the alfresco will shade all the rooms..make teh alfresco a gable end with raked ceiling to maximize the light but consider moving the alfresco over to the left or right hand side but describe your climate and show direction of north and distance from the end of the alfresco to the rear fence and can we see the rest of the floorplan?

North is straight up on the image. from alfresco to boundary is about 3m, but it is a 3m retaining wall drop. so basically nothing stands in its way of sunlight.

a really blurry pic, but a 3d render of what it could look like with the cathedral ceiling. builder says it'd be 10-15k to put the cathedral ceiling as opposed to a flat calling and hipped. But I still feel that even with the raised ceiling the alfresco will shade dining and still need skylights. which I understand are 3-5k each.

full plan. prob can't read dimensions though

then change the location of the alfresco, forget the gable roof and raked ceilings and push the alfresco over to the garage and use a simple skiilion roof with a modest solar skylight for kitchen ,pantry and laundry (around $1200 for three solar skylights) but there needs to be a separate toilet with easier access from outside (two way powder room between laundry and hallway?) and removing the wall between living and rumpus makes a bigger single room without the benefits of a quiet or noisy separate space and you've lost the privacy for the master bedroom and now you have to walk through the wet floor in front of the shower to get to the wiw..btw ask your builder about using scissor trusses in the living and kitchen to create a modest raked ceiling without any impact on the hipped roof

I would say there is not enough shade over the windows weather side of alfresco. Also do a furniture layout to make sure the spaces are what you need.

Can I make some general suggestions
Master en-suite increase vanity length to whole of wall,it looks way too small.
Laundry. Add a door into bedroom hall so kids don’t need to go through kitchen to dump washing.
Sliding door in laundry an overkill.
I’d reduce width of laundry slightly to get a narrow set of shelves on other wall in pantry. 250 mm would do.
Sorry it all adds costs. But more functional.
Good luck with the build.

Oops weather side of alfresco should read either side.

I agree with all points, but I just can't seem to work it all out.

re alfresco, it is in that position to give as much flow from inside and out.

And I do like the big laundry as it is,the bench along the hallway wall was actually going to be a hanging rail, bench and an open space underneath for laundry baskets. by putting a door into hall I'll have to forgo that? It seems as though the laundry will be a room full of doors 😁

dreamer, do you think take the toilet out of the main bathroom? Is there enough room to have 2 sinks? 1 in powder amd another in main bath. Or is there a way to make it work with just 1?

thanks for all your help

my previous suggestions

Roofed alfresco area to the north typically destroy the living area sitting behind them. You are right to be concerned.

You could look at an operable louvre rood to the alfresco area. This would allow direct sunlight into the living area when you want it and shelter for the outdoor area when you choose. It will as at least as much cost as the Gable, but offer greater functionality.

If you don’t need a weatherproof shelter to the alfresco area you could look at fixed louvres to the roof which would do the same, just using the sun angle from winter to summer to allow sunlight or shade. This would be the much cheaper option, but this is a sun shade not a roof option.

Hu, oklouise design is a much better example of the correct room proportions and use of that space. What is the reason behind such a big lounge room?
You have mentioned your use of your laundry design. But, have you thought about the practical use of the room, without having easy access to the bedrooms. You will literally be walking around in a big circle, to get from bedrooms to the laundry. Having the door into hallway gives direct access to bedrooms, (where the washing originates from) and also, in oklouise design, those immediate toilet needs, when arriving home. In your design their is no access to the bathrooms unless you go in a great big circle or through the laundry, pantry, kitchen, dining,living, rumpus, to the main bedroom.

simple answer to size of lounge is pianos and music stuffs.

I agree to the extra door in laundry. But I don't want the cost of 4 toilets if I can help it.

Take the toilet out of the main bathroom.

how many people will live in the house and do they all want to share the family room with a piano that could be better in the separate enclosed living area or rumpus

If budget is tight, a pergola over your alfresco. You can plant deciduous vines to ensure cool in summer, sunny in winter. Your living area is large enough that there is no need to have an all weather outdoor entertaining area. By roofing the alfreso you are more or less just increasing the footprint of the house and losing natural light.

Agree with the comments about northern covered alfresco areas, I hate them. They rob adjacent living areas of natural light, & importantly, winter sunshine.

Unless you're in a climate that needs no heating, it's very beneficial to allow direct sunlight into northern living areas in winter.

This is called "passive solar design". Read about it here,

https://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design

I agree too.. but I'm at a loss as to how to keep the same size spaces and the flow from dining/living/lounge and outdoor.

what is the best direction to put the covered alfresco?

I plan on large entertaining (When we can again) and like to do a formal dining so hence the reason for a large dining space.

re all weather outdoor dining, I've got a great view which I want to capitalise on with a large outdoor, and am happy to sacrifice the indoor dining for a all year weather proof outdoor. 8m x 4m. (how can I do all weather within reasonable costs)

I was playing around with some options. see below.

what I like

• formal study (esp. off master)
• closed rumpus
• flow from kitchen/dining/living/lounge/outdoor

what I don't like

• don't know how to distinguish the living areas.
• no relaxed living around a fire, without messing up the formal lounge.
• seems there is wasted space in the middle near rumpus/entry/lounge
  
  

Kate and Dreamer. see my amendments to the bedroom end of the house. do you agree? I do 😁

and btw views are from North East 》 N 》 NW(best view)》W》SW 》S

Bedroom wing Looks great. I’m glad you’re happy as you have to live there not me!
Don’t forget a mirrored shaving cabinet above the vanity in bathroom for additional storage.
Along the hall in kitchen area make sure the cabinets are deep enough to conceal fridge.
Is that a sliding door between laundry and kitchen running behind the sinks. This may limit you to bench or sink mounted taps rather than wall mounted. Not sure what you prefer. Its possible to thicken up the wall if you want wall mounted. Just think that through.
In bed 2 I would put the bed where the robe is away from the en-suite and the robe on opp wall. Negative to that though is the first thing you see is the robe. If the room is big enough could put robe on kitchen wall.

Depending on your climate a flyaway roof angled towards the north will bring light and air into the centre of your house. Are you working with an architect, your plans have wasted space and not as ergonomically efficient as it could be. You will get up your daily step account on the present layout. If you are in a colder climate both plans will be costly to heat. You may think that working with a architect , rather a draftsman/designer is costly, in the long run it so much cheaper. Depending on your family, what phase they in eg ages, activities and use of spaces a good workable home could be achieved. List your daily activities,think through your day, and what you really need. If you are are big entertainers, I suggest rethinking your bathrooms, and investigate separating out the wet and toilet. Toilet need to be useable by dinner guest when people are sleeping. Best of luck.

We put a covered, insulated long roof on our north facing outdoor area adjacent to indoor living spaces (in a manner much like yours) 20 years ago. We have experienced 20 grey winters inside our home since then with lights on constantly by necessity, but the summers are fantastic with the inside well sheltered from heat. To some extent we consider this the lesser of all possible evils, but winters are not fun inside. We put a skylight in the alfresco roof which - because of a steep roof pitch - allows some light inside in winter, but not enough. Have you thought of turning the alfresco 90 degrees so that some sun can enter the home easily in winter? A deciduous vine on a pergola over the exposed windows could shield the house in summer. This newly exposed space could be garden or decking without a roof. BTW, I would definitely stay away from indoor skylights - even triple glazed ones let in far too much heat in summer. I have met so many people who regret their decision to put in even a very expensive and supposedly heat proof skylight - a number who now clamber onto their roof every summer with bricks and a tarp to cover the skylight. Some who’ve given up on taking it down in winter - such a waste of money and what an effort! I’ve heard solar tubes provide light without heat but they don’t offer the beauty of a Velux style skylight. Good luck with the build. And may I suggest you reduce walking distances inside - you want to age-in-place gracefully, if you can.

EDIT: Looking at your plan again I realise you have 2 windows (one on either side of the alfresco) that will allow northern light inside in winter - assuming the alfresco is due north, which I think you said earlier it is. This is MUCH better than the situation we have - ALL windows (actually 2 x long bifold doors) are covered by the alfresco roof in our situation. You are starting with better bones than we had, even if you change nothing. I would make the window to the L on your plan a door (if it isn't already), to really maximise the light that enters there. The window to the R is in the kitchen, so not much you can do there, except perhaps go for the largest window possible. So perhaps this is not in need of a massive change??

Thanks Susan, would you be free to share a picture of what you have done? I'm a bit of a visual learner.

But Susan, the northern side of the home doesn't require a large roof to be shaded in summer, all that is required is appropriate length eaves.

As the sun is higher in the northern sky in summer than in winter, an eave will shade summer sun, while admitting winter sun.

https://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/shading

You also have to consider ground coverage to the north of the home. You certainly don't want a large concrete area there. In this case eaves won't be enough, as hot concrete will radiate heat towards the windows & wall.

ddarroch, agree that a large roof isn't required to the north, but 'normal' eaves don't usually cut it either. When I lived in a home with a 'true solar north' facing back deck (with a roof) I was shocked to find it was virtually unusable in Brisbane's hot summers - Sun on the east flooded the deck in the mornings, making it too hot to sit on from the early morning. While the sun was directly overhead it was pretty good but from about 2 pm the Sun from the west flooded the deck again, making it too bright and too hot until after sunset. Of course some of that sunlight and heat entered the windows, making it hot in adjacent rooms too. While winter was nice, summer is much longer in the sense of summer temperatures and humidity - certainly in Brisbane. I assume HU has covered his/her deck to make it weatherproof - as we have always done. We are now building again (south of Sydney) and our almost true north-facing windows will have deciduous vines growing over a 1 - 1.5m depth pergola, to keep our indoor living, dining and kitchen cool in summer and warm and light in winter. I hope this clarifies.

PS: Agree with your comment about concrete in summer. For multiple reasons.