I'd suspect the porch/front entry would be dark . Without seeing elevations and construction details , you are doing quite a lot of external walls there , to achieve almost next to nothing . I'd tend to look at moving the front door forward , and depending on style do a 'single' roof ( or maybe even a glass roof if the style suits ) , maybe a nice wooden door and formal foyer or greenspace or whatever suits your lifestyle .

I was bought up in a house with 5 bedrooms , 2 toilets , a shower and a bath ( seperate rooms ) and we made it work , and while some parts of your 'bathroom' area ( in the 3 bedroom part ) are quite clever , I'd almost try and have 2 toilets there or thereabouts ; and a 2nd ( well 3rd counting the ensuite ) shower , as it looks like the shower and bath are essentially the same room ?

Thats the 2 main queries I'd look into .

Hi Tegan,

The proportions and scales are not quite right in the plan. Laundry is large.

The best action might be mirroring the plan so that no bedroom faces West. If it's not applicable, one option can be swapping two front bedrooms + bathroom with the master bedroom. In this case, you'll have a larger master bedroom. the other option can be swapping the laundry with the bedroom that has a window to the west side.

Entry door opening right in the hallway is quite dangerous, better to shift the door forward.

So by facing North you mean the garage and two bedrooms are going to receive the majority of the light all year round while your living area and master receives no direct light at all? Generally not the best orientation for a house.

The main bathroom seems like a clever idea but I have to say, not having a loo in the actual bathroom with the running water is a bit of a pain. Children especially don't feel the need to 'go' until their hear the running water of the shower. So they are starkers and will now enter into what is an open hallway to dash to the loo? I'd have the bathroom door moved next to the vanity and remove all those internal partitions between the fittings. creating a standard family bathroom.

I'm trying to figure out why your laundry is so enormous and your master suite amentities so cramped. If that's your priority, well and good. But if it's just a lazy building designer not putting much thought in it then.....At the moment your laundry is bigger than your kitchen. If you push the wall with the entry door in it back closer to the sink creating a more regular sized laundry. You would have enough space to put your master suite entry door where the wir currently is, push the WIR towards the kitchen where you current door is. You would then enter your master suite with the ensuite on the left and your WIR on the right and see the wide open space of your bed in front of you. Fewer partitions to build, no wasted hallway inside your master suite and importantly you don't need to walk into the WIR to access the shower.

Your master suite would truly be private then with it's entrance off the hallway rather than the living areas. I would draw you a mockup of what I mean but I am unable to download a copy of the floorplan you posted.

Hi @Austere Hamlet

I would really appreciate a drawing. Thank you so so much for your help. It sounds great but i cant picture it in my head. Is there a way i can get you the picture so you can download it?

Someone else on here might know. I don't use the site often enough to know it well. Usually you just right mouse click and download an uploaded pic. But this site seems to prevent that for strange reasons.

There is a lot I would change with such a big house. It is very square creating problems. What are the dimensions of your block?

1. Entry tunnel and then when you come in the door you hit a wall which is not welcoming.
2. Garage door should open into entry hall or short hall. It may also need a step up to floor level.
3. No powder room. Small vanity in kids wing.
   The study desk has no natural light and is tiny. I would not want to sit there. It would basically be my hall table.
4. Master hall is a waste of space. If you combine it with wir and have cupboards either side you will have more storage.
5. Kitchen. A bit dark so far back into house Fridge space is tiny for big house.
6. Can you get from front of house around to the back yard?
7. Dining area is huge in comparison to kitchen and living.
8. No second living space. A small play/ tv room essential to control noise and give options as family grows

can you include all the dimensions on the plans, you said "facing" north but does that mean north is at the front gate or the back fence?, what is teh width and length of your block, can the garage be on either side and do the plans belong to a building company and if so, how many changes are allowed?

Moving kitchen to back

@oklouise I have commented now with the block dimensions. It is custom design so as many changes as I like. The front of the house is north. Thank

@Kate hi Kate, thank you so much. I agree with all theseissues I just don't know how to fix them :( i have attached the dimensionsof the block above.

With a block that size I would definately be siting the house differently. At the moment your solar orentiation is awful. You will have a dark and cold living area and over heated bedrooms. Your alfresco also backs onto your rear fence while the largest amount of garden is down the side of the house you will never use.

what about this design do you like and not like, what's on your wish list.. it doesn't appear to be a home designed to suit this block of land and orientation, what are the number and ages of the people who will live in the house or stay overnight regularly, are there any good views in any direction, is the block flat or sloped, do you already have or expect to have neighbours with two story homes and do you have the dimensions for this plan?

There are no rear neighbours, and a hill behind. Block is slightly elevated but flat. Frontage is 24m, rear is about 30m wide. Sides are about 26m long. House on either side are single story.

@oklouise

What i asked for was:

1. Main with walk in and ensuite. The main at rear (nice views out the back), opening onto the back. The bigger the better.

2. 3 or 4 bedrooms with media (or room that can be used as a media).

3. Three way main bathroom (with a longer bench).

4. Natural lighting as much as possible, with as much of the communal area opening onto the patio for open plan.

5. Butlers pantry.

6. Side access + shed to be built later.

7. Lounge room not at the front of the house.

If anyone has any plans I'd love to der them. Thnks to everyone for your input. Im feeling very stressed..

we could all make lots of suggestions and rearrange this plan but there are many more suitable plans..why choose this one? do you have a builder organised or are you researching plans as a project home company could offer a much better option, usually at a better price..what's the hurry

This is what the architect came up with based on what I asked for above^. I'm more than happy to start from scratch.

I should add: it actually faces slightly west. So its north west facing.

Sorry is north up the page towards the road? Or to top tight corner?

Y a 3 way bathroom. It has so many doors adding to inefficiency and can’t lock doors which is a must for most teenagers and guests

Meant to add I prefer a bedroom wing that you can close a hall door to seperate it off from rest of house. How big a shed on side?

And I assume you will only have one crossover onto street so does garage need to be on other side of house to share drive with shed?

If front of house is north then covered verandah should be on western side not southern side. What are the minimum offsets required from each boundary?

And don’t give up. Whilst it is just lines it’s the time to really think about what you want and need. This takes time. We often end up circling back to one of the first plans but that’s the process of understanding and being happy with the final plan.

i have difficulty believing that a qualified architect would have suggested this arrangement (are they listed with the Aust Architects Association), the plan is so uncomfortable starting with the narrow wind tunnel, not enough space in the entry foyer, having to walk through a bathroom to get to bed 3, the odd arrangement of hallways, the huge laundry and cramped landlocked kitchen and more hallway in the master suite....this plan is probably about 250sqm and i would expect to start at about $3000 per sqm and that's a huge investment so there's nothing more important than starting with a better plan..depending on where you live there are numerous project homes that you can actual walk through to get a feeling for a more suitable floorplan...many builders also have websites where you can list the size of the block and number of bedrooms etc and see a range of suitable plans and then make minor adjustments ..this architect may have followed your list but they haven't helped you understand any better options..you don't want a living room at the front but do you want a media room that can also be used for a bedroom? ..could the media room be at the front as you come in the entry? sometimes the name of rooms get lost in translations and you need to explain how the rooms will be used ..eg you want the daytime living areas and master suite to enjoy the views but it would also be great to have some northern light in those rooms and that might be achieved with clerestory windows and skylights and/or the nightime media room might be good on the western side of the building (also facing front) but these are conversations you need to have with your architect or you need to try a different architect who can help lead you to a more suitable arrangement..take a break and spend some time visiting some project homes so that you can gain a feeling for the size and shapes of rooms that feel right for you, make a list of all the things you love and hate about your present home and then try some other ideas but this variation of a plan i made for someone else may have some ideas worth considering

Thank you so much! I think a break is a good idea. I have taken everyone's comments on board and will start working on something new. Thank you!

@Kate north would be towards top right yes.

We live in North Queensland so i think we would try avoid afternoon sun on the patio becauseit would be so hot - But I'm not sure.

The shed would be in the rear corner

Then wide verandahs wrapping most of house would be ideal

Which directions are the prevailing winds from?

I would consider that a project this big, needs a lot of thought not least of all because of climate considerations.

@Kate winds are from the south normally

So it would be good to get the cooling breeze through the house and through the bedrooms

Mud map. You may not agree, I’m in Melbourne. Draw you own. I have bedrooms on the cooler side, keeping south for some living to get views. Verandah are key and air flow, try not to interrupt it

Suggestion using your existing plan. Rotated and changed.