I think the bench/breakfast bar along the deck - with bi-fold windows is a fabulous idea. The storage space under the stairs makes more sense to me than a faux fire. An extendable table is definitely the way to go, especially if it is just the two of you most of the time. As for the kitchen sink - I can only suggest that you move your wall cabinet further right - extending the bench and then the sink can be placed further to the right. Downlights above kitchen bench - we have downlights about a metre apart and they provide excellent coverage. With regards to the cupboards being different in living/kitchen areas. I personally think that if you are going all white, they could be identical - creating continuity.

I guess I'd be asking, how do you plan to live in this house? As it currently is, there seem to be three separate apartments, each with its own kitchen, on each of the three floors. Do you plan to keep it that way, or incorporate the whole house into a single living area, or something in between? How many bedrooms do you need/want? You have five at the moment, not counting the studio. Do you want to keep them all, or scupper a few of them in exchange for large spaces? It's hard to give advice without knowing a bit more about how you envisage living in this house. If you're a multigenerational family, or plan on renting out the bottom suite, you'd need different advice than if you were looking at incorporating the whole place into a single family home with, say, a hideout for the kids downstairs.

Hi maryprior892 Thanks for posting the extra information it all helps in gaining some understanding, I think it is possible to improve this existing house in a cost effective manner. Just a minor item that I picked up in regards of equipment - I think you mentioned that the existing STORAGE is actually a covered internal courtyard - I also notice that you have a hot water unit in this space - you should check that the hot-water service (if it is a gas unit) that it has sufficient ventilation and is not an external units that has been closed in - any plumber will give you this information - enclosing gas units that are designed for external use is not a good idea. I think that if you are going to make changes it not only should suit you, but also have a good resale opportunity - considering your upstairs areas it might be better to add a decent En-suite and walk in robes and getting two or three bedrooms downstairs - in this way you would have parents areas separated from children - this might have better resale and use that a tiny ES. The third bedroom downstairs could be gained by enclosing the RUMPUS room and providing access to bathroom areas by a corridor to existing bathrooms. This would also aid in getting containment areas for heating - at the moment the plan shows one open space including the upstairs - lots of heating in winter in Tasmania for all that area - some compartmentalization would probably help in combating yearly heating costs. The existing living area are certainly ample, so the loss of the rumpus to a bedroom does not detract greatly to the overall house, and in the meantime you could use the new downstairs bedroom/rumpus room as you have already mentioned as a library. I think this is achievable, but before doing a physical change, I would have a fully developed plan which includes all existing and proposed furniture to scale, with a few 3D views to enhance the concept. (It easier to change drawings than walls - a lot less dust and much cheaper) I would then obtain the opinion of a Real-estate agent (the Real-estate agent you bought it from is not a bad place to start) and maybe two others. This might help in making long term decisions in regards to investment for the future. Staging your proposed renovations is also another approach that you might investigate. Above all I would retain and obtain as many ocean views that you can possibly get, I assume that the ocean views are at the front of the house (" revealed an open fireplace in the front lounge which also has ocean views so that is fabulous.") If possible you might consider developing an external eating/sitting/entertaining area with ocean views - I certainly would be a buyer, and I would assume that it might be supported by the real-estate agent. I hope this is of some help, I would be happy to comment further on this design as more information becomes available. Michael Manias Manias Associates Building Associates mm407p@gmail.com

are you planning a diy flatpac kitchen or custom cabinetry? unfortunately i don't think there's enough space to have such a long island bench and suggest that there would be better counter space and more easily accessed storage by moving the laundry door and having an 1800 island and standard tall pantry...moving the laundry door and omitting the corner pantry allows for an extra 1500 wall cabinets, more counter space, more drawers and the microwave could be positioned in a microwave wall cabinet with the door opening towards the window and the whole kitchen would feel more spacious and by not extending the wall behind the stove there can be a simple 30cm overhang for stools.....based on standard flatpac sizes something like this could work ...