Hi Sophie, I immediately agree with the suggestion to remove the angled/chamfered wall to the bedroom entry and create a small lobby, although a good alternative is to consider a straight-run stair and adding a corridor wall to create a 'private' zone - then toilet can stay where it is, tucked in under stair, and privacy (and acoustic/smell separation to the toilet) is created for living and master bedroom. This might mean widening the kitchen room by 100mm or so (noting some reductions mentioned below) and mirroring the bathroom/rumpus arrangement upstairs - it does create a bit more circulation but adds a lovely sense of space when don't have your main circulation through the middle of a room. The laundry pantry is not the usual arrangement - and the distance needed to travel to the linen cupboard is excessive. I would definitely flip the arrangement of laundry /pantry and try to turn the linen into some kind of study nook off the new corridor - and get rid of the tiny desk near the front door!! Imagine that lovely living space with light coming in from the porch which is facing north. That brings up the final comment that north is where the garage is and the main kitchen is therefore south-east facing, this is fine for morning but it is darker for the afternoons. This is a bit harder to change, but the kitchen could be reworked to turn through 90 degrees to face the garden but extend across to the west facade to allow afternoon light in. The nook could be deleted (which blocks afternoon light to deck) and the deck could extend or wrap around the corner for afternoon light. A little corner of deck in the afternoon sun you would never regret! Your draftie designer would need to look at this in detail as the west external wall would might need to shift inwards and south widen into garden, but if afternoon light is important to you then I would encourage you to consider this change too.

Sorry, but I'm not a huge fan of the revised floor plan either. It still ignores the fact that the fourth bedroom doesn't really operate as a bedroom, due to the sliding door, absence of a BIR and vast distance from the main bathroom. In terms of the changes to the living area, it's great that the front door now has line of sight to the living area / backyard. But, the kitchen seems to be awkwardly positioned, especially the location of the fridge. If you had a built-in study nook beside the fridge, it may work, but then you'd have to move the BIR in Bed 2 and it could end up quite a small bedroom. I'd be tempted to separate the kitchen and the pantry. I would put a galley style kitchen, with island bench, behind the theatre room wall, then leave a gap for the hallway to continue in a straight line and put the pantry in the "corner" created by the walls for Bed 3 and the garage. But, I'd still really encourage you to give further consideration to the plan from a liveability and, if it's an issue for you, saleability perspective. The plan you posted on Sunday seems like a better starting point to me. The three non-main bedrooms are grouped around the main bathroom. The theatre room leads off the living area, making it easier to use that space as a playroom for future children. And there seems to be ample room to navigate around the dining table.

Am so pleased for you, Lucy. What a lovely home and it very much suits its gorgeous setting. Love, love, love the use of timber, and all that glorious light. I now also have a serious case of dining chair envy. And the view! No wonder you’re (rightly) pleased. Health, happiness and many, many years enjoying the fruits of all your hard work to you and yours And to all the lovely Houzz community members who helped Lucy, and myself, cheers you wonderful people

From a "passive solar design" point of view, everything is right. Rectangular home facing north/south. With north facing living rooms, rarely used rooms to the west. But one other thing to consider, plumbing. Locating it close together will lower building costs, & the wastage of water, waiting for hot water. So I'd consider swapping bedroom 4 for the western wet areas. Behind the kitchen is have the laundry, then bathroom, then linen, the bedroom furthest to the west. I'm not mad about western bedrooms, especially in hot climates. But in this case it sounds like it would be used sparingly. Plus if make sure there was no western window, just a northern one. Insulating the western wall well, & using a radiant barrier (reflective insulation). The approach will also significantly shorten the length of the western hallway. Greatly increasing the size of bedroom 4. Talking room sizes, & room numbers, from a sustainability point of view, I think the home is too large for what is likely to be a two person home for much of the time. The embodied energy (emissions created) from a new build home is huge, averaging 15 years of operational energy. I'd be looking to reduce the house size, by using multipurpose rooms. The occasional kids housed in the study, or the media room. This can work out great with clever design (like incorporating murphy beds). How will the media room be used? Will noise be an issue. Will you be happy to have it so close to the master bed? The building orientation/shape will be great for solar PV, with a large roof area facing north. I'd I was building nowadays, is be aiming for an all-electric home. Ditching gas - of its even available where you are - in favour of efficient electric appliances. Reverse cycle AC for heating (if it's required), supplemented by fans for cooling, hot water heat pump (extremely efficient), induction cooktop (sensitive, fast acting, easy to clean). All powered by solar PV. If it's an option, I'd look at 3 phase power, which will let you install a larger PV system. It will also allow you install a fast charger for EV, likely to be your next car purchase, or soon after.