Hi Sophie, I immediately agree with the suggestion to remove the angled/chamfered wall to the bedroom entry and create a small lobby, although a good alternative is to consider a straight-run stair and adding a corridor wall to create a 'private' zone - then toilet can stay where it is, tucked in under stair, and privacy (and acoustic/smell separation to the toilet) is created for living and master bedroom. This might mean widening the kitchen room by 100mm or so (noting some reductions mentioned below) and mirroring the bathroom/rumpus arrangement upstairs - it does create a bit more circulation but adds a lovely sense of space when don't have your main circulation through the middle of a room. The laundry pantry is not the usual arrangement - and the distance needed to travel to the linen cupboard is excessive. I would definitely flip the arrangement of laundry /pantry and try to turn the linen into some kind of study nook off the new corridor - and get rid of the tiny desk near the front door!! Imagine that lovely living space with light coming in from the porch which is facing north. That brings up the final comment that north is where the garage is and the main kitchen is therefore south-east facing, this is fine for morning but it is darker for the afternoons. This is a bit harder to change, but the kitchen could be reworked to turn through 90 degrees to face the garden but extend across to the west facade to allow afternoon light in. The nook could be deleted (which blocks afternoon light to deck) and the deck could extend or wrap around the corner for afternoon light. A little corner of deck in the afternoon sun you would never regret! Your draftie designer would need to look at this in detail as the west external wall would might need to shift inwards and south widen into garden, but if afternoon light is important to you then I would encourage you to consider this change too.

Hello @charlie_com Wow, what a great lot of advice and help. The Houzz community always amaze me with their generosity and info in helping homeowners with their project plans. And how exciting that you're looking at renovating! Your home has a lot of potential! I have a few comments to share which may be of use to you ... 1. Getting the design right - so it suits your family now, and into the future, (as well as creating a home that will sell well and quickly when the time comes) is a great way to start any project 2. Whilst your home is lines on a page, change is cheap - so whilst you may want to hurry up and get it built, it's worth taking the time to maximise every opportunity for your design, and to save time and money during construction, in the design phase. 3. Use professionals based on their specialty skills. Choose professionals you feel a good fit with, but that also have demonstrated experience in offering what you need. So builders are great at building ... some have an interest in design, but it's not their role or specialty. I have a blog on my site about the differences I see between building designers, architects and draftspeople - you can read it here as it may help you choose who is the best fit for you and your project. http://undercoverarchitect.com/architect-vs-draftsperson-vs-building-designer-whats-the-difference/ 4. Speaking to local agents is a great start to understanding what will add value and what won't. The Gap is a little bit of a tricky area of Brisbane value-wise (I have owned and renovated two homes there!) as it can have a bit of a ceiling on value. We really noticed that with our places, and our third reno was a home in Ashgrove, which is such a different market, even though it's one suburb over. Buyers in The Gap usually come from The Gap - it seems to be one of those areas that, once people move in, they don't leave ... because they love the bush setting, the amenities, and it is a lot closer to the CBD than most people realise! However, what people pay for in homes varies - so the local Harcourts is a great agency, and Ray White Ashgrove is also good, and Ryan Smith at Remax is awesome ... but yes, getting 3 or 4 agents in to talk about improvements, and value (even if you have no immediate intention of selling) is worthwhile 5. With kids your age, creating flexible, functional spaces that offer the ability to come together (but still feel some sense of privacy from each other) as well as spaces to be apart (but not locked away) is helpful as they get further into their teenage years. I would always seek to get living areas connecting physically to outdoors - it is especially one of the things that sets homes in The Gap apart from the Queenslander homes in neighbouring suburbs. It facilitates easier living in your home, and is great for young families especially. It will always help your home to feel larger too - as you capitalise on all of the block for that feeling of space. 6. Whether you change your entry or not is one thing ... you can change your address, but I would always check if one street has more real estate value over another. Being a corner block, the challenge is ensuring you create privacy on street frontages, so you don't feel exposed (but still get the natural light you need) 7. In Qld, yes, there is lots of sunshine. However, managing the heat load is essential for homes to feel great. So orienting spaces to the north and east, and reducing the access into the home from western sun. Creating overhangs that protect and shade from high northern summer sun, and also creating shady areas outside your home that cool breezes before they enter the house. 8. Working out your budget at the get go is a great start, and factoring in all those fees as well. I recommend that you think about what will add value to your home, and make your experience easier too. As with any industry, there are great architects, and not so great architects. However, choosing the right professional with great expertise - well, the money they save, and the value they build into your design and home - should more than cover their fees. I am very clear (even as an architect) about not pushing people to use architects ... however I struggle with the advice that says "an architect will cost too much - use a good draftsperson". We spend a lot of time in our homes, and a lot of money on them (often a 30 year mortgage!). If you were about to invest $100,000 or $200,000 in the stock market, what level of expert would you speak to about that? Perhaps thinking about it that frame of mind will help. Because you could be spending this renovation money on anything - so it needs to be an investment that adds value to your home, and your lifestyle in it. I have lots of free help and advice on my website, and send out more in my free weekly UA News (which you can get by popping your email address in on my website). Best wishes as you progress with your planning for your home. Warm Regards Your Secret Ally, Amelia, UA x www.undercoverarchitect.com amelia@undercoverarchitect.com ps - here are some before and after shots of a home we renovated in The Gap. You can see more piccies here ... http://undercoverarchitect.com/portfolio/denning-st/

Base on your requirements, this plan would work and requires the least amount of structural alteration. It actually gives you a decent size kitchen. I have to say that oklouiese's plan is more common in new houses and is preferred by a lot of people. That said, new builds usually have a second lounge upstairs. If your measurements are correct, the kitchen against the back wall where the cooktop and fridge is going to be is 4079mm. Assuming you'll have a double door fridge, and a 600mm wide pantry. you still have decent bench space on each side of the cooktop. Assuming you need 1m walk way between each bench. Your island will be 2480mm x 1200mm which is PLENTY. (1.2m walk way is recommended but it comes down to personal preference and what is the most important to you.) Since the family room is not huge. If you want to use the laundry as extra pantry space it's really not that difficult to get to.

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,)