You may find. New build is cheaper. Upstairs. Add another toilet or take toilet out of bathroom and make it a powder room.

Some of your ideas seem quite good , some not so . Without spending 30 minutes , just a couple of quick observations .

The Master area seems too big , but slightly poorly executed IMO . You have double doors coming into a sort of foyer/hallway , but one of the doors blocks access , so you'll only use the other one . Basically , you have wasted all that area to achieve less than nothing . The WIr is huge , bath seems about right .

Then Bed 2 seems a bit small , study a bit big . That may be to do with existing walls , but just seems out of kilter .

Two narrow linen cupboards in front of Bed 3 and 4 seems a lot of doors and not much space to achieve not all that much . Again , may be valid reasons .

Just as a once-over from someone who isn't an expert , it has potential and seems quite good , but a few little bits seem to need a bit of tweeking IMO .

My place also has some nice views to the south (front) and living areas southeast however it is very dark in winter (melbourne so probably more noticeable). I would reconsider orientating living areas that way, especially if trees are enclosing or nearby reducing the light even further. I understand about outdoor accessibility with stairs but with decks/verandahs as a focal point would this give you enough connection?

unable to read accurate dimension my suggestions are based on approximate sizes of existing rooms and minimal alteration to the existing structure... a new master bedroom and ensuite over the new downstairs family room and the old ens/wiw converted to a generous wiw with parents' retreat in the old master bedroom and, either, keeping the original master entry or, using the old hallway for a WIL...there are three good sized bedrooms and the study with the upstairs family room opening both north and south to the original balcony...downstairs i'd be very reluctant to attempt removal of so much of the structural walls so there are wide openings and a post in the kitchen island rather than removing the whole walls ... the optional pantry has a partition wall, not full height, that allows for light from the new windows and the roof over the new alfresco is only as deep as the upstairs balcony

Can you add dimensions to the original floorplans

A rough sketch of ideas without dimensions, the kitchen and WIP would have highlight windows above the wall cabinets to allow winter sun and protected by eaves during summer

Thanks everyone for their comments and time spent on coming up with new ideas and designs. The floor plans attached have been updated to reflect the design issues that have been raised by various people. Dr Retro House Calls raises a very good point about the cost of the renovation. So, before the renovation continues much further preliminary costing will be carried out. This point has been the forefront of the renovation and why we are reluctant to move any bathrooms or major structural walls as the cost of the renovation will blow out. This then links to the ideas and plans oklouise`s designed. The new plans reflect aspects of the kitchen and main bathroom seen in oklouise`s design. I’m still trying to come up with ideas on how to get natural light to reach the southern parts of the house. Any ideas?

for natural light in windowless, downstairs rooms and even under the stairs!!! check Solar Skylights eg Illume or Arcol brand for an economical means of adding daylight

As previously requested are you able to provide dimensions with the original floorplan so we can work with it.

I would dislike the front to the north even with views to the south, it will be dark, cold and expensive. Without all the details of the site etc I do not know what to suggest except maybe a KDRB which does seem rather a huge over do. Lovely as it could be, I do not think this will be very a comfy. Cheers Margot

Add a large, glazed skylight, such as a Velux skylight above the stairwell void to bring light down into the middle of the home. Add a few strategically placed mirrors to the stairwell walls, and make sure that the balustrade between the stairs and the dining area are fairly minimal and transparent.

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Best of luck with your considerations,

Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls and Dr Retro Virtual Visits on Zoom

Following on from my earlier suggestion, I would move the kitchen to the other side of the house where there is already plumbing and adding a small addition which could be extended to add extra space upstairs. Once again Highlight windows in the pantry and laundry.. You would need an engineer to check with any supports that may be required

Here are some Renders of the house based on the current proposed plans

The brief was to achieve a "Hamptons" look, that wouldn't date in 10/ 15 years time. Therefore, the Ground floor would be rendered and painted 'surfmist' or similar and the first floor would have a Hardie weatherboard product or similar attached with battens to the First Floor exterior brick walls all the way around the whole house. A porch would be added at the front to give the house depth and soften the house from the street. Thoughts?

Existing North Elevation (Facing Street)

Possible North Elevation (Facing Street)

Existing Elevation (Facing to the rear/ bush reserve)

Possible South Elevation ( Facing to the rear/ bush reserve)

They look great. Did you say you had new floor plans?

@siriuskey The possible design that you designed looks amazing on paper and was actually similar to the first design I designed for the house. However, the downstairs floor to ceiling heights is only 2.44m. There are multiple 310 UB beams running through the possible living area the clearance would only be 2.13m which isn't ideal in a living area. This is one of the reasons I designed the proposed family room (see above post/ possible Southern Elevation Render) to be an addition to the house as this would allow for the Family room to have a raked ceiling. I'm hoping I can find time during my weekend to add the dimensions to the original plans as previously asked.

@Kitchen and Home Sketch Designs @Dr Retro House Calls @Kate Thank you for your feedback, as we all know in Australia, the preferred aspect is for living areas to be placed on the Northern side of the home. This of course conflicts with creating an indoor-outdoor feel with the backyard and taking full advantage of the bush views from the rear (south) of the home. In regards to knockdown and rebuild, to build a similar house, spec and size would cost roughly 750k plus (turn key). This does make sense in some respect, as you could design a house that is 'perfect' with higher ceilings, no beams to consider or to design around, new plumbing, wiring and a more efficient house in general with all the mods and cons that a new house has to offer. However, the site houses a large 400sm under roof double brick house. So the current improvements are worth 250k approx. As long as the renovation cost + existing improvements don't exceed the possible price of a new built then renovating is still the best option. Based on preliminary costing the renovation still stacks up. However, it's really much of a muchness.

Excellent Renders, but disappointed that you aren't embracing the Period of the house and including that in your Australian Hampton's transformation, using black steel style windows and doors, these would make those arches amazing. Australian Hampton's has been very popular for some time now and will start to date. Have you actually looked at American Hampton's houses where this originates from, they are quite different and have unique character.

I also think you will need a MUCH bigger budget to achieve your look.

The following example without the extra detail within the arch.

You’re at an exciting time and you’ll get lots of good ideas here. I’m not great on the plans, I’m much better with figures. I can see $70k of changes just to the front facade to get the look you’re after. This eats a chunk of your budget before you even get inside or to the back. Have a look at the earlier houses that Three Birds Renovations did. They turned brick boxes into the look you’re after and the earlier properties were much more budget than their current new build projects. Good luck. Remember you can always stage renovations if you plan properly.

I would try to keep the kids bedrooms apart from your master suite, and as per my ground floor plan I would extend the rear verandah the full width of the building

@siriuskey Dimensions and room sizes have been added to the original plans :)

Sorry, my floorplan didn't attach above, so here goes again

some more ideas to consider with minimal changes to existing walls and windows, without the big stacking doors in new family room and smaller roof over alfresco and after having such generous garage space i've left some extra storage room in the new garage and taken more space from the dining room to extend the kitchen and pantry

Another thought for the ground floor, working with existing walls,

the dining room is now an indoor/ outdoor dining in one, the bifold doors stack to the right out of the way.

If you need to reduce the opening between the kitchen and dining, you could have, as shown, a tall cabinet built in each corner of the opening

The other two stacker doors pull together at a brick pier, when open they allow for a large opening (I have this in my home )

The kitchen has a large 4m plus island which could be made up of, kitchen Island and extension as a table. There's large Pantry with sliding opening

I have left the bathroom as is to save on cost, I would have preferred the door at the vanity end. I have also retained the laundry plumbing

Screening the alfresco with retractable blinds is also a great idea which removes the need for door screens if you prefer, I live 1hr & 15mins North of you and at certain times of the year screens are needed to deal with mozzies.

Plus a tall fireplace at the end of your new vaulted ceiling room