Hi "theomoors" It is a great opportunity to live on forty acres just North of Melbourne, I congratulate you on your purchase, I can understand why you are looking for all possible ideas. You have a very "ample plan" with lots of living areas which I'm sure you intend to make great use on long winter days. There might be a way of planning the same areas and make some of the spaces slightly more efficient and still get a good result, and reduce your running costs a little especially heating in winter. You might like to consider placing your furniture on the drawing, this will give you a greater understanding of space and circulation and where you might need to reduce or enlarge to obtain a better result. Also you might like to look at your L shape Plan design, it does not really take advantage of the North orientation and the views, (especially for the rumpus and upstairs areas) its seems a pity considering that you have 40 acres of land and not take full advantage of Orientation. If you could manage to re-look at your design and try a liner design, then your rumpus room and the rest of the living areas would take advantage of both orientation and views. (I think Evirotecture has mentioned this design issue) Also the massing of the whole structure seem to have more of a "large corner suburban block feel" to it, rather than a "a rural feel". You might like to look at something with more balanced proportions, both in plan and elevation might give a greater feeling of restfulness to the design. At the moment the design seem to remind me more to a outer Melbourne northern suburbs rather than rural design. Looking at some of the existing rural houses on any Google search might give you a point of reference. As you have a northern entry with some steps, you might consider developing this a little further to give a welcoming feel, considering that this is how you see your "property on your return home" when you are tired, you want a welcoming feeling. Maybe a detailing the front (elevations and Views) with larger drawings might help in this pursuit, even it you have to use decking materials that are highly fire resistant to meet fire requirements. I like the way you have planned the kitchen, the island bench with a butlers sink and a full sink behind with a full butlers pantry seems to work well. The circulation space around of 1000 is slightly undersized 1200 is generally the preferred space if you can afford it, I make mine never less than 1100. Also you might consider the space between the hot plate and the sink, about "one working station" (about 800 to 1000) and the hot plate the same distance from any wall seems to work better than greater distances.. Closet space for linen, hanging of clothes while ironing, brooms, vacuum cleaners, freezer/s, shopping trolley, and all the other knickknacks that make up a family seems slightly under-catered. Maybe an inventory of existing storage might be a help in coming up with requirements. Also the fixed size space for the fridge can sometimes be a disadvantage as size and function of fridges tend to change, and it might reduce your capacity to upgrade later on, straight line space might be a better solution. The laundry, and that section of the kitchen might need a slight redesign so as to incorporate a more flexible result. It would be a good idea to show the position of Water tanks, hot water heaters, solar cells and storage, wood storage for the fireplace (BAL requirement in some states), air conditioning units & pumps, and all other mechanical equipment. These items relate to the house design and can be highly visual, and sometimes may require specif placements which may influence the placement of windows and doors and can be pleasant or unpleasant when viewed from certain perspective, so taking them into consideration at this time may avoid later issues. Also you have not shown vehicle storage and circulation in relation to the site which may influence the design directly. You might also consider a "Mud Room", I can see a relatively good size deck from the laundry and rumpus room which might help, but if this is not well sheltered people tend to be lazy and bring the mud inside rather that change shoes or clean up as required. A good size mudroom might help to store boots, raincoats and other heavy gear often required for every member of the family, in a small farming environment. You might like to combine this with a "pet area" considering that you might have a dog etc. that forms part of the household. There are other areas that you might like to look at in relation to fire requirements and sizes of glass especially in your first floor areas. It might worth while, if money permits the use of fire-shutters at least in the upper areas. New homes are definitely a grueling exercise, but it is always easier and cheaper to change a design than the building. I hope my comments are of some help, I wish you the best in your en-devour, and look forward in seeing your final design proposal. Regards - Michael Manias .

My $0.02 - in NSW designers are NOT registered or accredited, beware. All architects are nationally accredited. I suggest that there are a lot of things you can do yourself before you start - get a proper survey of your block, ensure that you get them to provide angles for anything that isn't square....understand if there are utilities like sewer pipes which will affect your setbacks or useable space...... Go online and workout the sun angles for your longitude and latitude helpful for solar and overall layouts. West facing picture windows are not the best. Some of the solar firms have online calculators which help to do this. Read the local council rules and understand them, apply them to your survey and your design ideas....including if you are a corner block and if you want to go two storey...... If it is still a 'go' Get all of the heritage, flood, fire etc checks done by council - around $150 depending on council........ Eliminate or at least understand all the big constraints before you go any further........ Look again at the survey- any contour lines may cost you money, assume a cost of at least $2000 per sqm to start and do some layouts of your ideas on paper, add up all of the spaces, can you actually put them on your block? How much is the total?.......yes garages are slightly cheaper to build but still take up precious footprint space.... Is access likely to cause issues for trades, equipment and deliveries?......... Keep refining and updating the ideas and plans thinking about how you want to use the spaces and move around inside and out.....where are you putting the wheelie bins, clothes dryer etc..... Try the free to use BASIX site forms if you are in NSW, understand how the size, shading and orientation of windows affects your sustainability and adjust, this will also apply many of the local council rules as well..... Do you want a brick house, with render? A pole home, a kit build? A fast build insulated panel build? What type of roof?...... The more you have worked out for yourself the better, look at the kit home options, there are lots and some are very good... Everything is delivered and you just construct with the trades and some may have builders in your area.....The new InsulLiving Code Mark BCA approved options are also worth a look..... Anyway do all of that before you line up for the fleecing floor lol

your new plan is so much better but I could'nt find the lift?? and have a few suggestions to consider ....if you rake the roof and ceiling in the stairwell to parallel the main roof the stairs could be less intrusive in the garage and living area, the downstairs toilet could be in the storage area and should include a shower (for washing off after dirty garage, shed and yard work or a future pool?), the upstairs south wall of the stairwell would enclose the western deck and the roof could extend down to create a front porch and by rearranging the western stairs there's easier access to the office and space on the western deck for a sitting area ..the separate toilet in the ens and small shower is difficult for elderly/disabled use or assistance from carers so i've rearranged the ensuite and wiw and created a loo with a view, added a door to the laundry so your wife's clients won't need to walk through the laundry if they need to use the bathroom (what furniture or equipment does she need in her office?) and by rearranging the biw bed 2 is bigger but i've omitted the tiny cabinet in the bathroom in favour of more space in the kitchen but arrangements of the kitchen needs more personal attention to suit the users...you may need fire shutters and want window coverings so making the living room doors narrower would also allow space for a fireplace and TV located so the furniture can face towards the views with stack back space for curtains and an alcove for the study nook and twin garage doors would allow for a central support column and make sure the garage doors are taller to allow you to drive in with loaded roof racks and roller doors or fire shutters for the alfresco would add extra security

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