Living in a small apartment with a single wall kitchen, our microwave is in the cupboard/pantry to the left of the sink. It's not ideal at all, since there are no powerpoints in the cupboard, we have to un-reel an extension cord and plug it into the wall every time we want to use it. It's also up quite high, and I ranked actual food pantry items more important to have at eye level. This is one thing I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for in future!!!

Just to confirm I have taken the great ideas presented here as advice only and have no intention to do some dodgy diy reno's. With the exception of a couple of quirky exposed timbers as you can see in my pictures there are no other exposed beams. As you can also see from the pictures there is a large roof space on the right (east) side of the house but the ceilings themselves are flat with a slight dip on the north wall. Based on my own personal experiences I would have to agree with Two's Company that there is a tendency towards rendered brick in WA (although there are still many exposed brick houses in my suburb) while double enclosed double garages are also highly desirable. I would also agree that toilets within the main bathroom and non traditional laundries may be considered unusual by many (but not all). Ensuites with toilets however are still very common. Also due to the nature of our work we would prefer the laundry separated from food/kitchen area. For a 4x2 house it is only around 155m2 excluding carport/alfresco which makes the rooms feel quite cramped, hence the desire to open up the family room. However, as Two's Company suggests we will need to first get a builder/eng in to check load bearing walls etc as this will undoubtedly affect what we can achieve within our budget. Having said that I still excited by many of your ideas and with luck hopefully can work some of them into the budget. Cheers all :)

Apologies, working off of my phone. The current floor plan as per link. Essentially we are wishing to change the home from a 3 bed 1 bath(ensuite effect) to a 4 bed 2 bath. All without changing any external walls/extending. Existing kitchen -> family bathroom. Existing laundry/WC & pdr vanity -> hallway to garage/euro laundry. Existing bath -> Ensuite. Existing Dining area -> New Kitchen Existing Meals area -> Bed 4/Study The current sliding door in dining room (new kitchen) we will change to suit the layout of the kitchen. Thinking hinged glazed door with a 1200 high sidelight which a bench will sit below dependent on cabinet layout. The existing Vanity, WC are will be demolished to streamline that area and create a hallway/euro ldry. We cant move the kitchen into the existing living area, mainly due to getting plumbing there for drainage will be hard. As is we will be trenching into the slab from old vanity drainage point to the proposed kitchen area. We're also wishing to keep the proposed bathroom location around the old kitchen to utilise plumbing points and ease of installing new WC.

Firstly, I'll what I'm not an expert, but I think it is a pretty tough orientation to deal with. Ideally - ignoring things like privacy, views, wind direction - I'd locate living areas north, bedrooms south & east, garage & rarely used rooms to the west. But once you rotate the block 45° from a cardinal point, things get very tough. As windows in all four sides are now effected by summer sun. But for this orientation I'd generally say bedrooms to the SE, living to the NE (NW if you must), garage & rarely used rooms to the NW/SW. But your situation is more complicated, once we consider views, & privacy. NE facing living areas will lack views, staring straight at the neighbours AC unit. SE facing bedrooms may lack a bit of privacy, from what looks like the outdoor area for number 19, & maybe their upstairs area (though the fact their windows are clerestory highlight windows should greatly reduce overlooking). So what to do? It's a tough one, to certainly needs advice from experts well versed in passive solar design, orientation & energy efficiency. But like your plan, I'd maybe forego the idea of NE living (which is rare for me), locating the garage in that NE corner. Giving you access to the SW views from both levels. The other option, like number 19, is the garage to the SW, with an upstairs living area above it. You may even consider an upside down house, with all the main living areas upstairs, bedrooms downstairs. Whatever you choose I would have a lot of external shading, particularly in the NW & SW. Adjustable external shutters on the NW, which you'll often want closed in summer, but not winter. A large covered alfresco/balcony to the SW. I'm not sure whether you get good access to the Fremantle Doctor breezes in summer afternoon/evenings. But I think it's generally from the S-SW? So you should try to maximise how breezes will flow through your home on summer evenings, & should probably also consider how it will affect outdoor areas. In any case, with this orientation, you're probably going to have reasonably high energy usage. So I'd be designing the roof with a large solar PV system in mind (we should all do that nowadays in any case). This means an uncomplicated roof, with large areas facing north, west or east. North for maximum generation, east/west split for great all-day generation. Your neighbour, in number 19 has a GREAT roof for solar (minus the pesky dish on the north). This skillion roof has a single, large roof area facing NW. As it's a northerly aspect, it will give good generation levels. With great afternoon generation, perfect for afternoon AC use over summer, though lacking a little in early morning generation. I'd consider creating a twin. Using this NW skillion roof line (with TV antennas & other obstructions on the SE side), & the large SW facing covered balcony (with shutters).