my 2 bobs worth. as someone who works with the elderly-the en-suite for your MIL is still not right. if she ever needs walking assistance,especially with a frame, getting past that door into the en-suite will be a nightmare. swap the vanity position for the shower. ensure there is no step-down into the shower area, and ditch the shower screen for a curtain. will make access much easier. especially if she ever needs assistance showering..it will be virtually impossible, and dangerous, with your current design. thinking long term..MIL will not always be there with you, so presumably you and your hubby will at some point end up in the master bedroom? consider the long terms implications of this-no good building something that suits her now, but would need major modification to suit your needs later. I would actually do away with the WIR at this time. Plan to add it later, if you would want it for yourself, but i would just use free standing furniture for her-no doubt she probably has her own, so it would be nice to have some of her own furnishings when she moves in with you - to make it feel more like her home. it will free up some floor space, and make access to the ensuite easier, without having to turn corners. I would also do away with the extended passage into the master. Take that door back in line with the other bedroom. Currently, it adds nothing, and may well limit your furniture placement for your family room, as the walkway will need to go around it. i have issue with the 2 person shower and double vanity in the same room. s the kids get older, they /you probably wont be comfortable using the room when you are showering, so mornings will be slowed down. Have you considered a 3 way bathroom/toilet/vanity area? We had this in our house, and it was the best decision ever. The shower and bath were in one room, with a separate toilet, and then a double vanity which opened to the passage. Everyone could use everything at the same time, without encroaching on each others privacy. Not sure about your state -but here, the toilet door would have to open out-if someone collapses in the powder room, you would not be able to get in with the door opening in, as they would be blocking the door. I do empathize with your dilemmas. We have spent 7 years planning an extension and remodel, then 2 years (!!!) working on the design with an architect, going backwards and forwards, and then the last 12 months nearly, changing and fine-tuning along the way as things were being built. It is not easy, but worth it. Having said that, you are unlikely to ever get it perfect, as your needs will change, your likes/dislikes will vary, and you will see other peoples homes and go "why didn't we do that". (Now if only i could take that on board myself, LOL)

Appreciate the thoughts and this may be a solid option elsewhere in the country but in my circumstances I don't plan to be moving from this property any time before the kids are 18. It is located in Sydney's inner west, and in a specific high school catchment I plan to take advantage of when the kids are older. Stamp duty to buy the property was close to $100k and if moving out even in ten years to a larger property; that averages $10k a year spent on stamp duty. I know 115m2 internal is tight, as is the fixed layout due to existing bedroom walls, ceiling heights, wet areas, and the like - but there has to be a way to make this work... I have read that 4 bedroom apartments should be 102m2 or bigger. I am willing to make compromises where possible but I really want to create that extra separate room "Multi-purpose room" which can double as a study/work area/kids play area/media room/ad-hoc sleeping accommodation". Paul Di Stefano: I don't think these changes essentially equate to 'rearranging a sock drawer' - this is my PPOR so I am not too concerned what other buyers want or resale value if I plan to hold the property for 10-20 years +... (any trends we design for now may well be outdated by then anyway). Many buyers highly value indoor-outdoor integration. By moving the kitchen to centre, it opens up the rear and creates indoor living->outdoor living link. If I get IKEA flatpack kitchen and DIY as much as possible - have a friend reroute the water/drainage/+his licenced electrical friend...hopefully this work would cost sub-$20k. Adding the sliding door to rear is $2.5k. Ensuite, bathroom and laundry I believe I can fitout for $10-15k all up- let's say 15k (again, tiling, raise flooring, showers/fixtures/flat pack laudnry cabinetry install all done in-house without tradies). The only thing I really need professionals for is to move the gas line in kitchen, BIR installs, stone benchtop, and maybe a few adhoc wall demo/construction/doorway moving - lets call that 10k. All up ballpark that is 47.5k? Sirius- If I go with your style plan then I lose the potential 4th bed space and have no where for relatives to stay, babysitter, nanny; etc :( Maybe it is a possibility that the main living space be used for lounge room and kitchen, we can always put dining table in the Multi-purpose room, then when that room is needed for sleeping accommodation, the dining table be moved to the side and kids can eat dinner on island bench bar; lounge or outside table... ? those doors to each side of the fireplace as you suggest - this space is very cramped outside (2.45m width) and potentially would be used to store trailer or garden shed, there is an old terrace built on zero-boundary there and they have a DA to go 2 storeys; which will shadow the whole area. This is why I planned to make the rear south corner a raised deck and try to channel house activity leading out the existing glass french door to that deck, or the rear sliding door. See photo-(my house is on the left, terrace zero boundary on right, and front on is a wooden dividing fence which on the opposite side is the driveway/1 car park and front street.

could suggest that you make the extension a separate building connecting via glass or other enclosed walk ways ie: one extending from the passage into the family and another between the kitchen and pantry they only have to be deep enough to stop the gutter from the original house touching the new house which could have amazing sloping roofs and high ceilings. I also notice that I haven't marked a laundry, that shouldn't be too difficult. You could consider extending the carport along the boundary which could include a laundry, WC within a pool house for the NEW Pool. Many ideas as many ways to do things cheers PS: do you want to share where the house is, must be one of the wine country areas in , guessing SA,VIC,Hunter Valley

Just thinking about this more....because it is better than doing my overdue tax or taking palm trunks to the dump... :o) ......All of the designs have such great features to them and in some respects I need to just get a builder to look over them to let me know which would be cheapest for what I need and would like. Once the technical things are sorted (cladding, electrical, plumbing, insulation), the things that I like in a home mostly are inside/outside living (seeing views) and a bright, light filled space (natural light). I find it depressing ...literally.....to be in a living space that is dark. I wanted the living area to be maximised in this space due to the work that I want to do in future with girls with autism; a small open plan kitchen with this and this area that we use have the higher ceiling to make it feel bigger.... then I need an office space, which could even be largely shut away within a cupboard if necessary. I will lose the view and a bit of light from the back sliding door because of me putting a privacy screen with gate between this building and the pool area. I have a slight view and good light from the big sliding window at the back (I would have to close blinds though, if people were using the pool area). I definitely need more light coming in from the East where the leaking colour glass window is, but I would like for them to be high so that I cannot see the neighbour's house. I think the windows on the western side are sufficient because it gets very hot on that side of this building from about 4pm (earlier in summer). Then the sliding doors at the front bring in light, but at the moment it is not totally private becasue it looks onto the road from a long driveaway. My main bedroom can be small as long as it has room for queen bed, good storage, and room for a dog bed for a golden retriever sized dog. I like the idea of having the dogs going on the deck...however, they do bark at possums at night.(They have a lot of yard to use too during the day). I do need a room where a mother and new born pups can be isolated from the other dogs). I like the idea of having a toilet and basin of some sort, separate to the main bedroom, if there is only one toilet, because it provides separation from my personal things to the main living area. I guess the second space for the dog and pups could be a laundry or a "bedroom" or "office" or "storeroom". The area for the dogs has to be on ground level and I think I would prefer my bedroom to be on ground level too as I am not getting any younger (and want to think about future needs) and ideally I would to be here til my early 70's if all works out well. It doesn't worry me whether the main bedroom ceiling is high or not, because I spend so little time in there. However, it would be good if the other spaces (except bathroom/laundry) had the higher sections of ceiling to make them feel bigger. I am only saying all this, because when I look at all the plans, I think the best one may end up being mainly from one, with elements taken from another. Thanks so much for your help. I still have the option (one day) to maximise the use of the big attic space in the main house as with the non-compliant stairs to it and only two tiny windows in it, and it being so hot up there, it is not really useable at the moment, but the pool house is highest priority because until it is liveable, then I can't recoup any expenses by renting out the bigger space (the main house). (It does look like a demo site though in many rooms,)