I would finish the upholstery and add the cushions before seeking feedback. At the moment it looks poorly proportioned, and a bit rough, as it is only half complete. A lot of people would not appreciate it is a work in progress, and can't visualize the finished piece, so may make negative comments. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls

Thanks everyone for your comments so far. Some great points have been made and I'm going to take each one of the away to have a think about. In the meantime, I've asked my draftsman to provide me all the measurements to existing and proposed so I can share it here as soon as I get them. Some more info: We're located in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. Our budget is approximately around the $200k...this is so we don't over capitalise on the property. We thought about building to one boundary because we are of the thinking that we need more width to achieve the space we want. As a guesstimate, I believe the block is 12m or so wide. Each lane way is approximately 1.5m (3m combined) which only leaves us with an internal width of 9m (minus walls). We chose to explore building to the eastern boundary because existing utilities such as hot water system, ducted heating are already setup there. Moving it to the western boundary would cost $$. The eastern laneway has nice new concrete paving and allows us to more easily access it from our carport.The other reason for potentially building to the east is because we're the 2nd last house on the street (near a corner). We get a bit of traffic on our street but more so on the street parallel the western wall. I thought it would be more peaceful moving the house away from the traffic and noise rather than towards it. Also, the addition of the dining area (connected to kitchen and alfresco) will give us a bit more privacy from the street (parallel to western wall) when we're out on the alfresco/deck. Just my thinking but happy to get some further feedback. We're happy to consider keeping the current building boundary if we can achieve the design we want etc. I've attached a few pictures of the existing low ceilings towards the back of the house. The pics show the ceiling from kitchen and towards the back door (curtains are closed). The ceiling is about 2.4m and you can see the exposed beams which makes the ceiling feel even lower. I'm only 1.6m and I can touch them with my finger tips if I try... Whether it's a full knock down or increasing the height of the roof, I think it's the one thing we're about improving/removing. Hope that's some more info for everyone to go off... Thanks again for everyone who has already replied and made some great points. Cheers

Are the 2 photos from different times ? The lower , clearer picture logically would be the 'later' picture , but confusingly for me , it doesn't seem to have what I assume you call a 'screen wall' -- it appears to have a pergoda type roof ? So I assume the first picture is actually some years later than the lower one ? And being point blank -- that side of the house is plain / boring , but I'll get to that soon . You say about a front deck -- where and why ? IF you were going to do one , where that pergoda is would be the logical place , but hello -- you have the pergoda there , with a 'screen' ( solid looking wall ) which is presumably suitable for seating , offers privacy , maybe has a clear roof or similar . If the beach is to the rear , the back yard is more private ( even if you don't have a sea view at ground level ) -- why sit out the front , in what will still be a plain/boring facade ? Now I have mentioned it is plain IMO , so what to do ? Personally , i think you have missed the obvious -- that roof screams '80's in Mission Brown . No matter what else you do , the roof will detract . Yes -- the main problem in my eyes is the roof ! Now , assuming my guess that Pic 1 is actually the house now is correct , the gardens are looking better , the pergoda roof adds interest , the brick is pleasant , and rendering will simply turn it from a plain brick house , into a plain rendered house with an 80's roof . So paint ( or change ) the roof to your favoured monument , do the pergoda also in monument so it looks tied in together , do all the trim in crisp white , leave the bricks as bricks ( doing some render panels will simply make it look like you are trying to hide the 80's , which ironically will highlight it , so embrace it ) , and stand back -- you are almost done ! IF I have assumed incorrectly , and Pic 2 is the current , then thats easy too -- plant some plants to hide the plainer walls , do a screen wall and pergoda , then carry on as above .

The position of the powder room in the original posted plans and oklouise plans to me is not desirable. Toilet at the main entry?? Could the access from garage to back yard be reduced, and the laundry room area be increased to include the powder room in that area? There is already a toilet in the downstairs bathroom for the bedroom, why have another right next to it. The laundry area for powder room is private and accessible from outside when required.