Hi Karina. Haha very funny re your art piece, KitchenAid! Baking is so much fun; I'm a baker from way way back, and you learn by just jumping in and doing it. About the height of your combined dining/bench table, it's pretty important to have a height that's comfortable for you whilst you work. I'm tall and my family is too, so we had the benchtop height built higher so we are not getting backaches from constantly having to bend over to work. It's really more important for the one who does all or most of the cooking & baking to be comfortable as you can spend long periods of time reading and working out recipes, then putting it all together. Likewise, if you are shorter, choose a table that suits you. Best wishes and keep us posted.

I have solved this problem by creating more than one seating area in the space which Depends on the size of your living area. I set up a couch - with a good looking back facing the window with the view. I included two adjacent chairs and a small coffee table. The other set of couches and a feature chair are also facing the view but more focused on viewing tv. It is important that you choose furniture on legs otherwise the solidity of the furniture can break up the room too much. Looking at your plan could you hang a tv on a wall on the side of your stairs. One thing I have found with an awesome view - TV becomes less important - 40 inch is big enough - TV size has got a bit out of control! Some other comments - think about placing your wardrobes next to each other to create a sound barrier between the bedrooms. If you do this make sure you put sound proofing between the bathrooms. I note your plumbing location is fragmented which adds to your expense. Will your garage obstruct your view? Think about having a sliding door access from the bedroom to the back deck hope this helps

Thanks for your thoughts on this. Yes, Ikea and other stores have freestanding cabinets that need to be secured to a wall. Smallest dimensions are 30cm x 30cm - which is very goodm but unfortunately there is no space in the kitchen, the area is very tight. A downside to walls being taken out to open up the space between living and dining areas has meant any wall space where a cupboard could have gone is no longer there. Am working out where I may be able to recess into the wall for a narrow, bookshelf deep linen cupboard, possibly this will have to be in the bedroom. My guess is they originally had a free standing cupboard/ armoire somewhere in the living room. Did some researching on realestate.com for houses of similar size in the area and there are quite a few listed that have no linen cupboards- same issue, floor area too small to have accommodated one or renovations would have meant to make a room larger, they went without the linen cupboard. I'm seeing a few linen cupboards built into the lounge rooms- perhaps a cloak cupboard, and also next to built in wardrobes in main bedrooms. I've been thinking of building a utilities cupboard like you mention out on the back deck, though squeezing a 25cm tall narrow cupboard into the laundry space for broom and stick vacuum. seems do-able.

always about compromise and if the laundry window is reinstated in the original location that restricts options for tall storage so i've included a skinny sink next to the window, a stacked washer and dryer and left the rest of the space open to use for overhead cabinets and/or shelves, tall space under wall cabinets for broom, ironing board, vacuum, baskets etc and hooks on the window wall for work clothes and dog leads...any custom built cabinets would be cramped and very expensive so use the open floor space for storage without doors...the location of the back door opening and doorways from hallway and front entry would also make it too cramped for the narrow cabinet that you wanted unless you make the laundry and powder room too small for the cavity sliding doors so, with so much extra kitchen cabinets for pantry storage (eg between fridge and stove or island drawers?) why not use the central cabinet for your mini office and keep the original wall between entry and living would save demolition and could allow a location for your sideboard.. striped wall sections show dog gates without doors and under a sofa table would make a great nook for the dog beds