We're already at the "old age" with problems stage, so have gradually adapted most areas to suit our limitations. What has amazed me is how suddenly the body changes have seemed to come all at once. We have a 4x2 on a quarter acre close to amenities, and I would hate not to have it. I love having all our varied fruit trees and raised garden beds, but admit I have a strong young man to help for 2 hours a week. Had spinal and knee ops last year which has limited what I can do. Bad part of getting old is the mind staying young - tells the body to do something beyond it's present state. Example is lifting a huge bag of fertiliser out of car boot. Result was spinal surgery, and being told that lifting heavy objects will put me back under the knife. The 1 thing left to do in the bathrooms is install higher toilets, as the knees don't bend so well any more. Walk in showers, bidet toilet seats, and heated bathrooms are a boon, and grab rails are well used. We have a small step to the patio, but have installed a ramp for that, otherwise we have no other steps. Rugs and carpet have been replaced with tile which is easier for using walking frame. Installed more and brighter lights for OH,s fading eyesight, and replaced our t.v. with a larger one. Have enclosed part of our huge patio to create a sunroom off the family room. This brings more warmth into it when the sliding doors are open, and we can vent the heat in the hotter summer months. Our next project is to replace our [only] 4 years old kitchen so we don't have to bend or stretch so much to reach what we need, especially all my appliances and gadgets. Now all we have to do is hope we live long enough to enjoy it lol !

You need to buy a bidet toilet seat. We have had a Conway BA 13 which was very expensive at $1600 or morr but in our next house bought a Quoss for $500 which does the trick. Great for my elderly mother who lives with us but now I love it too.

having lived in a home with beautiful Tasmanian Oak ceilings, feature walls and cabinets for many years i can appreciate the gorgeous look of timber BUT over the years the timber coatings darken and eventually it became dark oppressive and, rather than painting them to achieve a fresh new Hamptons look we couldn't do it and sold the house instead!! Our new home will have some timber but much more restrained and in smaller areas

attaching the garage at the corner can be complicated for the roof so this also has to be considered but can you post a plan of the block showing the proposed location of the new house, distance to each boundary, the front gate and any existing driveway, arrows showing the direction of north and any views and is the block sloping in any direction or relatively flat? the problem with acreage is that there are so many choices and you probably also don't want a view of the driveway from the bath so we need more information about the block