Do you need much heating in winter in your location? The site appears well-suited to making the most of the northern winter sun if you need to.

The games room window is a problem for summer.

Hi macyjean, we have asked for the games room window to be made smaller. It was originally full height. We’re in Perth so we don’t get super cold winters here. But nights can drop to 4°C. We get a few 16°C days maybe. We are going to try and include double glazing but it will come down to cost. It’s possible we might only DG a few of the windows.

I want to post the original floor plan for you guys to compare. We changed the master suite because we didn’t like the separate wardrobes. Also my partner is an early riser and he wanted a way to shower and shave and dress without disturbing my sleep too much. Will we regret a walk through wardrobe to bathroom situation?

No you will not regret that. We have a similar set up in our master bedroom. There is a door that goes into the WIR then through to the ensuite bathroom. My husband gets up at 5:30 to go to work. I don’t need to get up so early. He can get ready without disturbing me. And a door on the toilet is an essential, in my opinion. I’m in Perth as well, I think your plan is good. Just one consideration. I would put a large window across the north side of the family/dining room. You have a good orientation with that room to get the north winter sun into the entire room. But with the small windows that northern sun aspect is restricted. I assume you would not put a TV between the windows, as you have another two living areas for that.

Also, can I suggest you put a small sink in the island. Otherwise all the water for cooking and drinking needs to be brought into the kitchen from the butler pantry. Which would be a complete hassle and time waster when cooking. There was one on the original plan. If you have never had a butlers pantry before, think carefully….you may find you spend a lot of time going back and forth if you have not worked out the storage, sinks correctly. That’s why I think a reach in pantry is a lot better use of space and walkways.

Hi dreamer, thanks for your comment, it’s so helpful. I’m happy you like the overall plan. We love it too! Regarding the family/dining window. The display home had it set up with a fireplace between those windows so my partner and I automatically substituted a tv in there. But what you say about a bigger window with the northern aspect does make sense. I will definitely take that into consideration.

Is this the Shelford The Beach House, it looks like that plan. My sister just finished building a personalised version of that house with Shelford. They were very happy with the end result.

My sister did put the fire and television between those windows, but her room wasn’t north facing.

I find the entry compromised by the dogleg and the garage door. The rest of the house and particularly the master is oversized for 2 people. As I said I think the master should be reduced and the space given elsewhere.
Totally agree with connecting ensuite and wir. But personally best solution for early riser is to use the other bathroom.

Some changes to consider. I note the new ncc will require and accessible toilet with 1200 between door swing and pan. In a house this size I would expect 3 toilets. I still think the main bath is too small and kitchen too big Personally not sure why u want 2 islands and force all washing up to the butlers pantry, unless you have a maid

what do you love about this design?...it's a very big house for two people..do you have specific purposes for the extra bedrooms and could the media and games or family rooms and/or laundry and pantry be combined to reduce the overall size of the house for extra backyard and/or better quality finishes?.. but what is the width and length of your block?

As I have said in a previous post. My sister has built the same home. They also are only two people, one bedroom is their office, one bedroom is their gym, one bedroom is a guest room, plus their own master, which they have also made just one WIR. They deleted the theatre room and positioned the laundry there and the powder room next to bathroom, making the original plan powder room, a storage room. By moving the laundry they pushed the games across making a bigger alfresco area. I must mention it was a big change for them to work out the best use of the scullery and reduce the amount of travelling around the kitchen and scullery area.

A very rough version of alterations to builders plan.

I’d delete the sliding door in the laundry and have a standard door. This will allow better placement for the washing machine rather than being against glass. If you have a front loader you can then run the bench the full length to the wall, a much tidier look. Also consider if a single roller door from store into the backyard would make life easier than just a standard door.

To oklouise:

what do you love about this design?...it's a very big house for two people..do you have specific purposes for the extra bedrooms:

We love all the space! Our current home is so small and a little dark. One bedroom will be a study, one will be a hobby room, one will be a guest room.

and could the media and games or family rooms and/or laundry and pantry be combined to reduce the overall size of the house for extra backyard and/or better quality finishes?.. but what is the width and length of your block?

Our block is 20m wide and 34 deep. Extra backyard space is not that important to us. The separate games room is important to us as my partner likes to play boardgames with our friends. I don’t always play so having a separate space (like the theatre) I can retreat to at those times is important.

I like some of your ideas on your version of the floor plan. Thank you for taking the time to draw it. I particularly like the master set up and the addition of a mud room. Great ideas! I will study it some more and show my partner.

To dreamer:

yes it is the same house as what your sister built! Thank you for sharing her modifications. Very interesting. I quite like the placement of the laundry in her design but my partner is keen to keep the theatre. I agree I think having a scullery is a new way of using a kitchen.

I suggest not putting the bed head against the bathroom wall . OK Louise has drawn it opposite .

It's interesting that you picked that up too, dreamer! I thought I'd seen this plan before, but the one I had seen was around the other way - alfresco dining on the left of the house. I think your master bedroom redesign works really well, but I agree that you should move your bed away from the back of the ensuite.

I love this floor plan, I even considered using something similar in our new build, but it wasn't quite right for our section. Our section slopes and we're not able to level it, so we've had to build on the flat at the rear of the property. This was expected to increase our building costs, so we chose a prefab home as a cost-effective alternative. I know prefabs get a bad rap, but we absolutely love ours. I was sceptical at first, but I did plenty of research and articles like this one https://www.ezylinehomes.co.nz/why-the-future-is-prefab/ helped me feel much more comfortable with the idea. We got everything we wanted and my family loves it!

I like the changes that okLouise made. In the original plan there are only small windows facing north, the alfresco covers the north facing window of the games room and I wouldn’t have a north facing garage. You also mentioned double glazing as a maybe, I think it’s a must. Your house will be so much more comfortable. We are in Vic and have triple glazed UPVC windows. It also saves aircon during summer. Also the WIR/ensuite solution with the extra door makes sense. We have our ensuite outside the bedroom and it’s so much better if one gets up earlier.