Hi bigreader. Can you get a proper plan drawn. The realestate one seems out of scale.

Thx Kate, probably not at this stage. Not sure why real estate plans are always out of whack. Maybe they share a warped reality with their photos. House is a only potential at this stage, so not sure they’re ready to invest in plans.

Without knowing budgets and the like , or load bearing walls , or window sizes , or without knowing much haha -- how about move the kitchen to were the front lounge ( beside the garage ) is , then make the rest 'open plan' or walled or folding dividers ? I can understand why the kitchen is where it is , but it doesn't really achieve much either -- you effectively need the hallway to get past it , which takes up a lot of space -- going more open plan ( apart from the kitchen ) you'd utilise the space better , keep the dining near the kitchen , space for pantry and fridge -- but the cost of altering the utilities may kill the idea .

Thx Pottsy, that’s a bit more work than they were thinking of. Being on a slab, and not wanting to over capitalise means that plumbing would stay as is. There’s kids to be housed so the separation of living areas needs to stay. A little bit of open plan is good, all open plan is not.

The 'top' lounge could stay as it is , basically retain the existing wall , but of course 'this' side of it is the existing kitchen , so would need a full sand and fill and makeover , and from the middle pic ( the exterior showing the red brick ) it seemed likely to be on a slab ( her we just call it ground level or piles -- you Orstralians like your slabs and stumps ) , so I guessed it would be a problem .

Wouild just taking out that dog-leg wall in the 'lower' dining area open everything up enough ? I realise that still doesn't solve the pantry / fridge thing , but that dining are a looks like it is pretty pokey and maybe darker ?

Actually , what about an island bench , with the cooktop on it , possibly a dishwasher under ? Then do a long bench along the right side wall ( the longest one ) , maybe even with one of those bay window things in place of the existing window , then you could have your fridge and pantry along either the 'top' or 'bottom' wall , maybe even with a wall oven -- so you'd have all the tall bits along one wall , the 'window' side would be a long bench ( storage below and maybe above ) , the other wall whatever you want -- more bench , more storage , maybe take out the wall and replace with a breakfast bar if light is needed .

Just going with the plan as shown, I would build a stud wall and straighten the lounge room. Knock our part of wall on the kitchen side and fit out a large WIP and storage area in the old dining room. Remove the fridge walls and cabinets on that end and install a new beam across that space for load bearing. Install new island the length of the kitchen room. Or if that isn’t possible keep the required load bearing wall at the end of the new island. Fridge can be placed along the walls, wherever it works for occupants.

as usual the real estate plans are inconsistent so i would need to confirm all the room sizes with a copy of the original plans but using these very rough plans there might be space for a small pantry and use leftover old dining area for a study nook ...apart from the angled walls i would also be unhappy with the small bedrooms, limited storage and especially bedrooms and bathrooms opening to public rooms but something like this

Thanks OKL. You’re lightning quick. That’s similar to what they had in mind. Agree on the storage. A narrow cupboard needs to go somewhere. Thx dreamer, I don’t mind the island bench going that way, but think the pantry maybe a bit over the top. I agree the house isn’t great but the area has gotten super expensive.

My proposed large pantry can also be a storage room. The home is lacking in both.

If you don’t need the pantry that could be study and the study storage

for those interested in a better original floor plan using the stated dimensions shows very different proportions and also suggests a smaller third bedroom and slightly longer family room and surprisingly amounts of space used by the hallways but angles make plans very difficult to interprete

Thanks OKL. That does show the kitchen in a more realist size. Now I’ve seen the toilet placement I can’t un see it. They’d need to add a door way so you don’t see the loo while cooking. I went with them to have a look and I’d say the front angled hallway is a touch narrower than usual. This house has has a lot of questions but it does have location, location, location. Thanks for the plans I’ll pass them on.

Working as best I can with the dimensions on the plan which are incorrect, I suggest a galley kitchen which will give privacy to the bathroom, WC and bedrooms plus much needed storage

You could close the kitchen a little to stop the toilet view but i would change the access to the toilet and bath instead

As OKL mentioned working all of the angles with incorrect dimensions made it difficult, if needed, extra width to bring the kitchen to the 4500 as suggested by the posted drawing would be to take the width of the doorway into the dining room back into the kitchen.

Thx Siriuskey, that does resolve the privacy issues. And a good possible layout. Due to the odd realestate plan I don’t think there’d be room for the beach seating but that may not be needed by the family. I do think they are after being able to have a separated living space where one room is quieter.

Thx Kate, I was thinking something similar in removing the current laundry door and adding a slider where you’ve drawn if possible.

Working with OKL dimensions, by walling off the existing kitchen by filling in between the end walls and adding extra from the dining if wanting a longer kitchen the following could work. Adding a door between the kitchen and dining (which I haven't shown) would give parents their own space leaving the large family and kitchen to the kids. I have added a small area at the end of the kitchen to be able to close off the bedrooms all except one, this could be storage, desk, etc.

Thx SK. I think I like your first one better. Less moving of walls. The family would need to be careful to not over capitalise. I would say the market here is at the top and so dollars have to be carefully considered. I do like the idea of shielding that bedroom door. They’d have to pick which is the tidiest kid to put in the other room. I don’t mind a gallery kitchen but I wouldn’t say I’m a huge cook or entertainer so I’d have to see if that appeals to the others.

The first was working with a width of 4500 so plenty of space, but now seeing that the kitchen is approx 3.300 losing 1200 I thought to make that up by removing the wall between the current kitchen and dining. Without adding the extra space and doing a galley style you would have roughly the same space as is already in the kitchen. I like using a passageway for privacy and noise. Look forward to hearing what happens.