Hello @charlie_com Wow, what a great lot of advice and help. The Houzz community always amaze me with their generosity and info in helping homeowners with their project plans. And how exciting that you're looking at renovating! Your home has a lot of potential! I have a few comments to share which may be of use to you ... 1. Getting the design right - so it suits your family now, and into the future, (as well as creating a home that will sell well and quickly when the time comes) is a great way to start any project 2. Whilst your home is lines on a page, change is cheap - so whilst you may want to hurry up and get it built, it's worth taking the time to maximise every opportunity for your design, and to save time and money during construction, in the design phase. 3. Use professionals based on their specialty skills. Choose professionals you feel a good fit with, but that also have demonstrated experience in offering what you need. So builders are great at building ... some have an interest in design, but it's not their role or specialty. I have a blog on my site about the differences I see between building designers, architects and draftspeople - you can read it here as it may help you choose who is the best fit for you and your project. http://undercoverarchitect.com/architect-vs-draftsperson-vs-building-designer-whats-the-difference/ 4. Speaking to local agents is a great start to understanding what will add value and what won't. The Gap is a little bit of a tricky area of Brisbane value-wise (I have owned and renovated two homes there!) as it can have a bit of a ceiling on value. We really noticed that with our places, and our third reno was a home in Ashgrove, which is such a different market, even though it's one suburb over. Buyers in The Gap usually come from The Gap - it seems to be one of those areas that, once people move in, they don't leave ... because they love the bush setting, the amenities, and it is a lot closer to the CBD than most people realise! However, what people pay for in homes varies - so the local Harcourts is a great agency, and Ray White Ashgrove is also good, and Ryan Smith at Remax is awesome ... but yes, getting 3 or 4 agents in to talk about improvements, and value (even if you have no immediate intention of selling) is worthwhile 5. With kids your age, creating flexible, functional spaces that offer the ability to come together (but still feel some sense of privacy from each other) as well as spaces to be apart (but not locked away) is helpful as they get further into their teenage years. I would always seek to get living areas connecting physically to outdoors - it is especially one of the things that sets homes in The Gap apart from the Queenslander homes in neighbouring suburbs. It facilitates easier living in your home, and is great for young families especially. It will always help your home to feel larger too - as you capitalise on all of the block for that feeling of space. 6. Whether you change your entry or not is one thing ... you can change your address, but I would always check if one street has more real estate value over another. Being a corner block, the challenge is ensuring you create privacy on street frontages, so you don't feel exposed (but still get the natural light you need) 7. In Qld, yes, there is lots of sunshine. However, managing the heat load is essential for homes to feel great. So orienting spaces to the north and east, and reducing the access into the home from western sun. Creating overhangs that protect and shade from high northern summer sun, and also creating shady areas outside your home that cool breezes before they enter the house. 8. Working out your budget at the get go is a great start, and factoring in all those fees as well. I recommend that you think about what will add value to your home, and make your experience easier too. As with any industry, there are great architects, and not so great architects. However, choosing the right professional with great expertise - well, the money they save, and the value they build into your design and home - should more than cover their fees. I am very clear (even as an architect) about not pushing people to use architects ... however I struggle with the advice that says "an architect will cost too much - use a good draftsperson". We spend a lot of time in our homes, and a lot of money on them (often a 30 year mortgage!). If you were about to invest $100,000 or $200,000 in the stock market, what level of expert would you speak to about that? Perhaps thinking about it that frame of mind will help. Because you could be spending this renovation money on anything - so it needs to be an investment that adds value to your home, and your lifestyle in it. I have lots of free help and advice on my website, and send out more in my free weekly UA News (which you can get by popping your email address in on my website). Best wishes as you progress with your planning for your home. Warm Regards Your Secret Ally, Amelia, UA x www.undercoverarchitect.com amelia@undercoverarchitect.com ps - here are some before and after shots of a home we renovated in The Gap. You can see more piccies here ... http://undercoverarchitect.com/portfolio/denning-st/

our local council usually allows a front set back equal to the average of the two neighbours' and adding about 5m to the front and 5m to the north front would allow for a living area, master bed suite and 4th bedroom BUT any extension that's wider than the original front bedroom will need the roof to be wider and also much higher and needs special consideration to make it fit in with the existing house BUT adding a single bedroom to the front would be a lot of expense for little return..the cheapest option would be to use the old kitchen for a bedroom and add a new kitchen in the old back deck area but the front extension could be an opportunity to create something really generous...is the area worth the investment?

I think you first need to look at your general area and the size and style of homes there. Attend open homes and check what others have done or not done and the price they sell for. Even look at returns on leasing according to the style and condition of the house - Estate Agents will happily help you with this. Depending on movement in the market around you, this can take time, so be patient it will be worth it in the long run. You can be a little adventurous with any upgrades when people are upgrading and renovating all the time, just don't to too far with what you do or how you do it to avoid overcapitalising or limiting your market. I'm also finding a lot of buyers are resisting ultra modern homes, they like modern but not too OTT so beware of adding features that may not appeal to everyone. Again, studying the type of people in your area will give you clues as to the type of people who will want to buy into the area, the type of lifestyle they have and what they want in a home. The trend to putting ceramic tiles in kitchens and casual living areas is fading and they are much more expensive to take out and replace. Definitely not a good idea if you decide to lease as they can be broken or even pit if not cared for properly. I'm presently looking to buy a new home and I'm seeing too many homes where tiles have been destroyed which is going to be a very expensive exercise to replace. If you are going to lease, keep things simple. I think Oklouise has nailed a very simple plan although I would take the toilet from the laundry, some space from both the kitchen and living area and put a separate powder room beside the laundry so you can make it more attractive for guests. One slide-in door from the hall opening to a lobby with the laundry going off one side and the power room the other, would take care of any odours or noise. The washing machine and dryer will make noise too. I don't think I would attempt to create a master suite downstairs, I know many who agree with me on this, but dividing bedrooms over two levels tends to create "fractured" families. You certainly won't want to be running up and down stairs all night to a restless or sick toddler. It then becomes too easy to have the toddler in your room and that can be a very hard habit to break. Three bedrooms are sufficient for many people so a simple upgrading of the bathroom, wardrobes (if necessary), flooring and window covers should be all that is necessary for the upstairs. The emphasis these days seems to be more in living space and entertaining especially when it includes generous outdoor areas , so I would make that your priority.

Thank you siriuskey. Yes that's what I was referring to, but I think I wasn't giving credit to the island sink, which would also serve for food prep. I was thinking about efficiency from my perspective. Euro bins next to sink in island, would be beneficial for ease of handling waste. Another consideration is: when using cooktop and extraction fan, will noise from fan interfere with person in study? Also, will steam from say, boiling water steam bother anyone using the study desk? I am not trying to throw cold water on the plan by my questions, I'm merely trying to imagine diff scenarios so as much as can be taken into consideration is. I have a glass splashback behind induction cooktop and a very effective extraction fan; however, when a large pot of water is at full boil, the glass steams up something chronic and I have to constantly wipe it and the underside of exhaust fan or else water drips down onto the cooktop (and any food I'm cooking).