No... for us bedrooms are for sleeping in not playing in, and we all like to snuggle up together. We have two beds all pushed together and we are all in together. Maybe when my 2 kids are older they will share a room, but they will no doubt want to share a double bed. Perhaps they would just like a little nook in a shared room when they reach their teens. We all enjoy the intimacy of shared space. We like to be right on top of each other... we currently have separate kitchen, but everyone crowds in there while we cook. Play areas are in the living room, as well as craft stuff, desks, computer desks, books, toys, We have a typical 3 bed brick house and it does not fit how we live. We mostly only live in half the house. The 2 other bedrooms are just used for storage. Realistically we probably only need a 3 room house. One large sleeping area, one larger living area with zones for our different activities, and open plan kitchen. And a bathroom/laundry. I'd probably even spring for a communal walk in robe off the bathroom/laundry.

Garen, Obviously a loo doesn't need a door if it's in a bathroom but I've never ever heard of anyone who would like to use a seperate loo without there being a door. I suggest you keep working on your plan, just keep drawing, or perhaps seek the advice of a professional home designer/decorator and you might be surprised with what is suggested. Sometimes we can't see outside the box so to speak like a professional. My daughter has a loo in her upstairs bathroom, right beside her shower and the shower wall seperates the loo and it is not obvious when you first enter the room, so there is a level of privacy however, if someone was at the handbasin then all would be in clear view, not for me but it does work!!

A nice invasive running bamboo would be the ticket to isolation. Where are you worried about it invading - your neighbor? When it invades your gravel areas, you cut out the running root, big deal. If you built a wall, you would have to maintain that, would you not? I am renting a house that is less than ten feet(3 m) from the highway right-of-way, but about another 20'(about 6 m) from the actual roadway, which is about 5' (150cm) above my first floor. As the road curves, it passes both first and second floor bathroom fulll-size windows, yeh. Bamboo to the rescue! We are saved by the lovely self-sustaining bamboo. No fertilizing, no watering, just an occasional clipping of its toenails, each spring. It doesn't soften the sound of the Harley's though. To keep the bamboo from crawling out of its crib, install a galvanized or aluminum edging that goes down 6-12'(15-30 cm) to contain these babies from escape. And let the neighbor go back to Dungeons & Dragons or Sesame Street for their entertainment.

Hi I have work in the building Industry for many years before venturing into Landscaping and Design. It come to this having a split level can be easy but you will need to think would you like to come up and down multi level home. I had a multi level home at Bonnells Bay (Newcastle) N.S.W. and found after living there for 5 year a bit of chore to go up and down the level so much. A single level flow better to go with a Alfresco Dinning experience, as if you have a guest at your house been entertain on the outside it make it hard to find a toilet if needed. I would say to your husband to weigh up the cost, it is simple and as follows a retaining wall of one level, can be anything from stone or besser block or timber. These element will be what you can afford to do, the stone and besser are the most expensive of the 3 but require the less maintenance and last the longest. Timber can be low cost, but has the tendency to decay over time and has a life span of no longer then 5-8 year, depending on environmental conditions. A retaining wall of that height of 1.5m, tend to need a engineering spec to built and so my advise is to go for the besser as it the cheaper then stone. if your are concern on look of the besser, it can dressed up with stone looking tile or there a number of option to go for. is to get the costing of doing a multi level home design. This can be costly too depend on if it going to be slab or bears and joist home, as the cost differ and different type of process have to happen. You got to ask yourself, is my house raise of the ground or is a slab that sit directly on the ground. to put it to you as simple as I can, for a slab need steel and pier to be dug and so on, so if this is the case then with your current house is siting on a cut and fill which is common for this type of slab construction. Where a Bearers and joist system sit on top of a raised pier that come off the ground. this is what a lot of the older style home have, the only thing about this not a lot of builder and trades people do not how to do this as it a dying art of constructing house. final option is to do a raise slab which raises like a retaining wall but in face bricks and a slab is pore on top but not seen form the outside and the face bricks continues As for the design of your house it all up to what you want for a house, you have to ask yourself can I use this for the long term or is something I want rather then need. Sometime we over compensate for thing and the saying in design is less tends to be best. a flowing design is a happy one and can be more of a chore to go with something that is wanted then needed. A little tip for your kitchen, make shore that the sink, stove and fridge are in a triangle form from each other as this flow the best when cooking. Any tip of knowledge on retaining wall just send me a message