Thanks guys, @Andy, I will be more than happy to keep everyone in the loop. Especially after everyone has contributed so generously. However, the reality is that we are in the very early stages of planning. Also, considering we are wanting to basically gut the house and renovate from top to bottom raising the funds will likely take time. Though I'm sure we will continue to return to this page and seek additional advise/suggestions moving forward. Oklouise, thanks for the floor plan. This will be very useful when showing a professional our/your ideas. A loft? That sounds expensive! Regarding changing from my beloved Hampton's style, we were thinking of keeping some elements from the original home. I.e the raked ceilings but white washing them. do you have an example of a modern mid century home? Siriuskey, ok you are making life way to hard for us now. You keep coming up with some fantastic ideas for the kitchen and my wife loves all of them! I agree with you about keeping those two front rooms. I think they are quite unique in the house BUT we really like Oklouise's floor plan which carves up that room into a WIP/study. Currently we are torn as we want to retain the room but love her floorpan. Life is just to hard! I do indeed like my barn doors! I think they are very cool indeed (not sure how quickly they will date), we were wanting to use one as the entrance to the WIP. I have attached another picture of an example kitchen style that I like.

Thanks again to all. Last week's meeting to thrash out some ideas led to this revised rough sketch... This gives us: -- more coats storage near the front door for visitors -- good size linen storage adjacent to laundry -- a 'drop zone' adjacent to kitchen (near the door into bedroom) -- 1800mm high wall between ensuite shower and toilet, to eliminate overspray (and provide location for future grab rail) -- possible bathtub in a great location, although I think we'll go without it, and have an internal rockery/fernery at the southern edge of the the ensuite shower recess in lieu, combined with skylight overhead (I love the fantasy of feeling like I'm showering 'outdoors') -- revised kitchen/dining/living arrangement that still gives room for BIG island bench -- possible ramp access, although still need to figure out best configuration/location -- move electric golf cart to standalone 'shelter shed' located to rear, to allow more usable space in garage

I don't think you will get a straightforward answer on this forum. There are too many variables and too many unknowns. At the end of the day a lot of your decisions will be guided by your budget and how much work you are prepared to undertake at any one time. I always suggest that new owners live in their new home for 12 months before starting to plan a renovation so that they understand how the house works, or doesn't work, with the change of seasons. You have the coldest part of the year coming up, and some of your thinking may be influenced by trying to keep the house warm over winter, depending on where you are. I would also suggest that the first thing you should do is to engage a land surveyor to complete a contour, re-establishment and feature survey as with extending on a sloping block will be affected by setback heights restrictions. The accurate measurement of the existing levels on the block will inform design decisions down the track about what and what can't be built. Best of luck doing your preliminary research as you have a complex series of problems that won't be resolved easily without professional help. Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls/Dr Retro Virtual Visits

Hello again everyone 😊, We're finally in the house...!!  Let the planning in ernest begin.  We've scrapped any idea of renovating the 2 storey part of the house.  The ceiling heights on the ground floor are very low, add in other problems its not worth renovating.  We've decided to knock the 2 level section down.  There are a few ideas floating.  1. Stay with the earlier suggestion knocking through and turning the main bedroom into the kitchen so giving a flow through dining and living to the pool.  2.  Put the kitchen down the end of the living room where the fireplace is currently and knock through into the bedroom for living space.   3.  Configure that area into a two bedroom 2 bathroom plus living area 'pod' to make a self contained  area for visiting children, spouses and potential grandchildren.  Of course those ideas have to include a new build area approximately where the knock down bit has been to incorporate the missing pieces.  Any input would be welcomed!!