenses before you start, they did not do this in my case before I signed the contract and I ended up paying $3000 more than planned for cutting into the floor slab to get the waste pipe to the outside from the center of the house. Also ensure your builders pin the slab back together correctly, I consulted a structural engineer ($330) and even then the builders needed close monitoring to ensure they refilled and joined the slab correctly, as they just wanted to do what they normally do without following his instructions. I used a company with a very good reputation and still had problems, double check everything is written into the contract before you sign, even if you have discussed the work with the builder and designer before hand you can still get caught out, as I did. Having watched the builders, most of the gyprocking painting, etc, we could do ourselves, but any brick wall removals, slab cutting really needs to be done by a professional just to cover you house insurance wise I would think. Good luck

When I first wrote in August 2017 we got a lot of great suggestions and comments. At the time we had accepted the limitations of the block (easements, tree, solar access etc). It is now one year later and I can tell you we found a way to move the garage to the south-west corner. This allowed us to move Beds 2 and 3 and the bathroom to the northern side. Pantry and laundry between garage and kitchen/living/dining. I think it was all of the comments and suggestions that encouraged us to look at it again from different angles, rather than just accepting the limitations. Thanks to everyone for their generosity! The solution involved working around a lovely tree (it is nice, just in the wrong spot). It is still in the way (council said we couldn't remove it) but we've opted for a long, curving driveway that starts on the other side of the block and weaves its way around the treeline to the garage entry. Not ideal, because a large portion of the front setback will now be a hard surface, instead of a garden. But if there is one thing that designing teaches you - its all about compromises. Thanks everyone. MB Design & Drafting Shara C Nik Star girlguides oklouise siriuskey genkii saragraham76 Andy Pat brizcs Mel N 3D Home Concepts suancol Caro

Kitchens are the heart of s home. You need breakfast stools at your bench so people can chat to you whilst prepping/cooking. Or kids helping or eating brekkie. tables are lower so don’t work as well. It’s not about the view for these purposes. 4 stools at least with backs hopefully and allow them to tuck under bench top to clear circulation to sliders. I would keep all within current footprint. Island: min 900 (at ends) & 1200 from other benches. If u go too wide it makes it more difficult to work. Too many steps. I can stand next to my dishwasher and unload into drawers opposte without moving with 1200. And can work on island whilst someone at sink behind Up to 1500 from sliders if having stools there. Love to see finished pics I like your style. Good luck