Hi Amie, I'm a completely unprofessional Houzzer lol but just thought I'd make a couple of suggestions ok? Would you consider swapping bed 4 and the rumpus? Then you could add your sliding doors to maintain privacy/close off the bedroom/bathroom section whilst leaving your rumpus open to connect with your meals/kitchen/family/alfresco space? If not and you are leaving the rooms as is, I'm not sure I would close it off as the rumpus to me tends to be a more open space? As for the space (I think previously a WIL) at the front of your main bedroom, oklouise has been such an amazing and wonderful help on my ensuite/master bedroom plans and she has designed yet another amazing plan for us, complete with a sit down dressing table in our WIR. I'm just wondering if you could do the same with that space for you which you would access from within your master bedroom? Could be a great use of that space for you.... oklouise comes up with great ideas! :) Good luck Amie - looks like a great plan.

Sounds like this house may be a money pit and you are just making new of existing problems and not in the end getting a better result. If the house was in good order and you only needed to knock out say a wall or two to open up the space. Or also possibly replacing the kitchen and bathroom and finally giving the house a fresh coat of paint (inside and out). It may be work considering and speaking to a builder and bathroom/kitchen designer to get prices. But if the house needs much more than this it may be better to look at demolition, (see a builder about this) then rebuilding a prefab or kit home to suit your current and future needs. From my experience any old home that needs major maintenance work completed and also room reconfiguring is a much more expensive project to take on then building something new from scratch. If you do decide to go down the building road, then I suggest working with a good builder who has great communication skills and pick a knowledgeable interior designer that does more than pick paint and tile colours. You need a designer who has a rough idea, (based on past experience and similar projects in your area) of what things cost. Set them a reasonable budget and get them to pull together ideals and concept drawings so your builder can give you a pretty good ball park cost. You can alway pass then next stage onto a draftsman if its not to complicated and work with both the designer and builder to find the correct balance to meet you personal style and a budget.

Interior Design is a separate device. Some Architectural firms do have partnerships or departments with Interior Designers on board. In magazines and articles you’ll often see both the Architect and Designer accredited.

In response Lauren: trying to be succinct and discreet… It’s late September, I’m in Tassie and the Premier announces interstate travel will not recommence until December 16th. Daughter is marrying in Victoria on Jan 8th. With work & Xmas, too few shopping days. Also there are several lead up events, so I need several outfits. I’m slight but well endowed, so shopping is tricky and, because of Covid, several intrastate boutiques have closed. I usually shop in Melbourne anyway. Tell the stylist my go to designer but make it clear I only want alternatives. Had lengthy conversation/email, including measurements and video, about what does and doesn’t work for my body type. I received 1. the name and website of one boutique which didn’t allow returns 2. one dress from a store that said, when I rang, that they told “professional” it wouldn’t fit. 3. the suggestion I try my go to designer. No follow up. Still cross, not so much that it was unsuccessful but that I got nothing from my spend and, importantly, no acknowledgement. I rarely give bad reviews, but I was tempted. Morale: under promise / over deliver because online services live and die by reviews 👆🏻Neither succinct nor discreet, but I like to see young businesses thrive so I’m over sharing. Good luck with it all. And don’t underestimate how important a good, not just interested in minimising tax, accountant will be 😉