Progress, our laundry is becoming a laundry bathroom and sink is in and washing machine working a big relief when you have 3 children under 6. First photo can see washing machine sink next to external door, I was planning to mount dryer above bench but have found out my dryer is not able to be mounted on wall..... oh well I don't use it very often it can live in the garage maybe more overhead cupboards Second photo new external door where window was ,,, am loving the extra light and the direct access to the clothes line. You can see the existing toilet area. The old broom cupboard now has a window for light and ventilation and plumbing for shower Third photo the opening for the new cavity door into spare bedroom yet to be completed. The plumbing showing hole in wall as we have put an outdoor shower both hot and cold, taps for washing machine and sink. We also had to put water and drain in for shower. In answer to the costing $5500 for the demolition, doors windows and all plumbing. cabinets $1500 $500 for the fittings taps 2 showers etc Still have to tile and paint We are happy with the way it is looking

thank you for your advise. I have put images of the outside of the house as that where the dining room is from there we will be bringing the decking out 3 metres which will create an out - indoor eating. this is the most finished room giving you an idea of the colour and house. all blue grey tones. sorry about stuff around but a reno house is hard to find spaces below is kitchen as is looking out to the dining through that open servery but we are taking most of that wall out to make an open space - its very small step down below into the dining through the left door way. below is the now dining. the table is very small and hard to pull chairs in and out of hence the indoor out door considerations. belwo is the outdoor looking in. from those doors we are putting a 3 metre decking i think. we have a lot of yard so its easy to do

Hi again watchedpoppy, most overhead cabinets are actually 300mm deep for ergonomic reasons; where they can sit 450mm above your bench. This allows a clear line of sight over the benchtop (and without hitting your head). In recent times manufacturers are making Undermount Range Hoods deeper and they need 450mm deep cabinets, but this is perfectly fine for a range hood cabinet because these deeper units need to be set around 700mm above your benchtop, and have a high cubic metre per minute m3/m extraction rate, where again ergonomically you still see your bench clearly and also do not hit your head on the cabinet. With this arrangement though we recommend that you do not step down the overhead cabinets next to the hood, but keep these also around 700mm above the benchtop like the photos here of a kitchen with a Falmec Undermount Hood that we made recently. Free standing Canopy hoods are set up with this same principal, have higher extraction rates and these usually protrude out even further at around 500mm deep. Hope this helps allay any concern. Regards; Malcolm

All - Thank you so much for your suggestions. Very helpful! Oklouise – Thanks for your suggestions. I like what you’ve done. I had not thought of the the off-centre solid wall suggestion in the tv room. This will make the space more functional. Very helpful. Thanks. Siriuskey – your design was similar to oklouise’s, so again many thanks for this. I like what you did with the entry area so will see if I can make this work given the dimensions of the house. BTW - the house is brick but I am thinking of partly limewashing/whitewashing it - but this is a very low priority item right now. Dr Retro – thanks for your comments. Appreciated. Yes, I'll check the sizing of furniture etc. Kate – thanks for your question re: wall at the end of the dining area. I’d like to create an attractive focal point from the kitchen to the garage wall, rather than just have an off-centre garage door (i.e. going for a look more like the below). I’d also like more storage so I added the partition wall, which could also have cupboards on the garage side. But your vestibule idea could work too. I will look into that while taking into account the other ideas from houzzers here too. All very helpful. Thank you. Dreamer – thanks for your suggestions as well. These give me food for thought so need to ponder more. I’m not sure there will be enough space for a fridge and an island but will draw it up and see. Just to give you more info here, not essential, but I would have liked to be able to have another tv (hidden in a wall-mounted cabinet) on the existing east-west wall that divides the kitchen-tv-formal zones now where the tv faces the kitchen so I can watch the news while cooking. I have looked at adding storage to the entry area as I think the house needs more storage so I will look at this some more again. Thanks again. Really appreciate you taking the time to get back to me on this. Cheers. Thanks again everyone. Cheers.