Different strokes for different folks, as they say. We have a butlers pantry, smallish, with a sink in it. The pantry has become effectively a walk-in pantry, with storage, a wine fridge and the toaster and microwave. It's very useful, but we almost never use the sink because there isn't enough practical counterspace and because, well, who wants to do dishes in a closet? We also have an island, with a single basin sink in it, and of course the dishwasher. That's where we do prep, and it works just fine for us. We can watch TV while pealing spuds or washing those dishes that don't go into the dishwasher. Even with the sink, there's still plenty of prep space, and we have a good work triangle between sink, oven on the wall directly behind it, and fridge, oven and pantry on the end wall. In practical terms, the arrangement works for us. When we entertain, we clean up and load the dishwasher as we go, dump the pots and pans in the butler's pantry, wipe off the bench, and we're good to go. And since it's only a single basin undermount sink, the look is clean enough for us.

In my early twenties I designed kitchens for my mother and two aunts (Uncle built them and they worked), but when it came to designing my own - had to fit a constrained space and no possibility of extension - I chewed my lips for ages - like Nicole, I drew and measured ad infinitum, and used graph book walls, views etc. I did one extra thing - which I think worked - I listed all that I wanted to store, and tried to analyse how I liked working in the kitchen. Some things I had to settle for because of space (such as a smaller dishwasher) but most of it has worked. We have a corner pantry, which I (and the cat, husband a bit larger) can walk into, but have not put small appliances in there - they sit in a large drawer beneath the main working bench, which also works well. It all looks good to me Nicole and thinking carefully about needs and how things work in advance usually results in something you'll be happy with. Good luck!

So you just want a bench ht table or bar table. I like a back on a chair, but kids don’t mind simple stools, which can be tucked under front of table out of way. Look for a design allowing this and stools with a foot rest bar to help kids climb down. One my kids got out of a high chair they quickly learnt how to climb safely off my kitchen stools, need help for a while getting up and down, but they helped keep them I’m place once up. :)

Thank you everyone for your valuable feedback! Gary - great ideas, I agree with the stairs, its got that bottom landing that looks good but is it practical? The space in (4) is the master shower. And I love your easy switch with the fridge and pantry as the fridge has extra room to open out to - shouldn't cost much for this change. Will chat to the builder about swapping the pantry around and the costings for the change of stairs. Oklouise - the new upstairs arrangement you have created works so much better! Does the first floor change require a change to the stairs like Gary has suggested? Your upstairs main bathroom placement works better as it sits above the guest bathroom downstairs. I also like your idea about the guest bathroom. RE: Kitchen, I'm concerned with having both cook/sink stations facing away from the pool area. If I keep the sink in the island, would our existing 2.8 sink bench space surrounding be sufficient space to hang around? Kate - You have made invaluable points around the garage and the simple change in the guest vanity without the added cost. Min garage dimensions in NSW is 5.4x5.4. With our 17.4m frontage, this garage dimension is the max we can go to. I'm torn between the house with a more open foyer space, or reducing it to a smaller one to allow for bigger garage... we haven't lived in a house with a double garage, so for us this seems huge. We will also have an outdoor shed to store our lawnmower etc. Thank you again, really appreciate the responses so far!