Cathy, do you already have a concept design or plans, and a builder in mind? Reason I ask is because you can find many examples of this style of home from numerous US sites, purchase them and then download them. Then take plans to a design engineer/draftsman in your area and have them redesigned to Australian dimensions. It's a the process, but during meetings you and designer can suggest and make alterations or changes, and address any issues with the conversion (sometimes things don't fit exactly once converted) to arrive at the plan that suits you. Mynhusband & I went through that process with our previous house and had a successful outcome. Fortunately for us and the builder, the designer's converted drawings were perfect and everything fit together exactly. MB Design & Drafting's advice is spot on. BTW! I just quickly looked up Hampton's style home builders and this one popped up. Sounds like they have their own design which may interest you. Here's the link. https://customhomesonline.com.au/hamptons-in-glen-iris/

Hi Virginia, How did you go with your quest to find a designer for your house renovation? What a beautiful rock wall that is - and how wonderful to have river views that can be maximised by building up. A good designer will be able to take all your design priorities and combine these with strategies to maximise sustainable design principles i.e. lots of natural daylight and ventilation, material selections, correct orientation, good zoning within the house and opening up views, and direct access to garden areas from living areas etc. The real challenge is in identifying how to achieve everything you want with a budget that is realistic, and more often than not compromises may need to be made in your brief in order to match your budget, especially if that is a fixed budget. Go with a designer or architect whose work you like and with whom you feel comfortable, and the process should be rewarding. This is a big investment, and so its better to go with someone whose work you love and with whom you feel comfortable, who can also help you manage your budget and understand the whole project costs. On a final note, your ideas are lovely, and I can imagine a modestly sized new 2-level extension, which could link to the area above the rock wall, the garden below, and possibly the roof of the existing house (depending on where north is and where the views are!) would work really well. Good Luck!

Hi Lauren Any home can be renovated.. but... It's a good question in asking can your home be done... This is something that needs a bit of research and you are the best person to do it as you can do the comparisons. Before you do anything, I would suggest you go through as many home opens as possible for homes for sale in your surrounding suburbs for a couple of weeks. Doing this will give you both an idea of what is being done with similar homes and a sense of what the market is paying. For example, if a 3 bedroom un-renovated home is selling for similar prices to a completely renovated home then you know that there is little value in doing it other than personal lifestyle... Cheers

I'd guesstimate you're spending around $350k for your works. Floor boards are probably already there, double glazing might be the budget killer though. A new house would be significantly more than this, say around $500k+ for one similar size to what you're wanting. This would be a project home however and probably fairly standard fit out. $600k+ for a custom home by a good builder perhaps. Remember you have around $20k to demolish existing. Higher council application fees for the new house and on it goes. Rent somewhere else while its being built so so 6 months of rental in Sydney..... Sky's the limit.... Budget first then go from there. $350k is still not bad for a renovation/addition certainly once compared to finding another $150k minimum to move up to a new house. The extra number sounds minor until you go to the bank and look at repayments, being able to service the loan, etc..... A quality renovation can be better than a new build but sometimes a new house can knock the existing for 6.