Siriuskey, the dimensions for the rumpus area 7720 x 4910. I really like how your design improved the flow of the house as soon as you walk through the front door. Paul Di Stefano, I couldn't agree more. Infact when I was first looking into renovations for the house, my number one choice was moving kitchen and dining to the rumpus area and opening up the rest of the house as living space. I actually agree that it would have the biggest impact on the house as a whole. I am definitely considering all options suggested thus far, but there are a few reasons why I might have to stick with a "good enough" design, rather than the best possible design; which is a shame because we have a lot of space to work with. Some main points: 1) bed 2 and 3 are very small. You can't fit a double bed in them without either covering the robe or the window, they are definitely single bed rooms. For this reason, the appeal of adding a fourth bedroom is much greater as the space would be large enough to function as a nice family / media room, while also being able to be utilised as a bedroom that is less functionally limited by its size, should the need arise for either us or a potential future buyer. 2) we are lucky enough to be able to get any kitchen cabinetry done at essentially cost price, with free installation. This makes the cost difference of reshaping and improving the current kitchen versus totally remodeling the house much greater. It seems likely that if we make a great kitchen roughly where it stands, we would be better off from a cost vs benefit perspective than if we were to gut the whole middle section of the house and start again 3) This is our first home and is definitely a "fixer-upper". Except for the rumpus extension, it's all 80's original condition. We will likely stay for quite some time but sooner or later we will be looking to use this as a stepping stone to move closer to the area where we want to stay long term. As it's all original condition, there is lots to potentially spend money on. Bathrooms x 2, laundry, kitchen, carpets and flooring throughout, landscaping. If we redo all of it and get too far in to any really expensive changes, we will likely overcapitalise and not be able to recoup the money when it comes time to sell. In a few other areas in Canberra you would get your money back no problem, but this part of town is not as highly desirable as some of the more central areas; so have to think hard about how much money we would spend and how much money we would be able to sell for down the track. I suppose the main question will be, how much will our house improve simply by adding a better kitchen and another bedroom that comfortably that fits more than a single bed, versus how much will it improve by focusing on the flow and usability of the main living areas of the house. I can't stress enough how annoying our current kitchen is, so I feel like anything that fixes this problem is a win. Photo attached - this was the real-estate agent's photo, so editing probably makes it look bigger than it is. For perspective, the area infront of the microwave is roughly big enough to fit a little over one extra microwave on... that is the entire bench space we have to work with in the entire kitchen unless you prep food on top of the electric cooktop...

My kitchen is primarily 'burnt red' and the red bricks , which are slightly less brown than the burnt red . the ceiling is white , with stainless downlights , the rest is red , charcoal , white , the odd fleck of grey and black . The floor and blind are brown wood . I don't consider it overly decorated . It opens to the dining room , which is also a natural wooden floor , a black glass top table with black legs , black steel framed chairs with red leather seats and backs , an almost black wooden sideboard , a couple of big colourful abstract paintings , and 3 walls are wallpapered in a wheat weave pattern , the 4th is that red brick . There are 2 large wooden venetians too . The lounge is , yep , red leather lounge suite and extra chairs , there's even a red leather footstool that is heart-shaped ! The TV cabinet is custom made and is nearly 4 metres long , all wood with a dark stain . The floor is wheat coloured carpet with a large shaggy red rug , a black glass coffee table , a 65 inch TV and 7 speaker home theatre , a couple of those polished search light spot lights on wooden tripods , and several original paintings ( only 1 is an abstract , the rest are people , although a couple are Picasso-esque ! ) . Not much white , not a great fan . I'll put up some pics in a couple of years when I've tidied hahaha .

Whilst I do some of the things listed, probably at least 10, my number one thing apart from putting everything that can go away put away, it is that everything has to be totally decluttered and perfectly finished off with flowers or a flowering plant so my kitchen might look brand new and unused, I just so love that "staged" look!!

Benchtop oven is one of those round glass ovens with the element in the lid. Cost me all of $35 and it's one of the best appliances I've ever owned. I cook everything in it and the bowl just goes in the dishwasher. Much easier than cleaning an oven. And it costs so little to run, heats quickly, and cooks superbly. Can't build it in though because you insert food through the top, be removing the lid, and then it gets pulled apart to wash the bowl after use. Accurate dimensions are a problem right now because this terrible virus thing has delayed our move into the house until end July. Very frustrating, but can't be helped. And we can't go to the house at the moment either, so I'm just working off plans as best I can. It's not ideal, and everything will have to be checked carefully when we move in, before we start any work. But I want to get going as soon as we move in so I want to have most of my plans almost confirmed. With the latest plan, I don't think I will reuse the existing cabinets after all. The kitchen is in excellent condition. I just hate the design. I think I'll sell the kitchen and start over. The cabinets seemed to work for my original plan - even had those lovely corner drawers! But I like your idea much better, Siriuskey, and the existing cabinets just don't work with that layout. I think it would be cheaper to sell the kitchen and start over. Maybe keep the oven tower with oven and m./wave in it, as they are in excellent order. Also keep the dishwasher, which probably doesn't even have to move at all.