Well here we are yet again! I've not changed my opinion. The toilet-loo-privy- whatever one wants to call it needs a room of its own. Makes no sense to me having a "privacy wall" behind which to hide the pedestall if it is placed in a shower or full bathroom...the locked bathroom door is all that's needed. Seems to me that the concept of a separate toilet room or "Powder Room" (Why that title is anyone's guess)...was a sensible and accepted concept of homes in the 50's. It wasn't in need of any "polite" title, it was simply referred to as "The Toilet"..meaning basically -".where to freshen up". My idea of a perfectly sensible toilet is a separate little room housing the pedestal (toilet bowl) and a little basin with running water. Optional- a paper hand towel dispenser or one of those blowers...or a small towel rack and/or a nook for toilet paper...mabye to accomodate wet wipes in the absence of a basin or even where there's a basin....a nice comfy little Toilet Room..

Once again, thanks everyone for your thoughts. The idea of a skylight is definitely on the cards - the glass doors are something that we just like on all the other doors, with the toilet just being the question. Also, a skylight might be a bit beyond our DIY (sky-tube maybe less so?) and trade work down here takes time (I'm not just in Snowy Mountains rural, but then down a country road 25km, plus another 2km of uphill dirt driveway, and the trades don't always show willing) - things we can't do ourselves take time and frustration. What Maguire Architects says about heat loss is important to us though (thus the double-glazing, storage heaters, etc.), so I've particularly taken that on-board. As for IKEA (jajlynn, Belinda)... jajlynn, that kitchen looks fantastic. I love those overhead lights - they really suit the style. Brisbane IKEA did delivery to Sunshine Coast, but the cost was pretty exorbitant, and they wanted to charge that each time more of the ordered stock came in. It got so frustrating having an incomplete kitchen, waiting for stock, we eventually brow-beat them into sending the stuff from a Sydney store (something they were very unwilling to do, even transfers between stores). They sent whole cupboards by Australia Post, slathered in standard stamps - it was weird. But it got done, and it got put together. Before and afters below Belinda, I'll be honest with you: as much as the IKEA kitchen is better than the Mitre10 kitchen, instruction-wise, you're gonna swear. You're gonna have to paint over the blue when you're done. ;) Just remember, when you're swearing, and probably at each other (assuming there's an other here - otherwise, at yourself and everything else), but it's just a kitchen - you'll get it done, it'll look great, you'll be justly proud and you'll want to do your next one (maybe not straight away though ;) ). That's why we're doing stuff here straight away in the new house - it gave us confidence to do it or learn trying. Now if you'll all excuse me I've got to get back to swearing at pantry wall cabinets, at my partner, at Mitre10, at the government, at that thing over there whatever it is, and at cursed fate that placed these suddenly-discovered slightly-wonky walls between me and happiness. ;)

nomadicmel - I would not consider removing the window at all - ventilation is so important, or you will give yourself even more problems, especially if you are having a dryer in there. Have you given consideration to where that will be vented anyway. If you are planning ahead for teenagers (and good luck with that) having a bath in one room and a shower in the other will be a very good investment, teenagers are anal about their privacy, but do be very mindful of storage - a vanity in the laundry will really be important - just somewhere to put a hair dryer for example.

Hi Paul In apartments, the killer for layout changes are always drains, then water supply, then load bearing walls. Before you consider doing any changes to the layout, I would advise you to locate the drains (pics would be good) as they will likely restrict you. The drains are important for obvious reasons but also important is the fall (ie downward slope) of any drain you wish to install in a separate location. It means you have to take into account more height the further away from the existing drain you go. It is likely that your existing laundry trough/basin has a drain going down to the floor, and this is going to interfere with the proposed ensuite entry location. Ditto if it is going into the wall. The big one is the new shower. It will need to have a 50mm waste (drain) in the centre of where your washing machine now is.... and the question is where is it going to go.... I would suggest swapping the vanity and shower over to access the existing trough waste if it is large enough. In a lot of these older apartment buildings, the waste sizes are down at 38mm, which is not going to drain fast enough for a shower. If your existing waste is that size, you will need to have a hob to the shower as it will fill up, and you will also need to check health regs to see if it is allowed in your state. To get the drain for the new ensuite vanity and new laundrette sorted, I would punch through the new kitchen wall and run drainage along the wall behind the new cupboards and around to the existing kitchen sink waste. This will give you plenty of fall and a place to hide the pipes. For the new basin to the existing, you will need to see if you can get it around to the existing basin waste in the bathroom adjacent by running it around and under the bath. Cheers