We are almost done - some metal artwork and filter box to go before planting. Thought you all might like to see what we ended up doing…. Pool & tiles by pool company, everything else done by ourselves. We are extremely happy with the waterline tile colour - they show up differently all times of the day which is a lovely surprise. Ezarri Glass Mozaic waterline: Space Capricorn Capping Travertine

Yes - there are these amazing options to have an 'electric pool cover' with a slat arrangement that allows you to virtually walk on it. Do a google search...'pool covers electric'... I've no idea on how much they cost... Here's some pics. Not sure if irregular shapes make this too challenging... Our pool experience... We are needing to change a few things with our pool already - wish we had paid more attention to the pipes and filtration... (Having to potentially move them as they are too shallow and in 'awkward spot'... Extra $ and I'm so worried it may cause issues for us... Even the location of the concrete slab for the pump... Wish we had thought about overall picture... If I was buying a car for $70k, I would have done more research, but somehow we got carried away with idea that we could have a pool for summer, and yet reality is that it's ready for the 'next summer'... Budget plan (original) was around $30-40k, but I guess it's like building a house... Plus it's all a big learning experience...

Follow the path of the sun over a day, & throughout the year. When the sun is to the E & the W it is low in the sky. This means eaves become less effective, & other shading techniques must also be used, such as vertical awnings, external shutters, low-e glazing or trees. Also the sunlight at this time is nearly perpendicular to the window area. This means the sunlight is more intense & also that more of it passes through the window, & less is reflected. You're right in saying that generally W glazing is the worst, & should be minimized or eliminated. This is because the sun strikes W windows in the afternoon, at the hottest time of the day. Making it difficult to cool a home in the evening. E windows face the exact same problems, with regards to the sun being low in the sky, & perpendicular to the window surface. But this occurs in the morning, when it is generally cooler, & still gives the occupants some time to try to cool the house by cross ventilation. However, it's obviously better to minimize this heat build up through E windows in the first place. Conversely, N glazing will be shaded by eaves in summer, when the sun is high in the sky, while admitting winter sunlight, when the sun is lower in the sky. Northern eave length can be adjusted to suit a particular climate. In Brisbane the eave length should be somewhat larger, so north windows are also shaded in the shoulder seasons of spring & autumn, admitting winter sunlight. Even without eaves, in summer N sunlight is from very high in the sky, striking windows far from perpendicular to the window surface. So much more of that sunlight is reflected off the window surface, with less being transmitted through the window into the home. Though of course, I wouldn't recommend having no eaves. But as you say, limiting E glazing may come at the expense of limiting cross ventilation. So it's a balancing act, with different glazing solutions for different climate zones, local conditions, individual homes. But generally, the highest proportion of glazing should face N, as it can warm the house in winter, but not in summer. E glazing (which warms the house in summer) & S glazing (which cools the house in winter) should be incorporated for cross ventilation & daylighting purposes, but at a lower proportion than N glazing. W glazing should be minimized or eliminated, as it is very detrimental in summer. These optimum glazing proportions will differ, depending on your local conditions, & the building design. Generally living areas should be positioned to the north. As this side of the house will be lighter (from northern sunlight) & warmer in winter. Yes, some E or even W aspect is OK. But you don't want to use E aspect for living areas if it pushes the bedrooms to the W, as this is the absolute worst location for bedrooms. You do have a northern frontage, but it's quite wide, & the block is quite large. So luckily you should be able to design a house where northern light isn't too influenced by the garage out front. With that block size, as OKLouise had suggested, you may be able to come up with an interesting design that incorporates courtyards or even pavilions, to help with cross ventilation. Getting northern light inside your home, while also maintaining privacy. Good luck with the design process, & the build.

My house is also built at the top of a hill, the summit and is cut into a cliff. We bought it, it was built in the 90s and the orientation is entirely wrong. The living areas face west and all bedrooms are in the east. The master is exposed to the western and the northern sunshine. It’s nice in the winter and entirely unbearable in the summer. The same goes for my living room. We take extra long holidays in the summer to avoid being at home. The home had no insulation in ceilings, and raked ceilings. So the first thing we did was remove the roof sheeting install battens to create a cavity and installed R3.5 insulation. We are also upgrading installing new windows to upgrade the glazing on the western windows and looking to put insulation in all the walls It also gets really windy, so windy. So I understand your concerns. When it gets windy the entire house shakes. So the next thing will be to improve the bracing. There is a 3-4metre clearance under our home for storage. We could do a build in under. Even with the positioning of our shed and close proximity to the home it does little to shelter from the wind. We are considered the building an “outdoor room” which would act as an alfresco with skylights, lounge, pool and kitchenette that could act as an outdoor entertainment area when weather permits. I just did a sustainable design for a client nearby. I am so jealous of her amazing home. Her land is smaller then my land and her land cost the same price as my house and land. So I am grateful for what I have.