we're building in Childers Qld (Zone 2) on top of a hill 120m above sea level with no chance of being built-in as we are on a 69 acre block. Quite windy all the time predominately from the SE. All outside doors will be security. Roof has vents in the gables on all four sides so I can leave open to purge heat during summer and close off in winter. Bed 2&3 doors used to be adjacent bathroom door for cross breezes but a layout change in the bathroom meant having its door on the east now. Not ideal but necessary. Dark colour unfortunately is dictated by our very red soil that will stain any light colour so had to go dark, would of preferred light. So I should make my eaves 1200mm all around?

Fantastic. How exciting. First off I’d suggest going to the yourhome.gov.au website and the Undecover Architect blog and podcasts. The information on both is invaluable. Listen to the undercover architect podcasts from the start of series 1. This is probably the most important of her four series. Everything else follows on from that. Whatever your budget or style her information will help you make considered decisions about things you probably wouldn’t otherwise consider but which are really important. The yourhome website has a wealth of information about building a comfortable home for your climate. These are just starting points but they will help you make informed decisions about how you will build (volume builder, custom build, prefabricated etc) and what type of home. Floor plan and orientation are key to a comfortable house that works well for your family. And bigger is not always better. The architect we are using generally suggests a smaller house than clients start of wanting, but if well designed it will work better than a large, poorly designed house. Good luck with everything.

my suggestions include changing the staircase to have a halfway landing never winding steps, rearrange the kitchen, pantry and laundry, lose the biw and soffitts in the guest room and disguise the ens access door within the new MPR/guest room wardrobe, side access for understairs storage is much easier to use and, by the time you load and unload the laundry into a shute it would be quicker easier and cheaper to throw the washing down the stairs and save the space for more useful purposes ..pleased to see the good sized garage...cheapest rumpus, mancave and wet weather playroom with the addition of a few lockable storage cupboards and shelves...can't see the value in the extra hot water tap and gas outlet for the alfresco..rather extend paving across the back of the house and invest in a servery window to load dirty dishes directly into the kitchen for the dw and inevitably the wind blows smoke into the house so it's better to have a moveable barbq away from the walls and...upstairs hallway narrower to allow for extra steps, rearranged ens and wiw, avoid the void and use the space for a WIL or space for a baby's cot, dressing area, and/or leave the space open and invest in a gorgeous chest of drawers for linen and use the big WIL as a study nook with a separate small lounge and rearrange the bathroom with generous storage in the vanities, bigger shower and narrow freestanding bath...without all your dimensions some of my sizes are approximate but adding furniture helps understand the spaces much better and inside of wardrobes should always be at least 60cms plus the walls an doors and it appears that the plumbing access could be in the garage instead of the kitchen?

Thanks for the replies oklouise & pottsy99. Re Solar, i'd like to go down that route, but it might be difficult to get enough sun. There are a lot of large trees surrounding the block and with the southerly facing slope I'm not sure it would work. Something i'll explore through. Double-glazing is a must for sure. Most will be fixed windows. Ideally upvc steel reinforced, though maybe Aluminium depending on how the costs go. re services, water and electricity are available, though the sewerage connection might not be ready by the time I build (the Warburton area is currently being connected), so I may need a septic system. Driveway needs some work first, but should allow trucks up.. I may need to do some pruning to get a crane in though. :/ A fair point re the extra living space downstairs. I think the idea I had in my head is eventually I might add an outdoor fireplace off the deck and a spa. Having the living space connected to the deck/yard/spa/fireplace would be more convenient. Also allows kids/adults to have their own space that isn't a bedroom. I'm also trying to avoid the darker/shaded area downstairs that would occur if I had a larger overhanging upstairs deck. Plus of course I'd have the roof deck too. Still something I might think on. I'm going up instead of down for the extra light and the views. Not just a summer residence. No setbacks to worry about on the area I want to build, but I'll have to consider BAL ratings. No other buildings / sheds garages for now. I'm not too worried about those. Agree I need to speak to a professional, just got to find the right people and make sure I've done enough research first. Thanks again.