Elzermank, that farmhouse looks fantastic! What a nice feature. It's like the farmhouse has 'smart dress shoes' on. :) Thanks for finding an example because I was struggling amidst the mass of images on google images! Portpiro, that was precisely what worried me when the render went on over the red brick... floating house... We had originally planned to use the same colour as the house walls but when I saw the light render I thought I better rethink. Looks like we better go darker.

Obviously you need to get builder/ engineer or other expert in to determine if wall load bearing before demolish. But if you can take out part wall I'd go with keeping wall up to about linen cupboard and putting in frosted or part glass door to block off sleeping bathing quarters and yet people either side still see if someone on other before opening door into them

Firstly, you need to call the planning dept at your local council. A staff member will usually come out and do a site visit. You can discuss your ideas and they'll let you know any problems with permits/regulations. That way you won't waste any time or money planning something you can't do.

always prefer Colorbond steel for a new home