I couldn't tick one or the other of the boxes – I think the choice has to be made contingent on so many variables. In fact we have painted timber, double-glazed bifolds (with a fabulous retractable pleated fly-screen) at the end of the dining room leading out onto a terrace and a painted timber, double-glazed slider (with a timber-framed sliding fly-screen) on the other side of the kitchen (but on the same axis) opening onto a raised timber deck. Each works really well in terms of function and aesthetics but they would not be interchangeable as the different locations determined which was more suitable – but they have been made by the same highly skilled window craftsman and have given us nothing but pleasure. And on a hot, steamy evening with both open we have the most wonderful cross ventilation.

Thanks for the reply. The attached floor plan probably gives you a better idea of the whole property (including the upstairs). To answer your questions: - We would require 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms (which the house already has). - The only extension that would be available is the 'Deck' area which is why we wanted to extend the kitchen into that area. we thought to leave the courtyard as is and have bifold doors which open out on to that. - The floor plan gives you an idea of where north is (towards the front of the house) - in terms of views, the front of the house (where the rooms are) face the main street . there are no real good or bad views in any direction, just the street and neighbouring houses.. - upstairs is only a converted attic bedroom with a roof storage joining this room. - Most of the house is original except from the start of the deck onwards. There is a tiled pitched roof and we have quite high ceilings through almost all of the house except the very back part (laundry) . the very back couple of metres (laundry and back part of the dining area) is an extension which has a metal roof. - There is a subfloor; part of this has been converted into garage/storage. The walls are built off brick footing. External walls are cavity brick and internal walls are single brick. we are fairly happy with the overall size of the house as is. our main priorities are to have a more open plan living area (as the house is too compartmentalised currently), to have a bigger kitchen, more built in storage, and just to update kitchen/bathrooms, make the 2nd bathroom into an ensuite for main bed.

Hi all, I can't seem to reply individually to your comments so here's a general one :) Thanks all for the suggestions and experience-I'm really intrigued by these suggestions of pavilion extensions, those links you attached Kate are super striking! Unfortunately for us we are on a fairly small block of land and one side of the house is a narrow driveway-we looked into building a garage/study on the ground but as we have to be 900mm from the neighbouring fence it was going to be very skinny and just not worth it. I appreciate the thoughts shared on keeping our feet on the ground but as we've two young kids and two dogs (and would love to have chickens again) I'm less and less inclined to give up more of the garden which is what we'd have to do if we extend out. Our verandah roof was done back in the 60's and slopes down and leaks in the rain so hence it needs to be lifted up if we were to build out. Kate, I LOVE your idea of the shed! We actually converted a massive steel shed into a gorgeous shed home when we lived in QLD on a massive rural block of land, loved how easy it was to 'knock' down a wall! :) Sadly we have learned the hard way that trying to save money by hiring a draftsperson that didn't ask us what our budget was has cost us time and money, but I guess in a way I'm grateful as this extra time has given me time to consider building up now instead of out. I'm getting a sense that it will be a lot more expensive to do so so might have to wait another 2-3 years to get re-finance happening. In the meantime we are making some changes to the current set up, slowly adding value and making it more enjoyable to live in :)

Always, always these things/decisions/projects will come down to how much money there is to work with.........don't underestimate the knock-on cost effect of renovation..........the thing is, does the house need a complete overhaul anyway? If so then potentially there is opportunity for reconfiguration, but don't be surprised with the general scope of what you are thinking about will equate to $300K for pulling the whole thing apart and putting it back in a similar but different format within the general existing footprint .......if you are thinking under $100K then really the only options are strategically consolidated refit updates to critical areas without any significant structural changes......... Finally, as always it pays to get some professional design advice when you are this stage of the process, even just to give you the accurate information and options to help you make informed decisions for your investment.. Good Luck :) PD www.pauldistefanodesign.com