I'm hopeful that a pro will provide you with some great ideas. Yours looks like some of the "befores" that they do brilliant changes to on the TV reno shows. Most architects will come up with excellent solutions within the space if that's what's required, but nothing worthwhile is likely to be done cheaply though.

Hi ronski73 You have a great house with great possibility for a great extension, the living room areas are well orientated to north and there seem to be ample space. There are few points that you might like to consider. The roof plan really needs to be shown, at the moment the roofs do not seem to work well for massing, and the back elevation needs to be revisited especially for spans and roof pitch. Its difficult to work out how some of these roofs will work with different pitches as you have shown. A 3D model of the house would make this easy to visualize especially how "old meets new" , I think this is very important for the overall look of the house. My practice is always to use 3D models for my clients, I use Chief Architect which does this process relatively quickly and relatively inexpressive. 3D views will help you identify problem areas which might bother you in the long run. The living areas (there are two Family rooms shown on the plan plus a dining area and a meals area, a kitchen area and another area shown as a "cook" which I assume was the old kitchen shown on the plan which might become a bedroom)would really benefit by showing the furniture as I think you might be able to trim these areas a bit and get better functionality - big does not necessarily mean better when extending - just means it costs more for little extra return and more vacuuming and cleaning. Its difficult to understand why you would have the new toilet and bathroom in the addition when the existing one is just outside the living areas. In a lot of ways its better located than the proposed new one. There may be specific reasons for this however you might benefit by revisiting your brief as why you have include this extra expense. The kitchen is of good size and I think its well located, however the relationship of your stove and sink does not work because in an emergency - say a flame in a pan - you instinctively rush the pan top sink and its at that time that someone is walking past (children for example) and results in injury. A hot plate should be located about "one working station" (about 800 to a 1meter) from the sink and in line with each other. Then there is a relationship with the fridge, pantry, sink and hotplate to reduce walking that you might like to consider. This relationship helps to limit excess walking when cooking and reduces cleaning floor areas. Bedroom 1 new ES the toilet and the basins are shown on the side where the bedhead my be placed, this means that if anybody use the toilet during the night it might wake the person sleeping. Again showing the furniture might help in resolving this issue. Also its best if possible to not have the entry of the walk-in robes of the bathroom as this allows for possibility of moisture to build up in your clothes and help the breeding of mites and you end up with smelly itchier clothes. The dining room might help by being open up a little to the family room (if retained as a dining room) else it might look a bit dark and dingy considering it gets no direct light. All in all you have a great opportunity for improvement, a good sketch design is everything, after that its a matter of getting a decent sets of working drawings. Having done the design process many time I'm fully aware it can be taxing and frustrating, but good advice always pays off in the end. Michael Manias Manias Associates Building Designers. mm407p@gmail.com

the reno programs i've seen show a very unrealistic idea of how quick and easy it's supposed to be... your rooms are so generous that re-arranging the fridge, extra storage and seating at the kitchen bench is easy and i've attached an idea for a walk in pantry for your consideration?? BTW i meant the actual structure of the floor, concrete or timber framed in case you want to try the stove or sink away from the outside walls. I'm glad you like the ensuite and wiw and happy to attempt any variations but, much as i like planning kitchens and bathrooms, i suggest you need to confirm the overall construction, especially the roof, before finalising ideas about the internal fit out eg the yellow gable roof in my last suggestion would probably cost as much extra as the bathroom fittings and neither can be changed easily. The new kitchen cupboards would probably cost as much as the plumbing, electrican and windows but maybe the new kitchen could wait...so its' best to decide where you need to economise before you commit

Hi Andreanne, A great opportunity and substantial project here for you! Our advice in these situations is to consider the whole residence, rather than just focus on the extension. Rather than look at it as "an extension to add 2 bedroom etc...." you need to be looking at it firstly as a project that you have (a) a budget of $X (b) existing conditions & context (ie the current house and available site and (c) the overall and specific "brief" requirements of the home/end outcome, for example 4 bed, 3 bath 2 living areas, garage etc....... What this does is then bring into consideration of how best to manage an expansion/extension/renovation scenario to maximise the opportunity available for the complete residence. Such critical design decisions ultimately always come down to money and budget limits and you need to understand this in various ways before starting to make decisions on where you put things and whether you can configure, renovate or extend one way of the other. You mentioned the kitchen and "waiting", however considering your brief and scale, of the home it may make more sense to convert the kitchen into a bedroom or a play area and create and updated living/kitchen dining in an extended space.......always various options and it comes down to balancing various aspects with understanding practicalities, priorities, value and costs. I'd encourage you to seek professional design assistance with this at this point in the process, as from experience, we are best equipped to assist with resolving these design dilemmas. Hope this is considered helpful Cheers PD :)