Haephestus raises nearly every issue I would have commented on plus more. My immediate thoughts start in the kitchen as the number one spot. The deisgn here is OK but I feel the hotplate as the only break on a 5.5 metre long wall is going to look lost. You have the opportunity of putting the sink on the back wall as well as the h/plate, creating a clear island bench - perfect for food prep and breakfast bar/entertaining space. I personally would increase the width of the pantry at the expense of losing 300-400mm off the length of the kitchen. In other areas, your main powder room should not be the same space as your guest bathroom. You have enough room to make a wc and powder vanity area that is separate from the Guest bed ensuite. I equally question the shared bathroom upstairs. Two way bathrooms can be more hassle than helpful. If you are going to have a shared bathroom, you need the toilet to be outside of that room or you need an extra upstairs WC and powder vanity. Bed 4 ensuite is missing a toilet but will be difficult to fit in and still access the shower. The extra door between the WIR and the ensuite doesn't make sense to me and you should lose it. Also, beware of where some of you windows have been placed. Unless you have 3 metre plus ceiling heights in the upper storey, the window over the ensuite 1 vanity and the window in the bed 1 WIR will be problems for you. Good luck and maybe look for a dedicated cabinet designer to help show you the issues with your house design. We offer an interstate service over Skype if you want professional help. Tony

I will start with an admission - I have read nothing of the comments. However I have helped a friend design a compact laundry. Here was how we did it. 1. Start with a list of everything - and I mean everything, include pegs, those little lint ball things for the washing machine, buckets, mops, vacuum, airers etc - that you want to store in the space. 2. Break that list into where you want to store it - drawers, wall, or cupboard - and then rewrite the list as cupboard, drawers, wall etc.As you are doing this, see if you can store those items elsewhere - we added a ceiling airer in the bathroom using pulleys. Also mark any item that a special storage gadget might help. We added to the back of one door (I think they were custom made 925mm and 2300mm high) a hanger for the vacuum hose, and in the cupboard a hanger that slides out for the brooms and mop. 3. Go measure the space you have, and be exact - if the measurement is 1457mm it is 1457mm. Also, see where you might "borrow" space from. We managed to add another 650mm deep, 750mm wide cupboard by swapping the two bedrooms around, and using space in the guest bedroom wardrobe. 4. Draw up a plan, and be really specific. If you think you need four drawers and a top mounted sink then plan that way. Whilst you are planning think over whether you want top spec and not hide it, or to hide it behind really nice doors. We used reasonable quality from Bunnings and modified because it was behind doors. Also, don't be afraid to "borrow" something from a different zone. In my laundry I used a round kitchen sink, because I didn't want a really deep laundry tub so I could use the room underneath. 5. Go and find a really good quality cupboard manufacturer or builder and ask them to look over your plan and ideas. They may tweak to assist, but remember you know your space and what you will be using it for better than anyone. In my friends case, she had a brother who assisted and made a super looking set of doors. As to resale value, that depends on who you want to buy it, but I have one piece of advice - don't go for the resale value, do it because that is what you want. In my friends case she turned her laundry into the bathroom, and then turned the oversized bathroom into a very natty study. Good Luck.

depending on which plan you refer to the kitchenette isn't for full meal cooking and the landing is wider than a hallway and/or you could omit the sink and get water out of one of one of the bathroom sinks and/or try the bar along the master bedroom wall ...both original upstairs bathrooms were much too small and the new bathrooms are still modest sizes and a free standing back to wall narrow bath is just possible in ens but not in family bathroom and a built in bath is bigger and easier to clean for the available space in teh family bathroom and includes a ledge for bath toys... mono stringer stairs should be OK in either plan as i've not included any storage under the stairs and assume that unless you are super neat that that space will become a dumping ground for lots of odd things.... a toilet space needs to be at least 1500 long so should be ok to have the bigger shower with space in between shower and bath ..there's enough space for a storage cabinet off the hall but don't forget that there's 2m of linen storage under the sinks in the family bathroom (1.5m in the ens and 1.2m in the downstairs ens) as in-wall mirror doored wall cabinets are better to keep toiletries up away from small kids and a private study should be away from common areas as the study nooks shown are more for casual adult use and kids play ... the study nook upstairs could be closed off but an open stairwell defeats the hope for privacy with all noise audible through the whole house without more solid doors and sound insulation between rooms but fine details can only be confirmed once you clarify which stairwell suits you best as everything is fixed by the location of the stairs and decision about extra powder room but a wider garage makes getting in and out of a car with kids, prams and groceries so much easier and well worth careful consideration..nb the garages in display homes never include cars or any of the usual things we need to store and rereading your post i would have a wall hung "picture" TV behind one of the couches in the family room

Looks like the family room is fit for that purpose. And with a tennis court and pool on that end of the home, then I would say it would be used, and the outdoor undercover area is also near that family room. An installation of a kitchenette will save having to go back and forth from the kitchen when entertaining. This home has so much potential for a cosmetic/aesthetic renovation. Keeping the rooms as they currently are.