Nice exciting site! I prefer plan 2. Has more character and that corner stairwell is going to be amazing

https://undercoverarchitect.com some wonderful ideas and podcasts for planning a new build or renovations. Amazing resources.

Hi there, No I would ensure the living rooms are on the long side to the north for solar passive design, ensure that is the outdoor living area. If the house on the north overshadows the garden or is up a slope at all then more on to a better easier site! Passive solar design will save you money on heating and cooling and make the home very comfortable living. Cheers Margot

Still not sure what a butler's pantry is for. If it's storage, then it's a walk in pantry. I wouldn't mind combining with a laundry, if it included water and storage - similar to the scullery/pantries that large properties had where I grew up - great place to sort produce and make jams, and store them. As modern laundries have machines they fit well with the old scullery concept.

Hi Jennifer,

My understanding is: a butlers pantry is for storage and prep of food, also clean up. Yes the other kitchen is just for show!! No: that is how it can appear.

I guess a butlers pantry is for food store and maybe a bench for appliances. Personally I do not have a pantry, I keep some tins and packets in cupboards but most of our food is fresh in the fridge. I have an appliance cupboard with bench continuing around into it so I can open doors whip up a cake and close doors again. I also have a dedicated tea coffee toast place that does not interfere with the main prep areas, or the appliance cupboard of the kitchen. It works very well for me and my style of cooking. Each to their own! Cheers, Margot

Thanks _ I just grew up knowing actual butlers' pantries, which were the drink pantry for big houses and not used for the other pantry things, which tended to be split between walk in pantries and kitchens. I just keep looking at what people call a butler's pantry and it usually isn't anything of the sort - it's just a walk in pantry.

Yes, a pantry is where we store food stuffs. I will never have a pantry with a sink etc in it. Don't want to be closed of from friends and family when preparing my meals. And if your friends don't like it, then they are not friends, their guests. And also, I will never have a butler!!

Thanks everyone for your feedbacks. I have received the new plan appriciate your thoughts.

so much better for the pool, what about upstairs?

Is there a pool room that will service the needs of the swimmers?

upstairs

Sorry Nurali but does that mean anyone that needs to use the powder room has to go upstairs. Being in QLD you should have an outdoor shower for swimmers and close access to a WC and somewhere to drop wet swimmers and towels.

We have a bathroom on ground level next to bed 4.

That might have worked before Bed 4 was moved (even then it was too far) but it's even worse. You need have a dedicated shower and WC for the pool area

I'm just not liking the guest bedroom situation on the ground floor.
I do not know how you do the washing, but I sort the washing into light, dark, colours, towels etc. piles on the floor. So in your configuration with guest bedroom and not having a laundry room, The piles of washing would be over the floor as your guest steps out of their bedroom.
The guest bedroom also has windows on west side. This will get hot.
I would reconfigure the entire area, to get the guest away from the laundry area. A separate laundry, a separate toilet, and separate bathroom.
Unless, I just thought, is this the room for a house keeper.

Also there are no separate toilets in the whole home. Why????.

Oh and I agree with Siriusky, people using the pool, will be running through the house to the toilet or a room to get changed.
This bathroom/toilet should be accessible from outside.
You are in Queensland so the pool and outdoor area, will be used often. So make it comfortable for you and your guests.

Upstairs who will use the desk right in the entry to b2? Y does b2 have more space and wir than b3. Asking for trouble.
Downstairs how can u get to laundry chute behind bifold. Where does dirty washing get sorted. Clean washing would get sorted on guest bed or upstairs I guess.
Guest bed for au pair?

Lower level needs re-working IMO. Would be heaps better to flip it completely and for the kitchen to be located where the living room currently is. So not ideal having pantry in prime position for natural light. Stair should also be repositioned to where the passage is next to the garage. Main Living/ dining space then can be located on the north side with the prime light/access/outlook to the pool. I'd also consider consolidating the formal sitting (is it really needed?) and relocating the guest room to that front/northern position, then align/splay the building to the bottom boundary and you'd have heaps of space for kitchen/pantry/laundry/powder room set-up.

Also looks like you have some reasonable level difference between natural ground (pool) and the alfresco, which could get you into trouble with overlooking neighbours, so need to consider how the levels are all working and potentially need to drop the main living/alfresco level further.

The issue is that there is too much wasted circulation space upstairs compared with a compromised & awkward main living zone downstairs, which overall screams unbalanced.

my suggestions aim to reduce the overall size but the best i could manage is around 330sqm including about 32sq for the voids but there's is a separate powder and change rooms for the pool, neat location for the bins, separate laundry with the shute and mudroom, guest room with public access bathroom ... upstairs has two equal sized childrens' rooms with a compartmented bathroom and the study has views across the voids to north and south while the master suite has his and her wiws and a separate small study... the overall length of the master suite has been reduced for greater distance from the rear boundary and less overlooking of the neighbours and the alfresco is only partially roofed for more light inside but the deck could have optional seasonal sunscreening

Oklouise you have posted the downstairs twice, no upstairs plan.
I'm really liking your design. Much more a workable fun home for all users.

thanks dreamer, glad someones' paying attention! upstairs now included

Sorry OK such a lot of work to be overlooked, I guess it's friday . I plan on having a coffee in the morning to check out all your hard work, Hours of it.

oklouise brlliant. I liked your design. Thanks a lot.

you're very welcome but critical point will be the angle of the kitchen and master bedroom suite and the length of the stairwell ... i can't see all the dimensions on your original plans to be more confident and your designer will be more accurate but what do you plan for the outside? .feels like it could have several different styles but the alfresco roof could look just like this but

Garrell Street - COS Design · More Info

local climate and orientation will make decisions about windows very important eg i've omitting all western windows and also added a porch over the laundry door to screen late afternoon sun and for added privacy and the upstairs family bathroom has windows on the north and south although a narrow louvre windows for bed 2 and 3 might improve cross ventilation but once you finalise the basic floorplan you can refine those details and windows should be planned to suit the site

Hi Everyone, as we have many restrictions due to manholes in our land we have come up with a new design to avoid build over sewer etc. plus land is sloppy from front to back around 2 meters. Would love to know your thoughts. Design attached for your comments. p.s. laundry and butler's pantry layout is yet to be reviewed.

Do you have a budget in mind for this?

Awesome

Great new layout. My only suggestion is if you can optimize bed4 and can sacrifice 1m off it to give to the lounge, it will be much better

Lounge is 5 m deep already . don’t make b4 smaller

Agree Kate. Making B4 smaller not possible. Can't go any smaller.

It’s looking great Nurali, I think you’re nearly there. I agree with you on the laundry, for me a proper laundry is a high priority.
I wondered if you’ve thought about separating off any of your living spaces? As drawn you will have all three living spaces open to each other through the voids etc which means you can’t separate off to contain noise (will kids live here?) and you’ll have to cool (or potentially heat) the whole house for one person. It will be a beautiful house, no doubt.

I would make your downstairs bathroom accessible externally to service the pool

hi Jacqueline, we are looking at tweaking the layout to allow access externally.

Where I grew up, the neighbours had a great pool out the front. It was very private, due to landscaping & the slope of the land.

If this could be the case for you I'd recommend investigating this, as you could then more easily design your home to be passive solar, with living areas facing north, & connecting to the pool.

With such a tight site this may not be possible. But I thought I'd just throw it out there, as something different, that may work in some cases.

After seeing the position of the Fridge and not likeing that, I have played with the following ideas for your ground floor, dimensions are incorrect as you will notice, it was very hard to read all correct ones so gave up on that,

A cloak room for those arriving home with urgent needs, also to service the formal lounge or guests, and the study

The Living/family/dining / kitchen/pantry/laundry as one long rectangle, I would prefer this reversed starting by swapping this whole space with the kitchen on East with large windows allowing the morning sun into the kitchen family, finishing with the living on the West with Vergola Pergola to protect from the Western sun in summer.

The guest room bathroom to service both ithe guest room and the pool, or the other option suggested with outdoor shower and WC.

The Guest room is in a lovely position, with big windows to the south., I had considered stepping the guest room down from the living making it split level.

Anyway just a few ideas You might consider

Siriusky, I like this, and since the guest bathroom is so close to the pool, the need for the extra toilet on your plan near laundry may not be required. However, the plan may not be feasible due to the sewer line and inspection holes, just where the pool is.

Thanks dreamer, yes the sewer needs to be worked around I'am hoping that can be done and the shape of the pool can be governed by that, the pool can be moved up to the house removing the deck and replacing that with juliet style window/doors so that the sliding doors can open with security still in place for the pool. I'am hoping to do a reverse floor plan today. This curent floorplan gives two options for WCs to pick from for pool users, it's either or either not both

Sewer line and manholes are making the design very restrictive.

Hi Nurali, I did try to keep the plan within the foot print of your original plan except for the pool which is difficult to be able to view from the ground floor, I will try to do a reversal this afternoon

The sewer constraint is what it is, as is too the unorthodox shape of the block. There are always limitations that you have to work within and around. The better designs negotiate these things without forcing it and making the limits obvious. Siri's concept, although not perfect, is heading in the right direction by anchoring the alignment to one side with only subtle angles on the north. Something along these lines is the way to go in these situations.

How are you actually going about this project? Do you have a draftsperson or building designer trying to help you? Or are you designing this yourself and getting it drawn up? It will cost you a lot of money here, whichever way you design it, but there will be a dramatic difference in outcome depending upon the quality and competency of the planning. I'd be suggesting squaring it up like Siri's done, (simpler/more costs effective as well) and if you must have a bedroom on the ground then position it where the sitting room is, and reconsider the necessity of the sitting room on that lower level. You can then just let the interesting angles of the boundary and sewer setback naturally dictate the peripheral external spaces, landscaping, deck configuration and pool position. There's a much more balanced and elegant solution to this than what's currently on paper

Architect is working on the design to keep the cost down and ? possiblity of river view from the dining area and bridge/living on second level.

Hi Nuralli, who will use the guest bedroom, is it for visiting family or a Nanny etc, that room could possibly be added upstairs if not the parents /retreat living,

Being in a warm climate with possible river views I would think that the open plan breezeway rooms would be a better place to meet with guests, you could even possibly close of the living space with full height sliding door panels?

Guest room is for parents to stay when they visit so it is ideal on lower level.

You mentioned that there are possible river views from the upstairs bridge, wouldn't it be best to take advantage of that view by using that space as living and forego some or all of the open space

Something like this, the walk way and part of the open area become the gallery/living, with you still maintaining a double hight void above the kitchen dining living room windows, the new gallery could have those river views.

Thanks everyone for your feedbacks. Based on site restrictions we are close to finalising the attached design. Love to know your opinions and suggestions.

again you mentioned a river view from upstairs, if so work around that. Your Gallery living is still at the front of the house and not taking in the view, this should be on the other side of the stairs using some of the that giant wasted space of the void. You would still have a full height void of the kitchen dining etc. The Upstairs bathroom has not been completed and there's still no accommodation for a Pool WC.

should have explained more clearly, the guest bedroom would have a solid wall between it and the stairs while the other side of the stairs would be open with your choice of balastrade so that it lights up the staircase and opens up to the gallery at the top of the stairs looking across to the river view. Whatever floorplan you choose work with the River View

Not a fan of that large void as a friend said , "it would be like living in a shopping Mall"

Sorry to say but I'd suggest it's worse in some aspects. The doglegged entry flow (still) from front/street is not ideal and entry position blocks prime light into the sitting. Generally the planning still could be more streamlined. It's not ideal having the main access flow from the stair through the upper level living space. A more centralised stair would be far better, for both levels, now it involves moving into the secondary formal sitting space to access upstairs. I'm actually working on a project at the moment where the previous architect did exactly this rendering the front sitting space pretty much useless (slap forehead), and so now the new owner clients are faced with having to unpick/pull it apart to get the stair properly configured and positioned so the associated spaces flow and function properly. Imagine here wanting to move from the pool to your master bedroom - you'd have to move through essentially the whole house - it's not efficient movement configuration.

You have in some areas of the design arguably oversized and undersized areas/spaces for the function, which means the balance is not right in the planning. For example there's an abundance of voids upstairs and massive swing room in the master bedroom, but then downstairs the laundry is tiny and there's unusable flow space between the dining and the living space.

You still have issues with overlooking from the alfresco, which would mean screening on the north.

Site restrictions are not an excuse for obviously compromised planning, rather they need to be negotiated cleverly so they're not obvious or noticeable and the design is not forced.

You will regret 2 things
One the stair entering from formal lounge, move it back to centre of house.
Two - lack of doors on tv /living rooms. Sound travels and with your void you will have lots of competing noise and no ability to close off living spaces for quiet. I know open plan is the in thing, but really only for one living space not multiple.