please include readable dimensions of all the rooms and we can't read the extra details you've written on the plans

Need dimensions. But first tough is the entry hall is too narrow to be comfortable particularly with the WIL blocking progress. The is no where to comfortably let guests passes you when you open door, sense of where to go or a hall table. Putting the doors to the two adjacent rooms on and angle and changing the WIL could help open the space.

After deciphering your red writing.
Do not reduce front powder room shower recess. 900x900 should be the minimum size.
Remove front WIL, have a straight hall with doors at the end.
Enlarge powder/shower room. Put in a linen cupboard.

are you able to share them

I

Thank you everyone, sorry I'm a newbie! Is this one ok to read with the dimensions?

right hand side

top

Left

Bottom

Thanks dreamer, that's an interesting idea. We've struggled with how to manage the entry since we can't make the door or hallway any wider. We have a split slab so there's 3 steps up to kitchen/living area, do you think it's still ok to put doors at the top of the stairs? Is it weird to walk in straight into kitchen island? We would prefer a more impressive entry so definitely considering some changes there!!

Some of the changes written in red on the amended plan include:

• Removing current media room door and adding double cavity sliders on the entry wall
• Wider window in ensuite so light comes in when toilet door open
• Rear hinged door from garage to be changed to 820mm but also add single garage roller door on the back wall (centred to the outdoor area).
• change to 6 panel stacker/slider door to both facing outdoor area. We will add pergola with adjustable louvres after build.
• Remove recess in living room so powder room doesn't encroach into garage too much. Narrower shower door for same reason.
• Wet room main bathroom, narrower shower area (enclosed with glass door), nib wall with wider vanity.
• Deeper built in robes in Bed 3 & 4 (to 620mm)
• Change pier sizes in Alfresco so doesn't restrict view to back garden too much.
• Add sink to Butler's, next to fridge. No overheads in the middle back section and add extractor fan.

Would love to hear if anyone has any ideas or suggestions! Thanks.

Aurora, have you done a furniture layout for living and dining areas. It looks like tv is on a 2.5m long wall that forms the butlers pantry. This would squash the furniture against the sliding doors at that end, I’m wondering it these 4 public rooms should be flipped so kitchen and dining are in west end. This would allow the front entry to be directed into living not kitchen. Pantry is closer to the garage, tv would be on the eastern northern wall. Pantry can be shallower than you have it. Maximising living space.

Thanks Kate but I'm not 100% clear what you're suggesting though. We're planning to switch the Family & Dining and TV will be on the wall against the Powder room (you might be able to see in my sketch of furniture in the amended marked up plan). I can't quite visualise the pantry near the entryway but I'm intrigued!

my suggestions include losing the WIL and extra kitchen storage in favour of a more generous entry and circulation space in the busiest traffic area in the house (there's already plenty of storage elsewhere including the pantry, hall storage and bathroom vanity cabinets in all three bathrooms) there's a more comfortable guest bathroom without encroaching on the garage but, if you want a standard 2400 wide roller door at the rear of the garage, that would impact the different floor levels between garage and concrete pad so i've included the roller door to one side and the hinged door opening to the side bin area ..there are twin cavity sliders for the lounge, swopping the toilet and shower in the ens makes the room brighter all the time and a little extra space in the retreat allows room for a small couch ...there's extra doors across the entry to screen the front door .. the distance between counters is now the same in the pantry and kitchen so there's a little extra space for the dining area which is better placed on the NW corner with the wide openings.. the fridge is in an easier access location, a stacked oven and/or microwave would be ideal on the other side of the cooktop and there's an extra sink in the pantry.. the windows in the kids bedrooms face west so bed 3 window could be better on the south and/or bed 4 or both bedrooms could have a narrower west facing windows and/or external sunscreens and the biw have been increased to 60cm depth...the proposed bathroom arrangements is much more comfortable for sharing with a big bath and generous separate shower with dry floor space, double vanities and separate toilet ...and the alfresco floor and concrete pad now connect at an angle

I'll echo oklouise's thoughts about western bedrooms. They're a bit of a no-no, as they can get very hot in summer afternoons/evenings. In bed 3 you could remove the western window, in favour of a southern window. Bed 4 you're stuck with a western window.

If both of these bedrooms will be occupied, is be inclined to move them to the southern side of the home.

The kitchen is quite a long way from a window. So may be a bit dark, & will lack external ventilation.

It looks like you have a large expanse of uncovered concrete to the north of the home. This could get very hot in summer, radiating heat through the windows into the home.

All new build homes in Australia should consider solar PV as a major energy source. Like many Australian homes, that's a very complex roof plan. This is certainly not great for solar PV. It will minimise the roof area available for panels & complicate installation. The end result will look like a dog's breakfast, panels located here & there.

A complex floorplan will usually lead to a complex roof plan. Simplifying the footprint of the home should simplify the roof plan. ie. Less corners means less roof faces.

Swap the kids activity and bathroom locations. If one is going to bed you don’t want them walking across the activity space if the other has a friend there.

I haven't looked in detail but my suggestion for the entry is to convert WIL to mudroom with starting and some coat having space.

another option to avoid the west facing windows is to have the bedrooms on the south and activity room opening to the alfresco but this makes the bedrooms and biw smaller and lots of space is wasted by extending the hallway.. more cost efffective to change bed 3 window to the south and add efficient sunscreens to the west facing bedroom window

Thank you so much everyone for your helpful comments.

oklouise - I'm blown away by the effort you've gone to!! Thank you for drawing up the plan, it's so helpful to visualise your ideas and the house flows much better this way! Could I trouble you for a clearer/larger image? I can't make out the dimensions and some details.

ddarroch - thanks for all your comments. While we know that western facing bedrooms aren't great, we choose that so they can have a view of the garden. If they face south, they will be only 900mm away from a fence and it will be dark. We're considering external awnings for the windows, hopefully will help with the heat.

We might put in a Solatube in the kitchen.

The uncovered concrete will eventually have a pergola with adjustable louvres so we can let in winter sun and keep out summer sun.

We are intending to put in solar after the build. I've posted a pic of the site plan. Haven't looked into it yet but assumed the solar panels would be over the living areas facing north. Do you think that will be an issue?

also check Solar Skylights that don't need a hole in the roof, are much cheaper than traditional skylights, can be installed by a handyperson and are ideal for anywhere you need extra light without ventilation especially windowless wiw and wilp.. illume and Arcol brands both available from our local hardware

Thanks oklouise. I've come across these online but since they really are just LED lights, I wondered if there's any point in getting the mini solar panels that come with them if eventually we will have the property solar panels installed. Have you used them? LED lights with diffuser panels would look the same I think? jYou just wouldn't get the skylight experience of light flickering or changing with clouds etc.

we're very happy with our Solar skylights: one in an ensuite and several others in a south facing room... they do look like flat light fittings but the light from them does change with cloudy skies and bright or overcast days (when we use an electric light the same as you would for any room) ...only thing better would be a ventilating Velux roof window that would include views of sky and trees but they're usually much too big for a wip, wiw or ens and will interfere with space needed for your future solar panels...the tiny solar panels that power the Solar Skylights are installed on the ridge of the roof and only produce enough power for an individual skylight but i don't believe that they would be suitable to be powered by a Solar Electricity system and then you just use standard electric lights..

Just my 2 cents on windows... I currently have a westerly bedroom window. Darker & hotter than my kids (facing east & north) BUT a lovely big window to view the front garden. The street trees do a great job of shading in summer & letting winter light in. Kids do spend more & more time in their rooms as they get older, so a view would be a nice change from screens.. My sister's kids have the north windows - but onto the fence 1m away. I prefer the view.

enlarged plans

oklouise, thanks so much for the enlarged plans, that's so helpful!!

Cee - really good to hear your thoughts on the west facing windows.