First I think you need to look at why front room is not used. Is it aspect, noise, lack of TV? Will that area be used if it was open plan? My idea would be to move dining to family room, and use front room as sitting/TV room.

Just consider your future household needs and noise in the future. Toddlers and teenagers are excellent arguments against a single open plan living space with their mess and noise. Removing the wall between the entry and kitchen will give your house a contemporary apartment vibe where your kitchen mess will be on full view of anybody coming to the front door.

If you always have a super-tidy kitchen and are just a couple with no kids then go for it, but you may reduce your potential market when it comes to resale.

Best of luck,

Dr Retro

of Dr Retro House Calls

What stage of life are you? Kids?
I would keep one living space as a separate room for noise control. Perhaps make the living a bit smaller by moving the wall towards front of house a metre.

Keep the front room as MFR, swap Kitchen with meals

thank you all for your suggestions...

meme - the front room currently doesn't get used for a few reasons a) it's only me in the house b)family room gets more sun and natural light c) family room looks out to the garden/courtyard which is a nicer view than the lounge which looks down the drive way (i'm back section of a duplex). I have contemplated the idea of moving dining room to family and using lounge as tv room but as it's just currently me it's nice to have the sun flowing in the family room whilst sitting on the couch and reading a book/watching tv (both rooms are deceptively small - i think wide angle camera used in the promo photos)

oklouise - again I think the photo makes the rooms appear larger than they are - I have attached some more photos of the family room for you. I have considered moving the door way to the hall as it is in an awkward position for furniture layout (although I'm not sure the room would accommodate the furniture as you have placed it). Another thing that I should mention is that I'm planning to add a door way to the garage from the kitchen, as I currently walk to the sliding doors to gain entrance to the house. The door will be in the position you have the fridge or even next to it in the far corner - which would still work in your plan.

Dr Retro House Calls - I think for me I do like the open plan living (no children yet.) I'm not sure the house would be big enough for a family with teenagers (the 3rd room is very small.) In terms of keeping kitchen tidy - no i'm a very messy cook but it's quickly cleaned up by putting most things in the dishwasher/sink (also I would hope my friends and family wouldn't judge me on the state of my kitchen - and if they did I wouldn't be bothered by it :)) I guess if it was for me then I would go ahead and open plan everything to let as much light in as possible, but also I do need to be aware of resale at some stage (but people are either going to like it or not no matter what you do)

Kate - I hadn't thought of that idea - I guess making it smaller would turn it into a min theatre room or reading room?

Siriuskey - Interesting suggestion - I'm not sure how the placement of furniture would work in the family room, but I think I need to get past my fear of placing furniture in the middle of a room.

I guess ultimately it's your choice. Only you know how you live, and your budget for the work. knocking out a wall would mean replacing all floor coverings, etc.

thanks yes i was planning to redo the floors to floorboards anyway - and further down the line turn the laundry into a laundry / second bathroom combo

direct access from the garage will be so convenient and much safer with remote control garage doors for extra security and i've added the original family room furniture and some options for the laundry bathroom and, if you're planning to add timber floors, your plain kitchen cabinets could be recycled with some rearranging a few extra modules. new counters and handles to save the cost of a whole new kitchen

thank you oklouise - that is exactly what i had in mind for the 2 bathroom renos. i will measure up to see the furniture layout for the family room, although after speaking to an engineer, he believes (just by looking at the plans) that the wall i want to knock down is going to be load bearing. i think if that is the case it will be worth some consideration if i want to go down the path and spend more money by getting the wall engineered.

even without knocking down any walls the improvements to the kitchen and internal access to the garage would be well worth doing and maybe widening the doorway between family and living would be enough to increase the connection between the two spaces...ask the engineer about widening the doorway from the current approximate 800mm to about 1500mm (keeping the same height.. with or without closeable doors)

this arrangement could give you the best of separation and openess and be a lot less costly than removing the whole wall and allows space for an extendable table for feeding a crowd, a daytime sitting area in the sunny spot and a night time TV room?