How much is too much? Renovating is always a lot more than people anticipate. Split-level homes like yours are always challenging to deal with as the third dimension of height becomes really important. Most amateur renovators only think in two-dimensional plan. Your first step is to decide on a budget, and I can say that to do what you have described well, will be into the six-figures.

Once you have a budget range established speak to some design professionals who can visit your home and get a better understanding of how the split-levels relate to each other, and what walls are structural. If you can keep structural walls in place then it will be a more cost-effective renovation. If your budget is tight it may be a case of working out what is the most important aspect of your brief. There is no point in getting ideas and sketch concept plans completed until you know how much is too much when it comes to your budget.

Best of luck,

Dr Retro

of Dr Retro House Calls

Thank you for your feedback.

can't quit read the dimensions can enlarge the print or list the size of the rooms including the garage, which inside steps do you use most and is there inside access to the garage, what is the distance from the house to all four boundaries, where is north on the plans and do you mean extend the house or rearrange existing rooms?

Oklouise hopefully it's clearer now. No inside access to house. We access the house from the stairs through where the pergola used to be to the family area. Front entrance is north facing.
We need an extra room. I was hoping to also to get an open plan from kitchen to family area and have the family area expand to pergola. Hope i am clear enough.
thank you.

thank you so much Oklouise!

Hi Meela, are you able to post another photo of the rear of the house without the pergola

seriuskey, here you go.

siriuskey another 2

Thanks so much that's great

another idea could be to retain the existing laundry and guest bathroom and change the entry and kitchen, use the old dining area as the new bedroom and the master suite can be a long term extra and a new roof over the alfresco could be sloped to follow the roof shape of the house with a wall on the western side to shelter the stairs from weather

thanks heaps. i have just included pics from inside so you get a pic of the layout.
pic 1. kitchen and wip with stairs going up to dining.
pic 2. kitchen to dining
puic 3 dining with windows overlooking pergola
pic 4. view from entrance with stairs to living.

pic 1. hallway
pic 2 . dining overlooking pergola

kitchen to family

your pictures confirm my suggestions and changing the stairs would give you an opportunity to modernise the stair railing but moving the stairs will need to be carefully managed to avoid losing too much headroom in the garage ...the challenge is always to find the most cost effective option as surprisingly the addition of the new master suite may be comparable in price to rearranging inside so useful to get some quotes for comparison

I have just completed a floor plan before seeing your additional photos, it looks like a lovely house.

My suggestions are to move the kitchen family alfresco upstairs keeping all bedrooms and laundry downstairs.

Internal access from the garage into a mudroom laundry before either continuing up to the kitchen family or into bedrooms

The kitchen family opens up to a new alfresco on the same level. the new alfresco leaves a space for a narrow courtyard between it and the new master suite which was the family room, this courtyard will also give access from the laundry to the rear yard and clothes line

You will have 3 toilets, one being a powder room to accommodate any short or long tern visitors.

The front bedroom 2 now becomes a Multi function room MFR guest bedroom.

The only extension in this floor plan will be the new alfresco

thank you Siriuskey.
it is a beautiful house just needs updating and extension.
We are trying to limit breaking much of the structure. it is hard to get double brick homes these days. we love the insulation it provides. thank you so much for your time.

thank you oklouise.

I think that the arched wall between new kitchen and living family would be gyprock, no bricks involved but you would still have to check with your builder if you were to open it up just in case it's load bearing, other walls involved are minor. With this new plan you are opening the door to visitors and then up the short stairs to the open plan living instead of down through the house

Hi Meela, are the floors a concrete slab?

dreamer yes they are.

siriuskey we also prefer to kitchen open plan on ground level in the event of injuries (kids hubby or me) or the fact that we have aging parents who visit. i practically live in my kitchen when not at work. when we entertain, our guests enters from our side gate.

Hi Meela, you have a very interesting,wonderful home. Since all floors are concrete, then I would be leaving all plumbing where it is. This would also suggest that all internal walls are brick.
I would look into getting a new addition to the home with a ensuite and bedroom. Then just updating kitchen, laundry, bathrooms with new cabinetry and appliances. As per oklouise suggestion, the new bedroom could be positioned at the rear, near existing laundry. This would then mean that internal walls would not be demolished, therefore not impacting on the integrity of the structure. This would then free up a bedroom for guests. You could remove the nib wall near sink, and put a wide bench top. This would give an open plan feeling without much expense. You already have a great access to your alfresco area, so I suggest you look at improving the function of doors to that area. Maybe replace the windows with big sliding doors, but keeping with the aesthetics of the building. You do have a great home.

Hi Meela, some photos of my thoughts for your kitchen bench into family room.

thanks dreamer. yes, all internal walls are brick. Thank you for your suggestion.

I would also look under carpet on the stairs. I would see if they are concrete as well. If they are, then that would be another reason to extend a bedroom, and not change existing home, apart from cosmetic updates.

dreamer...most definitely concrete. the previous owners built this house in 1975. concrete all the way!

I'm in Western Australia. Most of of our homes are double brick with concrete slabs, good solid homes. But not easy when it comes to renovating. I always think how easy the houses on the east coast are to renovate, when you take out the wooden studs and gyprock. Or take up the floors, or go under the house for the new plumbing. A different scenario with concrete. All the best.

i would choose solid brick over those anytime.
thanks dreamer.

I also have a a late 70's Architect designed house on the east coast,on a concrete slab with cavity brick external walls plus a couple of exposed single brick internal walls the rest are timber framed and gyproked.

We have made a few changes and found it all very straight forward, even removing a wall between the kitchen and the passage way in an already open plan house

Consideration was given to any of my suggested changes, ie garage underneath always allows for easy access to make changes to any plumbing and using Existing Laundry for ensuite plumbing

I also think that some of your internal walls in particular the arched walls aren't constructed with brick. An internal stairway from the garage is important and shouldn't be too difficult to achieve.

We just put forward different ideas for you to look over and if not everything take away some of the suggested ideas, It's your house at the end of the day and I might add your budget, cheers

we will be considering all suggestions for sure. can't thank you all enough.

The following photos shows our open plan house with the old blue kitchen which we removed,along with the Brick Oven and wall on the right, the new white kitchen is now open to the internal courtyard and the family living etc.

beautiful home!

I would like to see the master suite kept at the front of the house along with the living room/parents retreat, using the bedroom next to the master for an ensuite and robe, plumbing for this can be sourced from the current bathroom next to it

. Keeping the family bathroom and laundry insitu will save the cost of moving any plumbing for these rooms.

The family room and kitchen is now across the rear of the house with access to a new vergola pergola Alfresco,

A window next to the dining table will allow morning sun into this area and the kitchen

The wall between the old kitchen and dining room to be filled in to allow for a bedroom off the living room and the old kitchen becomes the 4th bedroom/Media room, which can have one door opening from the front entrance vestible and or bi fold/pocket doors connecting it to the family room for when extra room is needed for family gatherings.

I have shown the passage/gallery wider to make the house feel more open and welcoming when entering the home via the front door

that was our inital plan for the master bedroom and open plan but this idea was the most expensive so we abandoned it sadly.

As Dr Retro said it comes (as always) down to budget. You need to define this, at least as a ballpark, as part of the "scenario" before being able to properly consider/weigh up design decisions one way or another. If you're talking under $100K, then its really just cosmetic upgrades only within existing structure. If you're looking at invasive reconfiguring and extending, think $200K/$300K+ and then you can look at expanding and extensive renovation opportunities. Think about FUNCTION & ZONING in regards to your needs.......an extra bedroom in this scenario would involve either a fair amount of expense, or conceding/reducing one of the existing main areas. It's an interesting house, and worth exploring it's opportunity (depending of course upon it's location/value). Possibly the answer is extending into the existing pergola for a main living/kitchen dining on the outdoor level with opening glazing (sliding/folding) that enables an "outdoor" like dining experience that can kind of double as an alfresco function. The upper level current living could become a master suite if you get the mid level Alfresco areas are expensive and all this ultimately depends upon the overall priority ranking of your needs. The way to best deal with this scenario is thrashing out a bunch of zoning options with the understanding of cost impacts one way or the other, and to do this you'll realistically require professional design assistance of and architect or a designer who understands renovations and the connection between design decisions & budget balancing.

Best of luck

PD :)

www.pauldistefanodesign.com

Have to agree Paul, what we might want and what we can afford will drive what is able to be achieved. It is an interesting house with the split level making it more difficult. One thought I did consider was to extend the split level floor to add another bedroom. Without knowing the budget it appears that working within the existing structure will be the best and most affordable choice. It certainly needs a local Professional to carry out an onsite inspection which will take the guess work out of what would be the best way forward. We have made suggestions for changes which may help during this interview.

Hi Meela, your home is special. It represents an example of a split level home from a era that will never return. (Like platform shoes and high waisted flared trousers) I would encourage you to keep the layout and do cosmetic changes, as funds become available. An extension at the rear of property for a new bedroom, is also achievable, if funds are available. This is in close proximity to a bathroom, so therefore an ensuite room, may not be necessary. As Paul Di Stefano wisely has said "If you're looking at invasive reconfiguring and extending, think $200K/$300K+ ....". But it would be a shame to change what the layout is already. Adding also the fact that all walls are brick, a concrete slab and stairs. So changes, if possible, would be extremely expensive, as Paul has noted. Some people may dislike flared trousers and platform shoes, but they were part of history, embraced, and worn with pride. Anyway, that is my suggestion. Thank you.

thank you each and every one of you for your valuable ideas. budget is definitely an issue. most likely we will update the house, kitchen minor renovation and a new master bedroom at the rear.
dreamer i was born in the late 70s. i do wear flare pants like in pic. haha

Hi Meela,

I think the best idea is to have a plan to work with going forward,updates first with any planned extension done when ever funds become available,in the meantime you have a lovely solid home for you and your family to live in, enjoy

Hi Meela, I was in my teens when your home was built, so I definitely was the high waist flared pant wearer. There is a house down the road from us that is for sale. This was built in 1973. And luckily it is still mostly original. Double brick and concrete through out. It show the arches and special features, which hopefully the new owner will embrace. All the best with your home.

I have just had another play with your floor plan using existing spaces, as Paul St suggested you could use the living room for the master bedroom suite and closing off the current dining as the 4th bedroom/study/parents retreat with it's own access still using the existing stairs the access to this could have coat hooks on one wall.

The kitchen and this bedroom have an opening in the wall and will handle any possible load bearing situations. A dining room in the 3rd bedroom. The kitchen has a long Island bench facing into the family room and by bumping this wall out inline with the current kitchen dining it would give you a better family space, and lets face it that's how families live these days

This could be more cost effective than having to add another bedroom and bathroom and not having to walk through the kitchen when entering the house via the front door would be

a far better situation

Great suggestion Siriusky. Just a couple of comments. I would keep the laundry and the bathroom with the original set up. It would be too problematic to change plumbing wastes/water supply with a concrete slab. Especially moving the laundry to an inside wall. I would also keep the kitchen sink in the same area for the same reason. The original door to pantry/new WIL I would not change. Avoids having to knock down and rebuild those walls. The negative is that rear bathroom could not be accessed without having to walk past kitchen, dining and living areas. Otherwise, I can see your design being a great improvement for the family.

Also noting that to extend the family room maybe cost prohibitive. (Complete roof change) But even without that extension, I think the rest of Siriusky design would work.