Hello @charlie_com Wow, what a great lot of advice and help. The Houzz community always amaze me with their generosity and info in helping homeowners with their project plans. And how exciting that you're looking at renovating! Your home has a lot of potential! I have a few comments to share which may be of use to you ... 1. Getting the design right - so it suits your family now, and into the future, (as well as creating a home that will sell well and quickly when the time comes) is a great way to start any project 2. Whilst your home is lines on a page, change is cheap - so whilst you may want to hurry up and get it built, it's worth taking the time to maximise every opportunity for your design, and to save time and money during construction, in the design phase. 3. Use professionals based on their specialty skills. Choose professionals you feel a good fit with, but that also have demonstrated experience in offering what you need. So builders are great at building ... some have an interest in design, but it's not their role or specialty. I have a blog on my site about the differences I see between building designers, architects and draftspeople - you can read it here as it may help you choose who is the best fit for you and your project. http://undercoverarchitect.com/architect-vs-draftsperson-vs-building-designer-whats-the-difference/ 4. Speaking to local agents is a great start to understanding what will add value and what won't. The Gap is a little bit of a tricky area of Brisbane value-wise (I have owned and renovated two homes there!) as it can have a bit of a ceiling on value. We really noticed that with our places, and our third reno was a home in Ashgrove, which is such a different market, even though it's one suburb over. Buyers in The Gap usually come from The Gap - it seems to be one of those areas that, once people move in, they don't leave ... because they love the bush setting, the amenities, and it is a lot closer to the CBD than most people realise! However, what people pay for in homes varies - so the local Harcourts is a great agency, and Ray White Ashgrove is also good, and Ryan Smith at Remax is awesome ... but yes, getting 3 or 4 agents in to talk about improvements, and value (even if you have no immediate intention of selling) is worthwhile 5. With kids your age, creating flexible, functional spaces that offer the ability to come together (but still feel some sense of privacy from each other) as well as spaces to be apart (but not locked away) is helpful as they get further into their teenage years. I would always seek to get living areas connecting physically to outdoors - it is especially one of the things that sets homes in The Gap apart from the Queenslander homes in neighbouring suburbs. It facilitates easier living in your home, and is great for young families especially. It will always help your home to feel larger too - as you capitalise on all of the block for that feeling of space. 6. Whether you change your entry or not is one thing ... you can change your address, but I would always check if one street has more real estate value over another. Being a corner block, the challenge is ensuring you create privacy on street frontages, so you don't feel exposed (but still get the natural light you need) 7. In Qld, yes, there is lots of sunshine. However, managing the heat load is essential for homes to feel great. So orienting spaces to the north and east, and reducing the access into the home from western sun. Creating overhangs that protect and shade from high northern summer sun, and also creating shady areas outside your home that cool breezes before they enter the house. 8. Working out your budget at the get go is a great start, and factoring in all those fees as well. I recommend that you think about what will add value to your home, and make your experience easier too. As with any industry, there are great architects, and not so great architects. However, choosing the right professional with great expertise - well, the money they save, and the value they build into your design and home - should more than cover their fees. I am very clear (even as an architect) about not pushing people to use architects ... however I struggle with the advice that says "an architect will cost too much - use a good draftsperson". We spend a lot of time in our homes, and a lot of money on them (often a 30 year mortgage!). If you were about to invest $100,000 or $200,000 in the stock market, what level of expert would you speak to about that? Perhaps thinking about it that frame of mind will help. Because you could be spending this renovation money on anything - so it needs to be an investment that adds value to your home, and your lifestyle in it. I have lots of free help and advice on my website, and send out more in my free weekly UA News (which you can get by popping your email address in on my website). Best wishes as you progress with your planning for your home. Warm Regards Your Secret Ally, Amelia, UA x www.undercoverarchitect.com amelia@undercoverarchitect.com ps - here are some before and after shots of a home we renovated in The Gap. You can see more piccies here ... http://undercoverarchitect.com/portfolio/denning-st/

I think balconies off bedrooms are a luxury. If you can afford them, great, go for it. If not- invest elsewhere, where something will get more use. Where we live the council are stopping all balconies due to privacy-loss from over-looking, lots of people now doing the juliet balcony/window as suggested above. I think they are awesome for living areas. Again a luxury for a bedroom. I imagine it is not a cheap build option either with glazed balustrade and waterproofing the inside of the room? I work with teenagers. Their idea of decompressing now involves many hours holed-up in a cave (dark bedroom) and on a device!....fresh air and sunlight pfft- what's that!?!

One of my recent projects was a glass and brick contemporary extension that was built as a separate pavilion and linked with a small glazed link to an existing Victorian weatherboard home. The break between new structure and old structure worked well for different floor levels and roof structure. My clients were thrilled with the result. https://www.houzz.com.au/projects/1093664/modern-addition-to-victorian-home Here is a photo from the glazed link showing the lightwell space between the old weatherboard structure and the new brick structure. A consistant colour scheme ties the two halves together visually. If you are at the early stages of thinking about an extension it is too early to try and visualise it. Once you have provided a brief and defined a budget to your designer it is their job to resolve an appropriate design solution, present it to you, and communicate the design intent, with enough drawings so that you can visualise it. There is no point in trying to visualise expensive glazed white bricks for your extension, when your budget dictates painted, lightweight cladding! Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls

much as i enjoy building and renovating we usually employ a professional to take overall responsibility for big jobs..if time is an issue then this is where the professional builder can organise everything for you and make sure the trades turn up on time, follow agreed plans and consult when things go wrong or suggest alternatives..in our experience tradespeople and suppliers are much more reliable when they know you (or your builder) are recommended by a known source and know that you'll pay on time...our regular plumber, electrician and carpenter can be relied upon to be available on a weekend or public holiday to help keep our jobs moving and because they are in the business will introduce other vital trades like water proofers and tilers etc.....there would be no reason for a stranger to do that ...if you only plan to do one renovation on your own home i strongly recommend that you employ a builder and then you need only worry about the budget and fine details but, even an experiences professional would hesitate to give a fixed time as weather and delays with supplies or unexpected illness can slow everything down as only one step needs to be delayed to interrupt the best plans but you can help make the process much easier by taking time, researching options, pricing fixtures and fittings, posting questions on HOUZZ to help with ideas and consulting with several builders to clarify what you want to achieve and they should be able to recommend a designer to finalise plans and help guide your progress