Wuff, that's how it should be...unfortuntely things are hardly ever as they should be and mny people these days haven't a clue about ettiquette....that applies to some adults in particular. I agree that fine dining restaurants are not suitable for children...unless of course, as you describe, the children hav been schooled in proper behaviour. One restaurants I've been taken to on specil occasions actually has a policy of "no children"..but in order not to breach discrimination ettiquette they have a special chidren's dining room with waiters dressed in colorful uniforms. There's also a fine dining children's menu. The children are called 'maam' and 'sir' and have their chairs pulled out for them....they have their non alcoholic drinks served in lovly glases as if it were champagne or wine....it really delightful. They also have themed evenings. There's a dining etiquette that the children are expected to observe..and how to hold and use the cutlery. Parents are given a little booklet about it.. I thought it a good way to instruct the adults under the guise of instructing the children. It works well and the restaurant owners are to be commended for such a novel approach to...well, it "manners" isn't it? And not many know the mening ot the word these days. The children come away from such an experience feeling important..and I think some parents learn a few things too. There's nothing worse that not being able to go out for a dignified meal because other people don't realise that some places are just not for children..especilly their chidren. Its one thing being well-to-do and completely another having manners. My dear old Mum was the eldest of 12 children...their Dad was an Engine Driver, but he insisted that each and every one of the children learn manners.. As disadvantaged as they were, they "dressed" for dinner in their best always clean, pressed, starched clothes,,, darns, mends and all, and he'd inspect them all before they were allowed to be seated. Mum's Aunt Laura taught her to..."be a lady" and educated her about the arts, taught her how to dance, how to set a table for a three course meal, how to dress, how to be polite, and..how to cook and manage a home...so she would be able to "mix it with the best" and not be thought out of place. How things have changed...its all more relaxed. Manners and respect for others seem to have..."Gone With The Wind"..regarded as outmoded and old fashioned. Pity! Wonder how we can get a gracious, respecful society back?

If you are after plans of architecturally designed homes, magazines may be your best bet (try libraries as you are unlikely to get most at the newsagent), however there are also a number of open homes and architecturally designed homes that are open to the public, including the Rose Seidler House. Also, if you are trying to get away from the kit-home look, take note of how the architects and designers use everyday material creatively in unexpected ways to achieve a highly polished look. As for your floor plans, further work is needed to the downstairs plan. I would seriously question whether you need two bathrooms downstairs. The bathroom for the guest room could be used by everyone (maybe consider setting it up as a three-way bathroom). You can remove the doors between the pantry and the butler's pantry, it is already hidden and just uses up space. As MB Design & Drafting has said, there is a lot of empty space on the downstairs plan and there is going to be an empty void around the meals area. Also of note, try to have continuity in your windows - that is, try to minimise the number of different sized windows and ensure they are standard sizes where possible (its cheaper and more cost effective to make 10 of one thing rather than 10 custom sizes); and try to ensure that the header and sills have a relationship. You have engaged an architect as you feel they are able to successfully design you ideal home. I would suggest giving the architect the ability to experiment and push your brief, otherwise you are doing yourself and them a disservice and you should have gone to a draftsperson how would have simply just drawn up your ideas as you stated them. You are on the right track, so don't give up! Often a design needs lots of discussion between the client and the architect before a great design can be achieved. Whilst it is wonderful that public forums such as this exist, ultimately the discussion needs to occur between yourselves and the architect as you are the ones who will be living there. Take time to listen to their ideas, and don't be afraid to question something you don't understand.

Haephestus raises nearly every issue I would have commented on plus more. My immediate thoughts start in the kitchen as the number one spot. The deisgn here is OK but I feel the hotplate as the only break on a 5.5 metre long wall is going to look lost. You have the opportunity of putting the sink on the back wall as well as the h/plate, creating a clear island bench - perfect for food prep and breakfast bar/entertaining space. I personally would increase the width of the pantry at the expense of losing 300-400mm off the length of the kitchen. In other areas, your main powder room should not be the same space as your guest bathroom. You have enough room to make a wc and powder vanity area that is separate from the Guest bed ensuite. I equally question the shared bathroom upstairs. Two way bathrooms can be more hassle than helpful. If you are going to have a shared bathroom, you need the toilet to be outside of that room or you need an extra upstairs WC and powder vanity. Bed 4 ensuite is missing a toilet but will be difficult to fit in and still access the shower. The extra door between the WIR and the ensuite doesn't make sense to me and you should lose it. Also, beware of where some of you windows have been placed. Unless you have 3 metre plus ceiling heights in the upper storey, the window over the ensuite 1 vanity and the window in the bed 1 WIR will be problems for you. Good luck and maybe look for a dedicated cabinet designer to help show you the issues with your house design. We offer an interstate service over Skype if you want professional help. Tony

I watched your videos and that sound is awful! I think that the clue is in that it doesn't happen in the tiled areas. Tiled floors in first floor construction is usually laid over a fibre cement sheet (called tile underlay) that is nailed to the particleboard sheet with lots of nails. This provides extra rigidity and to minimise any movement to avoid the grout between tiles opening up, or tiles cracking. Each dot on the tile underlay sheets in this photo shows where a nail should be - so your bathroom floor is rigid and strong, and won't creak. It sounds to me like there is inadequate fixing of your particleboard sheets in your carpeted areas to the floor structure. Perhaps the easiest fix would be to lift the carpet, apply wood screws through to the floor structure, and re-lay the carpet. Wood screws provide a better fix than nails, but your builder probably just used nails. Just be sure that the new screws align with the floor joists below, and you are not going through electrical wires or plumbing! It is possible that when the particleboard sheets were nailed down that the person missed getting the nails aligned with the joists. It shouldn't be this bad, but you may never get any satisfaction from the builder or VBA, so I would just spend the money to do it right. This isn't fair, but that noise is so bad, and I know I couldn't live with it. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls and Dr Retro Virtual Visits.