oops with the diagrams.. Note that the "shed like" part of the extension joins onto what must have been the original lean to that extends all along the original villa part. Note the pillar in the living area, that is structural. Another strange aspect is that the toilet juts out into the open plan space ( I think that could be remedied with $$s and it could fit into the main part of the family bathroom by taking out the old corner spa and putting in a smaller freestanding bath for example) . By the way, the "retreat" is actually a courtyard that could be a nice feature if properly landscaped etc. A new roof (to get a new roof line) might work on the shed like part, but the walls around the west and southern perimeters of the space are just windows/doors so I don't think they could support the weight of a "proper" roof rather than glass? Can you see that plan well enough and what info do you still need OkLouise (and others)? Thanks again for any ideas :)

Hi All, apologies for the delay in responding and thanks again for all your suggestions. Siriuskey - the sunroom is currently used by myself as a study/make-up room (a computer, desk and printer at one end the other end a dressing table). I don't think it would be suitable as an ensuite as I believe it was an old verandah that has been enclosed and the front is all window, which face the street. We live in Northern NSW, near Lismore. I had a new split system air conditioner installed mid-winter last year and it seems to be helping with the heating and cooling, but of course it would be great if we didn't have to use it too often (even though we have a fair few solar panels), oklouise - if we were to enclose part of the patio to make extra room I, think I would 'roughly' leave the kitchen were it is but widen doorways and have a bigger island bench. I would then use the 'new' room as a dining room and the old dining room would be like a sitting room with the potential to perhaps move the loft bedroom stairs in there in the future (which would gain full use of bedroom 3 back). These are just rough ideas at the moment though, we are still open to ideas. Kate - we could potentially move the bathroom into bedroom 3 but I don't know if it would gain us anything... unless I'm misunderstanding your suggestion. siriuskey - I have attached 2 photos; one shows part of our patio looking back to the family room door and you can see the pool fence for where it is situated with the house. The second one is an aerial photo of our block showing the house and pool. I hope these are useful. The patio has a room and ceiling and concreted floor, so I don't think it would be too hard to enclose part of it in. I love all the feedback and suggestions so far, so please don't hold back!! Thank you.

Thank you for all the references, all those images are very useful. I've updated the plan to include the directions. The views would be towards my backyard which slopes down gently towards the north side, at about 5-10 degrees I would say. The balcony is an open space, not enclosed, but has privacy screens on both sides. I live in Sydney so the climate is generally quite warm. I've also played around with a few more concepts, rearranging the Study, ensuite and Walk in wardrobe. This makes use of the hallway in a more dynamic way, allowing it to be a bigger study if the pocket door is closed, or a thoroughfare out to the balcony when the pocket doors are open. However, I don't want to ruin the flow of the house for the sake of using every last square meter as there is enough space, I don't want to make everything feel cramped by getting rid of the hallway. For the purpose of imagining a different space, I've removed the stairs for the moment. Let me know what your thoughts are.

my parents were builders, i have a lifetime of private renovating and building experience, houseplanning is my obsession and HOUZZ offers a constant supply but i'm having a problem uploading my latest plans and i have an idea for a wiw for bed 1 but can't share until the technical problem is fixed but if the entry foyer and end of hall is altered when you're ready for an upgrade of the ensuite there could be space for a wiw but we need the dimensions of the hallway, entry foyer and ensuite to be sure but keep in mind there will probably be more actual storage in the original biw but a wiw could provide a dressing room and use some of the long hallway