Love those ideas thanks Pazz. Thanks for your time on it. There is a window along the wall I have marked at 4m. However there are no windows along the wall marked 7mtr, as we are right up close to the neighbours. All natural light will only be from either end of the rooms (ensuite and other end) I like your ideas there and it's definitely a start. I wonder if there is a way to have light from the courtyard come through to the walk in robe and bedroom. I am imagining being able to see the courtyard from the bedroom but can't quite figure out how that could work? I had thought of having the walk in robe up the 4m end, but this would then limit any natural light coming in from that window. I do love what you have suggested with widening the room and doing away with the closed off lobby. Thanks again for taking time to look at this for me.

Hi arcmaz Great house - fantastic 60's modern look - Harry Sidler (Modernist Architect 1923-2006 exponent of the Bauhaus style in Australia, mainly Sydney) would have loved the interpretation, its a good style, don't change it will pay dividends in the long run. It would be good if there was a plan of the house,and a plan of the block this would allow some relatively accurate planning proposals. If you had the real-state plan with the block plan it would help a lot. In terms of making the place bigger and retaining the style I would suggest that the extension (maybe one room and an en suite depending on a budget) be a block in the today's current style, but linked to the existing house via a "link" (Link =small walkway). This would allow you to retain the style, but not be dominated by a past period, I have done this a few times and it has worked fairly well. If you are looking for three bedrooms it might be best to add a master bedroom with a bathroom, and then maybe living areas with back yard access. There may be other approaches depending on the current layout that could be considered, but I would retain as much as the original as possible, and only make small cosmetic changes until you are ready for a worthy development. I hope this is of some help, I would be happy to comment further or work on this project. Regards - Michael Manias Manias Associates Building designers - mm407p@gmail.com

Hi maryprior892 Thanks for posting the extra information it all helps in gaining some understanding, I think it is possible to improve this existing house in a cost effective manner. Just a minor item that I picked up in regards of equipment - I think you mentioned that the existing STORAGE is actually a covered internal courtyard - I also notice that you have a hot water unit in this space - you should check that the hot-water service (if it is a gas unit) that it has sufficient ventilation and is not an external units that has been closed in - any plumber will give you this information - enclosing gas units that are designed for external use is not a good idea. I think that if you are going to make changes it not only should suit you, but also have a good resale opportunity - considering your upstairs areas it might be better to add a decent En-suite and walk in robes and getting two or three bedrooms downstairs - in this way you would have parents areas separated from children - this might have better resale and use that a tiny ES. The third bedroom downstairs could be gained by enclosing the RUMPUS room and providing access to bathroom areas by a corridor to existing bathrooms. This would also aid in getting containment areas for heating - at the moment the plan shows one open space including the upstairs - lots of heating in winter in Tasmania for all that area - some compartmentalization would probably help in combating yearly heating costs. The existing living area are certainly ample, so the loss of the rumpus to a bedroom does not detract greatly to the overall house, and in the meantime you could use the new downstairs bedroom/rumpus room as you have already mentioned as a library. I think this is achievable, but before doing a physical change, I would have a fully developed plan which includes all existing and proposed furniture to scale, with a few 3D views to enhance the concept. (It easier to change drawings than walls - a lot less dust and much cheaper) I would then obtain the opinion of a Real-estate agent (the Real-estate agent you bought it from is not a bad place to start) and maybe two others. This might help in making long term decisions in regards to investment for the future. Staging your proposed renovations is also another approach that you might investigate. Above all I would retain and obtain as many ocean views that you can possibly get, I assume that the ocean views are at the front of the house (" revealed an open fireplace in the front lounge which also has ocean views so that is fabulous.") If possible you might consider developing an external eating/sitting/entertaining area with ocean views - I certainly would be a buyer, and I would assume that it might be supported by the real-estate agent. I hope this is of some help, I would be happy to comment further on this design as more information becomes available. Michael Manias Manias Associates Building Associates mm407p@gmail.com

Wow thanks so much for the responses everyone. I like oklouise's 2nd design best as it retains the most storage and offers some privacy from the door. Unfortunately it was a tight squeeze to get it in, with 1.6m wide WIR I've only 3.0m for the bedroom. Here's the render: That's a queen size bed. It's just a bit tight, really needs that extra 400mm. Thanks Rebecca for your suggestion. In terms of required storage, this house is for my in-laws, who will take a bedroom on the bottom floor and not use this one, however in Australia most master bedrooms have about 5m of full height storage. Trying to tick all the boxes so that my in-laws get a good price when they sell. siriuskey, I wouldn't exactly call it a view, but the north side window has a good unobstructed outlook over single storey houses. All the other windows are up high. The bathroom window is full size but frosted. I'm reluctant to have the shower all the way across the south wall of the bathroom, as it would force me to reduce the size of the window, and being the shaded side of the house not much light will get in. At the moment I'm still leaning towards the built-in robe design. It allows me to widen the bathroom a bit, and there's more space in the bedroom. However interior design wise it's fairly boring - I couldn't get the chair or chests in that oklouise has. This is what I have at the moment: I also experimented tried separating the WC, but it made the space smaller and we lose one of the sinks: Thanks again for suggestions, and thanks oklouise and Rebecca for taking the time to create plans.