I'd suspect that to outline a full plan would need photos , and even details as to which walls can be moved or removed easily , and even whether you want to retian the upstirs kitchen , or the one in the master , etc . Similarly , do you want 3 spabaths and a spa pookl too , or will showers suffice -- likewise 2 laundries ( yes , one is part of the bathroom , but . . . . . ) seems a bit OTT for a single house .

Basically , you have what you want there already , just not set up how you want it , and with a sunroom !

Hope that makes sense , and there seems a reasonable amount of room to have say 5 bedrooms , or 4 and 2 kitchens , or 4 large bedrooms , or 4 smaller but with a family , a media and a study -- basically , we can make suggestions , but can't second-guess you !

Well done on the buy. Have you said in your previous posts if there are kids and what ages are they? And if you have a preference for the main bedroom being on the same/different level to the other bedrooms?

Hahah thank you @oklouise you're right, certainly not the easiest pick but when the opportunity presented it was too good to pass up. Walking distance to the shops and in a great area, so a project it is I guess!! The block is 19m wide and 38m long - satellite view below. I'll post a couple of photos of the main areas to give you all an idea of what we're dealing with!

Thanks @bigreader - no kids yet, though on the cards in the near future. Preference for main bedroom on a separate level (or at least in its own section, rather than all lumped together.)

and thanks @User - definitely get what you mean. Frankly this house is just so...much! that I'm keen to get any and all inspiration. As we learned today, the three spas in the property likely has something to do with it's former life...as a brothel....love Canberra! At this stage we're thinking to keep all the kitchens - a main kitchen, an upstairs kitchenette for a rumpus/cinema/guest area and a downstairs kitchenette for a bar/sitting area. Bathroom wise, one bath will do! Same with laundry - I love a huge laundry/mudroom (i.e. bench space, cupboard space, folding space) - but I don't need two!

Ideally, four bedrooms, three bathrooms (?two ensuites) and a study with multiple living spaces. For imagination's sake I'll say all walls are movable - because I know most are. We won't be able to measure etc. for a couple more weeks, so there's no practical limitations just yet haha!

Did you have a building report done? You’ll get some great ideas here from our plan experts but they’ll be assisted if you have a report saying all the structure is sound.

Kitchen and lounge with dining to left

Ensuite

Study

Master

Second Bed

Living

Master kitchenette (through to study)

Yep @bigreader - structurally sound, no identified issues. Was surprised - turns out it's not bad, just ugly!

What do you dislike about the sunroom and where is the washing hung ? Do you want a BBQ alfresco area outside the sunroom ? I would close off the entry area so that the rooms are not susceptible to winter drafts ! The laundry I would move to the sunroom spa area . I am going to enjoy the experts’ visions . Just go easy on the suggestions of red or orange ! 😁.Make sure that over the months ( or years ) that you keep us updated . All the best with the treasure that you have found .

So the interior of the L-shape faces north? The challenge is going to be preserving that valuable winter light in what is a probable location for an alfresco. In summer you'll want protection from the east and even more from the west. And double-glazing on the south is a must to reduce condensation in winter. Having lived in a number of houses in Canberra with windows facing in various directions I can't emphasise how grateful you'll be if you get the windows right. Wood burning fires are a problem in Canberra's inversion-prone valleys to the extent that the government has a rebate scheme to encourage people away from chimneys, so you'd be going in the wrong direction with that, much as it is an appealing idea in a cold climate. Strangely I'm not aware of any design requirements for dry wood storage though that makes a big difference to air quality, it continues to be only a 'suggestion' every winter, so at least don't overlook making provision for that. Gas cooking is also becoming outdated, I know people have long been fans of it for its better responsiveness but the technology of the much maligned electric cooking has improved and the old 'cooking with gas is better' no longer widely applies. With such an extensive renovation and plenty of time to research and plan it well you have an opportunity for future-proofing. Before doing any work get the property checked for asbestos, including loose-fill insulation as occasionally a missed one is still found, that looks like a property that has had layers of work done which seems like the sort of circumstances where loose-fill could have been incompletely removed or covered up and thus not previously identified.

the plans show steps down from the study to master suite but no corresponding steps between bed 2 and sunroom or master to sunroom..??

The extra info and the pictures have gotten me even more confused -- normally I can work out why things are done as they are , but this almost does my head in .

For example , if it was designed and built as a brothel , the master almost looks like it would have been a strip club with a bar , the study an entry foyer , and maybe a door to seperate the 'strip' side from the 'brothel' side , but then you wouldn't have had the master ensuite where it is -- it would have been more likely a changing room , and the bathroom would have been where the WIR is .

I don't want to sound like I spend too much time studying brothels haha , but I would also imagine they are generally 'warmer' with wallpapered walls and less open spaces where clients could bump into others .

So many possibilities , and I guess a reasonably long list to work through , but here's what I'd suggest to start --

-- what do you WANT upstairs ? For example , are the views good -- is it worth considering it as a main kitchen / dining / lounge / Family rooms , with a bathroom ? A bit unconventional , but if the views are there , why not ?

-- if upstairs is 'the kids bedrooms' , do you keep a kitchen there , or go rumpus or study or try for a bit of them all ?

-- would it work better moving Master and say a guest bedroom up there , then maybe split the downstairs Master and Bed 2 and that sliding door to nowhere , into 3 'kids' bedrooms ?

-- the existing dining and lounge are effectively in the middle of our downstairs with very few windows -- generally that is better suited to bedrooms , so do you swap rooms ( and then try and work out how to make the kitchen relevant ? ) , or go for longer rooms with windows , or leave as it is .

Not easy .

@Anne Monsour Thanks! :D The sunroom is just...odd. Most of the bad things are cosmetic, I know, but I can't see it being a genuinely used space. It has wooden paneling, fake grass lining, a spa inside and is what the master bedroom sliding doors open on to. It's been used a sleeping area for dogs (ick). I think turning it in a covered alfresco area is the semi-plan. Washing is on a hills hoist (of course!) in the yard.

@macyjean yep, interior is north/north east facing. Conscious there's a move away from wood heating and gas cooking, but they're frankly on my close to non-negotiable list! They'll take me kicking and screaming before they take my fireplace...windows are all double glazed, which is good, but certainly conscious of any additions that we make requiring proper placement. Wood storage we'll be safe for - my partner is VERY in to low and slow barbecuing, so we've got wood storage solutions galore. We've had the asbestos report done and appear clear - though I wouldn't be surprised if some is discovered deep in the house.

@oklouise you're right! There are the three steps from the study to master, and then one small, shallow step (about the height of one of the study/master steps) from the lounge to the family. There's one step (I think!) between the master and the sunroom.

Trust me @User you should have seen us at the first inspection. Mind was exploding. IRT your points:

- The house had warm wood paneling and salmon coloured carpets in its previous life...with a phone in every room and what appear suspiciously like emergency lights in the top floor bedrooms....

- Upstairs has a lovely outlook, but no "view" so to speak. I'm happy having the upstairs as bedrooms and rumpus space.

- I like the idea of a kitchenette (fridge, microwave, sink) upstairs that can be used for movie nights etc. but also provide some options when our folks inevitably come and stay. A study nook would be good too if it can be squeezed. The bathroom/laundry set up is stupidly big at the moment...

- would it work better moving Master and say a guest bedroom up there , then maybe split the downstairs Master and Bed 2 and that sliding door to nowhere , into 3 'kids' bedrooms? - really good suggestion, and maybe! I hadn't thought about things that way but totally viable - thank you!

- the lounge/dining/family is actually surprisingly light, as the front courtyard is a surprisingly open and useful space. I'm hoping that putting big bifold or stacking doors along the courtyard wall might create a bit better flow between the front/back ?

the biggest challenge for downstairs will be the variations in floor levels between lounge and family room and bed 2 ..this usually happens for an extension with a flat roof but, in a perfect world the ceilings would be high enough to raise the floor of the family room and bed 2 to create a single floor level and then my suggestions would be for a kitchen family dining with the north aspect to the garden, use the original front kitchen for a separate media lounge, move the laundry to the end of the sunroom, upgrade master bedroom and make extra kitchen to bed 2 (parents' retreat or potential baby room?) both accessed a step up from sunroom.. convert study to guest room and upstairs has two bedrooms, sitting room and bathroom and best location for the wood fire will depend on dimensions of all the rooms and, depending on the width of the carport, move the window in current lounge and insert a storage area to create a mudroom entry but accurate dimensions will decide what's possible

Jealous...

So lucky,
Lol

Thank you @oklouise! sorry for being so slow to get back to you. I love how you’ve transformed the sunroom into a useable space - I was totally lost with that! I have a suspicion that we’ll be stuck with the existing location of the main kitchen. Whilst we’ll have a fair budget, relocating everything might take too much of a chunk. But your layout is certainly something to float with the architects as i love what it does with the existing space! The only other thing to note (and hopefully I’ll have better measurements in the coming weeks) is that the upstairs bathroom is bigger than my first apartment, so can definitely stand to lose some space haha! thanks again :)

hahaha @kiwimills - you’re welcome to the spa bath, and half the space! all I can see in that photo is endless cleaning!!

The colour.. Magnificent!!