Jacey, nice to see you are still here, many aren't after this length of time. I'm having a little chuckle here as when I originally read your post, my first thought was "move house", but I didn't want to sound so rude as to say so. It reminded me of my first house which was at the flat end of the street but the other end was very much "mountain goat territory" and the driveways reminded me of yours. After living in the homes for years, some spent mega amounts removing rock and excavating to create a garage more at road level and from there the stairs started zig-zagging to the front entry, new front entries were even created at a lower level, but the stairs still continued inside the house, there was just no escaping the climb. I wondered how you even got your wheelie bins up and down the drive. Hope you are enjoying your new home, long term I think you made a very wise decision.

Hi oklouise, thank you again so much for your suggestions to help me reflect on my choices! The great thing about this whole process is that it has really helped me clarify my must haves/dealbreakers and nice to haves. Key elements that I don't want to forego are: 1) a "master suite" with large WIR + private ensuite+ direct private garden access/views. The current northern bedrooms are elevated and do not allow these elements and better suited to small kids as no external doors and can be eyeballed from the kitchen. 2)The kitchen must be the heart of the home and connected to all living spaces so the host never feels disconnected from guests & can watch kids from almost any living space.I attended a party last weekend which had the kitchen blocking the living room from the outdoor space and the host commented they regretted it after renovating. 3)The dining room must be an end destination vs a corridor so it does not become a dumping grounds for bags, mail & everything else as the nearest flat surface to the entry point. 4) All new bedrooms must also be min 3 -3.2M wide on the narrowest side for me to justify them. 5) I reviewed all my lookbooks and tear sheets pulled to date and its a clear pattern that I want my 'adult' living and dining/entertaining spaces connected to the rear garden preferably wrapping l-shape round a deck or courtyard garden. In a sense 'broken' vs open plan but still visible through glass etc. 6) I would not be prepared sacrifice the prime N/NE aspect with utility rooms. 7) I don't wish to place a verandah at the front as it will never be used except extra maintenance and can create shading in summer via other methods. 8) capacity to rent out room with private living quarters. There are many splitter blocks in my area and I don't need it to operate as legal dual occupancy. 9) single level living -no second story bedrooms etc. 10) separation of main bedrooms when renting out section of house Phew....I think thats most of the checklist criteria I have been working to. Still think tanking the street appeal/front facade style but its probably leaning toward lux byron bay beach cottage meets modern coastal with some retro elements to hint at the history of this 1950s house!

Hi Kieran, I've spent a fun Sunday playing around with this... thanks for the challenge! Jumping in to post it though, I think my ideas overlap with Siriuskey and Lucia. Isn't it funny how similar solutions can be arrived at independently! Key points: - As far as possible, I've tried to stick with the existing walls. - Since Bed 2 & Bed 3 are quite small already, even though I've encroached into each to achieve separate entries, the impact is minimal, particularly for Bed 3. - I've used pocket doors to both ends of the WIR and to the store room for optimal functionality. - I've depicted Caroma Urbane compact toilet suites with wall concealed cisterns because they save a bit of space and both toilets can use that extra space in that direction. - It's a very stageable design. You may for instance decide to build the ensuite/WIR and reconfigure the bed 2/3 entries without doing any of the kitchen changes. Or you may decide to save the expense and not move the main WC into the existing store, though it does add a fair area to the living space (I've used the exact existing footprint of the store to save cost and demolition pain which is workable with the Caroma Urbane, but alternatively you could demolish and rebuild the wall behind the pan for a more spacious loo). - The Family/Dining area ends up being fairly generous and very flexible. I've added a door to the end of the corridor to screen the loo a bit better from the dining area and for noise separation for the study, but you may prefer to leave this off. - I've not mucked around with your windows, figuring the important thing was to get the concept down for you, except in the ensuite. Really good idea there to have a central mirror with a narrow window to each side to throw light on your face at the mirror. Has the side benefit of a symmetrical effect which is always good aesthetically. - I've also flipped the main bathroom door to relate better to Bed 2/Bed 3, though not strictly necessary. - I originally used the Bed 1 robe space as a big walk-in-pantry, but it didn't relate particularly well to the kitchen and it also left no provision for general storage. Rather than take up a lot of valuable kitchen space with a pantry which would reduce the length of the peninsula breakfast bar (not ideal), I came up with the idea of shallow shelves with a roller shutter which I think you'll find give you an amazing amount of readily accessible storage. I'd like to think it would be possible to source a horizonal roller shutter that would coil back into the dead space at the back of the fridge, but perhaps better to just go with a vertical shutter and avoid the headache!

Unfortunately your budget doesn't allow for any major changes and suggest that you work within the current foot print and also keeping anything deemed by the council to be outside the allowed building site, meaning laundry and carport, they are no problem now but if you want to change them externally different situation. Turn the current Master into Mothers Retreat, with the ensuite bathroom and changing WIR into a kitchenette , she will have access to a lovely outdoor view and under cover sitting Your new bedroom can have an ensuite added or just a WIR and share the current up dated bathroom, saving money. Adding a new entrance and kitchen space will make a big difference, while helping with keeping costs down, bathroom, kitchen reno's can be done when and if money becomes available. You could even consider turning the laundry into your small design space and moving the laundry under the carport, Enclosed., This will give easy access to any visiting clients.