Have you had prices on removing the wall? The costs of the work and the plans/permits/paperwork may make it cheaper to move.

Great for you to reach out here. But You will need to expand on your brief. Some structural first.
Can you provide an aerial pic of roof
Will the finished floor and ceiling heights match existing rooms.
If you build bed 3 later will there be enough light and airflow to centre of living space and where will front door go. We need to plan for ultimate first
Will u need a second toilet/bathroom. Is kitchen big enough should it move.
Now what is the extra living space for? Storage more couches furniture bigger dining table etc. do you still need some verandah space for outdoor area at this floor level noting steps down.
you need to be more specific

So many questions to think of! Ok, I was trying to hack out a low cost way of creating more space for our family as we can’t afford sadly to ever do a big renovation :( my 8 year old is desperate for her own room.

Answering your questions

1)ceiling heights will be different on the balcony but the whole roof slants towards the back of the house

2. front door, we were going to put this to the side of the room - is that a bad idea? We can’t afford to go up :(
3. more living space with two young kids it’s a lot. And we never have ppl over bc it’s tight . We have a big backyard so don’t use the veranda
   
   

I would be building bed 3 first. If you extend onto back verandah, you can’t enclose legally because you need it to be open for the bed 1 windows. And the amount of cost to extend just a narrow space would not be cost effective. Leave the verandah as intended…an outdoor room. You could install aluminium shutters to enclose, but also keeping it open for legal reasons. The kids can have a tv and their drawing stuff, board games etc on the back verandah without doing a full scale extension. I hope the children have not got a tv in their rooms….?

What is downstairs. Can this be a playroom, or a bedroom when the children are older?

Example of installing plantation shutters on verandah to enclose space, and also leave shutters open when needed.

Another thing, if you knock down walls and enclose verandah, with out doing another deck, it would be very dangerous to have steps going down to back yard with out a proper transition landing. You can’t just open a door to that big stair drop.

It’s a lovely looking property but it doesn’t easily lend itself to a third bedroom. Closing in the verandah with shutters would be a good compromise. What is your budget, unfortunately smaller renovations/extensions are not proportionally less expensive?

Great things to ponder team! I didn’t realise you needed to have that balcony open for the window of the bedroom and the drop from the stairs need to be considered.

There is a room downstairs it’s small, but my daughter would need to be much older to stay by herself down there.

It’s a tricky one. Maybe we wait a few years and save the money and build upstairs. If the costs are better put to that

Yes kids have a TV in their room. But they don’t have the remote so it is monitored when and how long. I do feel like maybe we should get rid of it

The Dec 2021 image showings kitchen does not match your floor plan . Real estate floor plans are rarely accurate. Can you check dimensions and allow add dimension of verandah. Can I explore downstairs more. Is it a full room. Height and floor dimensions. I assume the issue is no internal staircase

What doesn’t match, there is the kitchen, two doors and the fridge enclosure, same as plan.?

Kitchen car port and under the house

Would this layout work better for you in lounge. Look to add extra bedroom. !

Or this. By moving the table it better integrates with living to add more seating when entertaining. You currently squash living to one side.

Or this

Wow Kate thank you! Can I ask on diagram one what is the green box? Diagram three what is around the fridge?

It could be a cupboard or a console table. You could extend kitchen into this space. Just trying to show storage options. Although I guess you have storage downstairs.

Diagram 3 is another cupboard extending kitchen

Do you have a site plan showing position of house plus the floor plan of both levels, and a Google Maps shot showing the roof, we need more info please.

What aspect is the rear of the house and what building materials have been used.

Zee Cee, by your photos, I am assuming the new bedroom 3 would be going where the carport currently is. Is this correct? Is the carport roof under the whole house roof, or a separate structure? Is the land to the side of current front door, flat or sloping? Just asking as this is where the proposed new front door to be.

Noting that the photos are old photos from realestate site. Not your furniture placement. How do you have the house set out now. Which is children’s bedroom, which is yours, do you park your vehicle in the carport, is that the only space for a vehicle?

Great questions I am loving these collaborations! Here are more pictures the house space is small the real estate photos are deceiving. I’ll take a snap of the front in a moment. Kids are together in a bunk furthest away from the kitchen

Snaps

More snaps

Excellent, I like your boho vibe, looks wonderful. Will await the outside photos.

Our couch is too big for the space. But hubby is like we are not spending more money on a couch

Thank you xx

The photos are lovely but can you supply what I have asked for, thanks

We don’t park the car in the garage.

Sorry we don’t have plans. It’s full brick and the roof is flat colour bond but slanted towards the back of the house

Roof

Thks the plan you posted seems to show the down stairs plan partly

The space for new front door is very doable. And since you have a concrete base already for the 3rd bedroom, it will just be the roof changes/extension that will be a bit tricky. I personally would concentrate on saving for the 3rd bedroom, and in the mean time get quotes from builders so you know what is possible and at what cost. A third bedroom will future proof the home. And just enclosing the veranda with shutters will give an extra safe space as well.

And I do not think the sofa is too big 😀

Oh you do have tv in living space. I thought you said it was in bedrooms only. Get some graph paper and draw up a scale model of your lounge and inning space. The measure and draw up scale furniture blocks on another sheet. Cut them add and add to your plan and play with some layouts. Saves shifting heavy furniture till you have narrowed down your options. Leave 800 mm around tables and walkways as minimum.

Thank you Kate! What a great idea. I want to do a layout with the wall gone and balcony enclosed. Maybe living room inside, with couch where the TV is. dining on enclosed balcony space and little second living area for kids small tv couch

More options .

Another refinement - moved door to bed 2 to centre tv in living space. These verandah bedroom options save cost by maintaining existing back wall. I assume verandah is around 2m wide? Your future carport space could be bathroom and study/laundry living ….

I’m guessing too on furniture size. So you need to do your scale plan.

Great ideas Kate.

Zee Cee, Kate’s ideas are wonderful, and in all cases the wall of lounge has been kept. This is a good idea, because your home is brick throughout, then a support beam will be required if you remove the external wall, and that would be extremely expensive. So if you are happy with not removing wall, then that is a big saving. However cutting brick walls to install new windows is also expensive, hopefully you could retro fit the old bedroom 1 window.

However I would be still concerned about the landing space prior to those external stairs, straight out of the exit door. This would have to be checked for safety Australian standards.

The following suggestions for you to show a local builder/professional. Adding the 3rd bedroom looks like a simple addition with the sloping roof making it easier. For this room and the enclosed verandah I would look to use Hardie Cladding of your choice, you would also need to bring the 3rd bedroom floor up to match others.

The first floorplan maintains the external stairs plus includes a new set of internal stairs to connect the lower floor and make it part of the existing house

My thoughts are to re use the original windows from the living and Master bedroom for the new external verandah wall and possible consideration to maintaining the same window opening between rooms which already has a support beam, your local builder will advise you on that, the same applies to the exisiing rear door

I have added Bed 3 minus the front entrance, I have also adjusted access into both bed 2 & 3 because of opening directly into the living space to give more privacy

The second floorplan extends the Master bedroom which would allow for a future ensuite next to the family bathroom this would need the addition of a highlight window above the bed

I have used 2100 depth for the verandah space but more less would still work. My lounge is 900 x 2200

This a plan that could be done in stages and still accommodate your family.

Would love to know the aspect of the rear of your house. cheers

Guys, what type of MAGIC IS THIS?! this thread has the smartest ppl I know!!! Here is the aspect

I love the idea of stages! Bit by bit. Wall of garage.

What I think I’d like to do very very short term, as in next 2-3 years of saving, take this window Ty off and put in a bifold door just to open the space up.

Worth it? I could use the doors maybe later?

How would you style the furniture if I just put these in, knowing that there is a small step down onto balcony

Your furniture could be in exactly the same spots, just move the sofa towards the kitchen a little bit. Making sure bifold doors fold up to the verandah side, you don’t want them taking room up in the lounge room. But bifolds are expensive, I would get quotes on all the ideas put forward and then work out whether it’s worth spending that money on the bifolds or do the full extension as per Kate’s or siriuskey plans.