Hi Dee. Can you post your floor plan and a roof plan, even if it is an aerial from google. Also what’s on your wish list for Reno.

Architects are skilled at looking outside box to come up with solutions and will consider a wide range of things like light, structural etc. Most drafts person are trained to draw up what you want, although some are very creative, you just need to find the right one. An interior decorator won’t typically change floor plan. Kitchen designers can suggest changes to kitchen floor plan, mine unlocked my whole design just with suggesting moving a hall door 1m. Never rush into anything. It will depend on your budget which way you go.

If you post a plan here with measurements and a few goals you’ll get some amazing advice.

Thank for the replies so far guys. I think we do need someone to think outside of the box perhaps.
Ok so we want to turn the middle bedroom to an en-suite for the first bedroom and add a bedroom at the end to make it a 3BR. That’s the easy part. But then the middle section is a bit of a rat run and clunky. Thinking we try to turn the walk in pantry into a European laundry and the laundry into a butlers pantry. And want a rumpus which will grow with the kids so we have two separate living spaces.
Not too fussed about making rooms bigger necessarily but the flow doesn’t seem great at the moment and I think it’s because of the middle section. Apologies it’s a bit hard to explain, and we have some serious roof pitch issues ??‍♀️

Hi Dee,

I agree that good architects do look outside the box to develop a solution for their clients but there are many talented and skilled designers in other design based careers that could help you with this dilemma.

You should find someone local to you that can work through your design solution with you so it is easy to work with them for the duration of your project even if it is just to check up on how things are going during the building work to help solve any of the unknowns that always occur with renovation projects. I'm not sure what you mean by roof pitch problems but that needs to be looked at to ensure the right solution is developed for the building.

From my point of view after seeing the floor plan, the centre of the house is the problem and ideally you want to get the bathrooms to an outside wall to aid ventilation and get better natural light.

If you are happy to use the middle bedroom as an ensuite, I would use it for both the ensuite and the main bathroom and move the hallway to the bedrooms to the middle of the house from the front entry. You could possibly use some of the space adjacent the entry and front bedroom for a walk in robe so there is enough space for both bathrooms. The current robe in bed 1 can either make the bedroom bigger or put it towards the bathrooms. Your choice. Add another bedroom to the back as you suggest and put a north facing window in it and put the robe between the bedrooms for better privacy. The central hallway would also mean you can get to the back rumpus without going through the laundry. I would include a powder room or take the toilet out of the second bathroom if you don't want or have the budget for three toilets. If you need more space, you can add to the rumpus as well towards the back yard but the room will be bigger than it currently is with my plan below. Move the kitchen back into the rumpus by the depth of the back bench - 600-700mm to get more space in the dining area if you need it. The structure above the overhead cupboards could remain in the same place with a beam above. Open both the dining and rumpus out to the back yard. You could block the entry to the rumpus from the kitchen to stop the kids using it as a thoroughfare too. The rumpus can have a door from the entry hall and double sliders oposite the kids bedrooms.

Think about what you like in this layout with your own and other peoples ideas and find a good local designer to help you.

Regards,

Christine.

Dee, engaging an experienced design professional means that you don't need to figure out how the plan works and how things fit together. Think about your brief and your budget, what is most important to you, your household and your lifestyle. Think beyond your accommodation requirements but what you are trying to achieve.

It is a design professionals job to make it work, to flag if your brief is beyond your budget and work with you to find the compromises that will work. I generally prepare at least two preliminary concepts, and work collaboratively with my clients to achieve solutions that are often above and beyond what their original thinking was limited to.

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Best of luck,

Dr Retro

of Dr Retro House Calls

Thank you Christine for your detailed reply and sketch. You’re a perfect example of why we need a professional to work this out - just your plan alone has sparked some ideas which we hadn’t even considered and couldn’t see ourselves, so thank you.
We'll definitely engage someone local to help.

Definitely engage a design professional.

An architect, building designer, draftsman and even some interior designers do designs and plans and documentation as required. Choose wisely as its solid design experience thats required as well as local knowledge also goes a long way.

Set the budget first and be upfront about it.

Write up a brief and include images.

what climate is the house situated in, what is the house construction, is the site level and family members to be accommodated. I agree it will be best to involve a local Pro but you can also get some wonderful free of charge suggestions to take with you to your first meeting. there's always more than one way to do things

Just a quick suggestion. I presume you have a northern neighbour. But how about some northern windows in your living area? You'll get lovely northern light, & winter warmth where it's needed. Not sure if privacy would be an issue, as we don't know what's to the north, but there are work arounds.

More ideas for you to consider, adding your new master bedroom to the rear of the house, Rumpus room opening onto the new deck and kitchen family room.

The family bathroom is Japanese style with the shower using the floor space beside the bath, with a vanity on entering, a separate powder room.

This is done trying to fit as much as possible within the current floorplan

Hi Dee,

All really great ideas here and there are a few more questions that need to be answered:

Where about are you? What is the climate? How old are the children and is this your forever home? Do you like to cook and what sort of things? ie cakes, baking, huge dinner parties, Indian curries?!?

Very important to have a vague idea of budget and whether you are looking to do all renovation in one mess or would you prefer to do sections?

My unique business uses my design, functionality, sensitivity, life experience knowing how a home should function and how you want it to work for you. Also my building knowledge to minimise changes to the existing home but maximise benefits for long term for your family. I produce scaled sketch design drawings that you can take to builders and tradesmen for comparable quotes. Your dilemma is just the ticket for my skills!

I would love you to PM me or call and we have a chat.

Kind Regards

Margot 0419 348 546

PS Dee, I would work strenuously towards removing the internal wet rooms and producing a proportional laundry, pantry and other storage for you along with your wish list. MK

Thank you all so much for your recent replies, particularly oklouise and siriuskey for the further sketches.

There’s elements from everyone’s sketches that we really like so now I think we’ll engage a professional to try and mash all the favorite features together cohesively.

Undercover Architect is running a free course on home layout. I have no affiliation with her at all but do follow her, she gives good professional advice. Check out her site or Instagram.