Hi dinkidi4, I'm dealing with the same thing right now. I did paint some of the walls white, which have been good for the time I've been here before doing the 'real' job, however, I don't want this really textured look from the bricks as there are too many walls. I'm about to try Dulux Acra tex on a wall to see if it gives a smoother bagged finish. So still showing the brick lines but not so rough. I'll show photos of the original bricks. Dark, very textured with lots of holes and missing bits of brick as well as deep grout grooves. Such a hard decision - cost and I don't want to make it a flat boring plasterboard house. I have extremely high cathedral ceilings so not a cheap job to plaster either. Excuse the white box - I was playing with it to look at removing arches. Any thing else you've found out since would be a great help

Hi I am really interested in this discussion for similar reasons. Currently our plans squeeze in a pantry under the stairs so 1.5 m X 1 m. Builder suggests we shrink ensuite from 3350 x 1650 to 2350 x1650 long so it becomes a proper walk in pantry 2m x1.5 m. I was concerned I will end up with two nonfunctional spaces. But it sounds like the pantry will work. What are everyone's opinion on a master ensuite size. It means I'll have a single basin vanity only 500 m wide

yet another option to consider for the master suite is to enlarge both wiw and open the bedroom door in the opposite direction so when the door is open you don't see the bed or into her wiw....only 50cms subtracted from the bedroom makes both wiw much more spacious but i still prefer the toilet door opening into the bathroom for direct access to the handbasins with another cavity sliding door to close the bathroom off from the bedroom and isolate the smell, sounds and steam away from the bedroom and i have to say that the shelves at the end of the pantry could be reduced in depth to allow more space for the mudroom to avoid the traffic jamb ...120mm (built into the wall cavity) is plenty of depth for storing cans, packets and bottles

We too are about to build though picked a project home builder because of the 'volume build' cost savings. But we are making modifications to better meet our needs. Our initial plan was heavily customised and came in around $150k over what we wanted, but that was highly spec'ed insulation with double glazed windows, cathedral ceiling, very large rooms, 2 bedrooms with ensuites plus another bathroom and toilet, plus another 2 bedrooms, large undercover alfresco, very complicated roof line (apparently that really adds to the cost)... so we learnt a lot of lessons from that. We have scaled back the size of rooms, gone for a simple shape/roofline and will add character through textures (timber panelled walls, etc), some of which can be added later. We have maintained top notch double glazed windows and high R factor insulation (Southern Highlands location, so you pay either way if you get that wrong.. up front or in excessive heating and cooling bills), but cut back to only 1 bifold door and embraced good old double and triple panel sliders - a huge cost saving in itself. Would also love a cathedral ceiling but may need to lower our expectations there. I have to agree that a price starting with a 3 at the front - or even a 4 - does not seem at all realistic for that house. If $360K is breaking the bank, you really need to think about how you can meet your needs in a different way. I'd start with design... would a 2 storey home offer cost savings? Less roof for the same floor price? What about attic bedrooms and/or an attic activity room? I don't think attic rooms are actually that cheap, because of the need to strengthen the floor/ceiling, but it would be good to ask. Do all the children need a separate bedroom? If there's a significant age difference between eldest and youngest, you may find you can get away with younger siblings sharing for a while longer; perhaps even till an older child heads off to Uni?? Think of all the materials you will be chosing and the impact those will have on your home. Number and type of windows, floor coverings, tiling etc. I don't feel your rooms are overly large, but agree the large Media and Activity rooms are expensive choices. Personally I'd keep one dual purpose room, mainly with the kids in mind and smaller than either of those. You really only need kids tv and computer games out of the family room/lounge, don't you? The scullery and parts of the Master suite are large and the bathroom between Bed 4 and Bed 5 is a waste. I'd put Bathroom 1 - with the only bath in the house - and the loo side by side and accessible from near the kitchen area. I've seen some homes with a 3rd toilet in a large laundry, which can be handy with a horde of kids around. On a different note, that laundry seems way too small for a family of 6. You want those teens doing their own washing and ironing ASAP... they'll need room to do that. And you don't want to skimp on windows, insulation and eaves that suit your climate - they can really help to reduce your home's running costs. Re the vergola suggestion, I'd steer clear of that. They are costly, not really water proof and don't age well in my experience. A few friends have installed them and all have shown 'buyers remorse' quite quickly. An under-roof alfresco is pretty nice to have, but even a solidly built pergola with a simple sun/rainproof roof is nice too. As for the cathedral ceiling, I LOVE it. Opens a house up beautifully. A half cathedral (that's not the right term but i hope you know what I mean) may reduce costs a little. Otherwise, use your windows to maximise light (but not heat), raise the ceiling heights throughout the house to 2.7 (it's usually fairly cost effective to do that) and ditch the cathedral ceiling. Good luck with it. It's an exciting project.