Excited to see some of the images come through!

Hi Jammomuzo It is always a great experience planing a new home, a great chance to look to the future and hope for great things, and its good to see the great contributions of ideas that you have received so far. The initial ground floor sketch plan that you have shown seems to consider orientation some functions with a plausible response, however I think your greatest asset is the brief, your five pages with ideas would be a good indication of your expectations, that would be my starting point with your design. Then there is always the consideration of site location, time frame, budget and non negotiable 'must have' spaces, and the expectation of all stakeholders in the project including pets if you have some. I think that you upstairs expectations are achievable, however I think that they should be planned concurrent and relating t your ground floor design. Looking at the ground floor there might be a few things you like to consider; The position of the stair on the north side, and the single flight. It might be better if you could relate the stair on the south side on the service areas and retain north light in the main living areas. Also a stair is always better with a turn and and a landing - less distance to fall, stairs and accidents go hand in hand - reduce the risk. I like the location of your guest room - cannot tell from the drawings if you have associated a bathroom or en suite with it. It wold be advantageous to have an en-suite of a small corridor so that your guest have some privacy but still be usable by the rest of the downstairs populous. It might be good to get a door from the Garage - thought a ventilated airlock - to the rest off the house. I think you have placed a hot plate or a sink on your kitchen front bench. In an emergency like a fire, instinctively one goes from the fire to the sink. It is always best to have the sink separate from the hot plate by one working station - about 800 to 1000 mm,and on the same side, this avoids the accidental spill of oils in an emergency especially if you have young children that travel very quickly around the kitchen. There are many factors to consider in a design, it takes a few revisions to obtain something that you are happy with. I hope this is of some help, it would be interesting to see the elevations and how the house develops its its character, considering that that is your intention from you initial elevation. I think to get a better understanding you would need a few 3D accurately generated computer views so as to fully understand how the spaces might look and work in the final arrangement. Wish you the best in your efforts. I would be happy to work with you or further comment on your proposal. Michael Manias - mm407p@gmail.com newhomedesign.com.au

Well, here's a concrete example for him. Our bed is 2200. The wall at the end of the bed is 3200 from the wall at the head. I decided it was too tight to get my 500 dresser in at the end of the bed, so I put in a 300 bookcase. The space between bed and bookcase (ie 700) is fine - not ideal, maybe, but entirely workable. Don't sweat the small stuff. Your plan looks fine, and you've got room at the end of your bed for a nice sitting area.

This is really a job for a professional, as there are so many implications for town planning, fire and acoustic separation between dwellings (covered under the building regulations), legal (are you on seperate titles, or is it strata titled), front setbacks, and structural implications. I haven't seen too many houses that have been subdivided into two units that are on two seperate titles in recent times as the complexities are so challenging with the current planning and building regulations. Your project will need a lot of research and careful management of the bureaucracies, depending on where you live. Your best bet would be to start with a local professional who is familiar with the local planning laws and council requirements. You will find it a lot easier to limit your new work to the existing building envelope. Best of luck, Dr Retro