Thank you. No subdivision occurred prior to us buying (still vacant at present). We do have clear access to back of block off side street. Builder is currently doing up a few rough sketches to give us ideas. Council will approve downstairs as living space, it would be classed rumpus but not approval if classed as granny flat. I think downstairs space might not be ideal for mum as not particularly private; upstairs kitchen, lounge & then adding a open deck is/will be heart of home so is busiest and nosiest and particularly if putting entrance down there too... Initial thoughts have been convert downstairs on RH as half as rumpus/guest room, other half keep as garage. Extend slightly out the RH side as enclosed entrance foyer with door to rumpus, door leading out to side of house/ path to back yard and then with stairs leading up to lounge (w/- powder room under stairs). Carport over existing driveway & then above covered deck. Extend out back for a s/c granny flat with own access, courtyard and would also have internal access by putting hall way in place of robe in bed 1. Would eliminate existing entrance and hallway and use this as WIR for bed 2. Any thoughts on this? Thanks again for your reviews.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating volume build in ANY way....there's actually little positive I can say about it except they are a more affordable option, and for some people that's the priority.....,whether or not it's in fact good value for money is a whole other discussion ;).......people have to work out where they sit within the quality to quantity spectrum for a particular project..................It's certainly a challenge here for you in that how can you accurately assess and distill/filter the "advice" offered by various parties?.......Seriously, unless a builder actually absorbs your design brief and comes back with a considered solution, any suggestion/comment such as " you could raise the ceiling" or "put in a window" or "use trusses" of whatever is neither here nor there, and are just floating ideas to consider in the mix...........but isolated "suggestions", whilst may be ideas to consider, don't effectively dealing with the overall solution/big picture to your challenge..................there are different areas of expertise in this game.....builders are builders, (and they seem to have a knack of getting called in and influencing too early in the process) they build stuff and certainly they have an idea about this and that from experience, and they can provide sound quotation/opinion on how much it will cost to do something... BUT really only properly/accurately once there is hard documentation in place (read: documented&specified, not basic concept/design sketches/verbal ideas) .......I have great respect for builders (it's a seriously hard rugged gig) and I know some fantastic ones, but builders are (in general) not "designers" unless they have come form a design background......and the conversations if held too early can be (unintentionally blurred, confusing and actually detrimental to the client and what they really need to be focusing on...........design advice from a builder can be offered with good intentions, however I have found it generally comes from more a singular benefit angle (usually motivated by business/profit) whereas (good/seasoned design) advice from a design professional comes from more complex, balanced and creative position and process in which various aspects are simultaneously managed/considered to achieve results for a client on multiple levels, ie, cost, function, aesthetic, experience etc.............the different and various professional skills all have their place, but need to be utilised in the right order relevant to the process......................yep I wish you all the luck.....these are always big investments, and big decisions, both emotionally and financially :)

imo the biggest challenge/cost would be removing all those big solid walls, changing doors and windows and repairing ceilings and not the extra plumbing (new bathrooms and kitchen cabinets, fixtures and appliances cost the same regardless of the extra few metres of pipes) and a new location can make the most of the available space but it can sometimes be more cost effective to add an extension rather than attempting to squeeze too much into an existing building but you need an engineer, builder and plumber to give expert advice on site ... better not to assume that one option is better than another but collect a variety of ideas and ask for quotes to compare actual prices but do you have a realistic budget? i would expect to pay at least $50,000 for a modest new kitchen and bathroom in the same locations before removing any walls or adding an extra bathroom and new laundry and the combined ens/wiw is too small and would be better to have a good sized ensuite with biw and there's not enough space for a bigger island without compromising space in the family dining area...there are so many different options but we need more info...are there any good or bad views, what is the length and width of the block, is there a garage, is there car access into the back yard, what is the distance from the house to each boundary, describe your climate, where is north on the plans, how many steps are there from the back and front doors to the ground, does the block slope and in which direction, how much headroom is under the house and in the roof space...is there any potential for an upstairs, downstairs or an extension into the backyard?

I mentioned earlier to think about dropping the wall next to the stairs to hip or slightly higher height to allow for the TV, as this would further open up the top floor and perhaps show the street art, ie the framed print. I know that you don't want anything else hanging from the ceiling but because of the ceiling height you will need a reverse hanging fan to bring all the warm air down into the room that will sit up there if you don't. The heater is because you had one shown in your posted floor plan, this is one of the fires available on my 1997 CAD program, that's the colour it comes in but can be changed within the program cheers