This is my suggestion. Double vanity in the same position. Toilet in the same position, but moved 90 degrees. Either built in bath or freestanding. I have allocated 2000mm for a bath, but this could be reduced to enlarge the toilet space if you have a built in bath. Then a walk in shower. This could be a generous shower recess, 2100 x 1000 taking up the width of bathroom, which by plans is 2100 not including vanity. Then WIR where study was previously.

Small detail: use the opportunity to put a solar tube in your WIR (or a window if it’s on an outside wall, though that’s more expensive anyway). Sooooooo much easier to get dressed in a light-filled cupboard than a dark poky one

Thanks dreamer I can definitely visualise something now. oklouise I have draft plans drawn up for the kitchen but is it ok to post with copyright? Also attached is my mark ups and ideas (not to scale) so you can see what we are planning and how we intend to phase the renovations. We are currently looking fro a draughtsman/architect etc to bring it all together (any recommendations?) I did forget to mention that we are on 10 acres just outside of Canberra. We also have a fully self contained one bedroom unit.

Phase 1: Add solar panels (complete)

Phase 2: Bar/Rumpus room

- Add a bar and wine cellar to rumpus room by using part of the garage.

- The garage is huge and we will have enough space after the conversion to still fit 2 cars easily. Plus we have a huge barn shed on the property as well for storage.

Phase 3: Kitchen Renovation

- Expand kitchen to include large walk in pantry/butlers and island bench - more of a farmhouse/country kitchen.

- Expansion will take some space from the living/dining area

- Currently the noise from the kitchen to the master bedroom is not great.

- I love to cook and need plenty of storage space for the preserving of fruits and vegetables etc we produce

Phase 4: Sitting room/office, master bedroom ensuite and walk in robe.

- as per original post

- the living/dining area will become a sitting room/home office. I intend to put in some built in cabinetry and some seating. There will be no media in this room as we have the rumpus and family room for that. This gets incredible north sun so is beautiful to sit in winter and read. This will also provide some privacy to the master bedroom.

- bedroom 2 is currently used as an office

- ensuite window size - will have to get back to you.

I anticipate the above will be done over 2 years. Then after that we will eventually update the laundry and main bathroom.

Regards

Sally

swizzles95 great idea regarding solar tube - thanks !

Hi Sallyd, sounds like a wonderful part of Australia. All the best with your plans.

oklouise

If I am reading the plans correctly the window sizes are (h x w):

Ensuite - 1.0x 1.2

Kitchen 1.0 x 2.1

Living/Study/Dining - 1.8 x 1.8

thanks Sally, that's exactly what i wanted as the extra information helps us understand the house better... i'm most interested in the location of walls and doors and how you would furnish to make the most comfortable way to move through the rooms than the fine details of new kitchen cabinets so no need to infringe any copywright but do you find that the existing kitchen can be dark during long cold winters? how many and what are the ages of those who will live in the house and/or stay overnight?. which door is used as the front entry and is there an existing or proposed outdoor entertaining area? and what are the floors walls and roof built out of?

Oklouise

I included the full plan on my post with window sizes, so you can see the doors. I don't find the kitchen too dark currently even though it has dark cabinetry, the window is lovely and wide and lets lot of sunlight in. I do intend to go with lighter cabinet cupboards as I am not a fan of dark tones in the kitchen.

I am not sure how I would furnish the revised living - all I know is I would prefer to have some build in office cabinetry and maybe a couple of single chairs or 1 sofa. But yes I can see how it may present a problem with flow into the master bedroom. I had not really considered that before.

Off the meals and rumpus there is a detached covered alfresco area with built in BBQ etc. There is no pergola or covered patio off the meals and rumpus which is good as it lets the natural light in. So once the rumpus room is done it will be a great entertaining space both indoor and outdoor.

So currently it is just my husband and I in the home. My 22 year old daughter is in the self contained unit. We do have interstate visitors and when family visit it is usually a pretty big affair. What attracted us to this home was the floor plan and that we could mostly live in one half (master, family and kitchen) and then open or close off the 2nd half. Oh and all those north facing windows.

The front door is used as the main entry.

sounds idyllic and similar to our old home and family and i'm thinking about a few ideas to share

Sorry meant to add that it is single storey - concrete slab. Roof is colour bond.

using dreamers original suggestion, an alternate access to the master bedroom and including furniture shows one way that the new master suite could function

* the separate toilet has only a screen wall as a properly fitted door or wall would not be able to connect through the window regardless of the direction the toilet was facing and, ignoring budget, i'm wondering if there could be alternative uses for all that space and country outlook

oklousie that is amazing! thank you so much. I love both options but probably would go with the 1st as I do like the size of the bedroom. At one stage I did consider using the verandah space to create a larger ensuite but thought that would be quite costly.

Wow OkLouise, you are always so clever!!

by rearranging the shower, adding a solid screen wall and keeping the original toilet location there could be an out of sight location for the toilet and more cost effective renovation with space for a double shower and bigger bath..the original study becomes a wiw and there's direct access between ens and wiw without walking through the bedroom... two doors between bedroom and bathroom or sitting area should make the bedroom quieter and more private and there's minimal changes for the new ens walls and the spacious bedroom stays the same with an optional dressing table with storage drawers and/or biw....there would be no problem with windows, plumbing and structural alteration should be quite straightforward and relatively economical and you might like to have glass or no doors for the wiw and ens to retain the northern light and views through the wiw from the ens

oklouise - I think I like option 3 the best. What i like about this is how you can close off the ensuite and walk in robe to the master. So if someone is still sleeping in the morning it will minimise disturbance. So clever !

I can easily visualise kitchens etc, but for the life of me I could not visualise this and would have never in a million years thought about those options.

Another opt

This is how I see your house working, in the master maintaining the vanity and WC in the same positions and extending the current shower to approx 1 x 2m.

2 possible bath positions 1 in the bedroom next to the window the second on the current verandah this would use the vanity plumbing., the verandah could have windows installed, depending on the style of house, but on 10 acres maybe not!! but this would restrict bathing outdoors until ACT warmer months.

The kitchen would be so much better if the wall between it and the proposed office/ parents room was moved across to allow for a larger pantry and 900 x 3000 island with stools. This new wall would incorporate full height sliding panels to allow both rooms to be open or closed to each other, I remember you mentioned that the lovely Northen light came into the this room and for me I would love to be able to have that light and warmth when working on the preserves in the kitchen, entry into the WIR can be arraned to suit the users.

siriuskey another great option to consider - thank you !

Just noticed that I hadn't added a cooktop, that should work to the left of the sink. What period is the house must say I envy you with that shed.

thinking about the rumpus and wine cellar my suggestions keep most of the original walls with the cellar built in the garage with no external walls to improve insulation and temp control, uses the old single garage door space for an optional entry porch and has the new bar in the old gym maybe replacing the sliding door with a servery window? and the opening to the rumpus could have optional doors to separate the rumpus and bar and keeping the angled wall (and matching ceiling?) in the rumpus could be a good location for a small heater and there's more wall space for enough furniture for a crowd and i've added some suggestions for the bathroom with a separate powder room with vanity and, based on family gossip, a wine cellar this size should have enough space for about 1500 bottles and a small tasting table and chairs!!

avoiding changes to walls and adding new doorways instead keeps the original ceilings, avoids unnecessary demolition, is cheaper and saves money that will be needed for new finishes