Hi chook! Just a quick pop in to see what's going on and I see where your daughter is getting a new bed. It is very nice and she will love it, I'm sure. So glad you got the winning bid! Exciting, huh? Talk later. :)

Yarnos I agree with Natasha. Your existing architect will have (well, should have after working on your existing design) an intimate understanding of your site, soil conditions and implications of levels on your design. He/She are in the best position (given his/her understanding of your brief and constraints) to illustrate to you how a design solution such as this can work. No one on this forum is currently in a better position than your architect to explain this to you and outline the affordability of it as an option, based on your site, your brief and your budget. You can visualise this concept by letting your architect demonstrate it for you. If they are not demonstrating it, then you have the wrong architect I'm afraid. And if you are not empowering them to use their expertise and provide design solutions for you, then you either need to get another architect, or be a better client. Architects and designers - the good ones - are creative problem solvers. They are design detectives in the art of living well. They spend their entire professional and personal lives and time studying how people live, and how to create environments (and homes) for them to support them living better - more functionally, flexibly, beautifully. The talent of a good architect/designer is invaluable in elevating your lifestyle ... of taking the 30 year mortgage you're about to wage on this bet of building a home, of taking this massive investment, and turning it into a physical building that is your heaven and haven, your place of sanctuary and inspiration. They expand your vision, interpreting both what you say, and what you don't, into a result that is beyond your imagining. That's why you hire them - because you can't do what they can, and you need them to bring your dreams into life in a way that's better than you could have ever anticipated or created yourself. As a client, you have a responsibility to brief them well, trust them to do their job, be open to their ideas, and be guided by their expertise. The not so good architects and designers are simply drawers and documenters. They 'convert' your brief, your expressed wishes and shopping list into a floor plan that fits, and can be built, but that's simply it. It's a house, not a home. It functionally will do the job, but it never reaches its full potential. And so your life in it never reaches its full potential. You unwittingly compromise, never truly aware of how different, how much better, things could have been. The catch is, you've made a massive investment, and created something that will outlast you and become someone else's home too. So the impact is generational. Your responsibility as a client to these architects and designers is to understand the difference, and ideally not work with them - not unless you can show design leadership yourself. Work out which one your architect is and make a decision. Trust them to do the job properly for you (and give them the ability to do it), or walk away and find someone else. Regards Amelia Lee Undercover Architect www.undercoverarchitect.com amelia@undercoverarchitect.com

We went for a 70 cm induction stove top which works well - bit more space than 60 but doesn't eat up as much bench space. Our space was limited too, and we wanted to maximise both bench tops and storage. I'd go for an under cupboard range hood and us the above space for some more storage - besides it streamlines the look. I personally like a sink and a small one - using the small one for vegetable washing and smaller washing up works well for us. Our space (and the necessity for two corner cupboards) meant that we had to have a small dishwasher - Bosch 45cm wide (several brands make them). It works really well if you have space issues.

my suggestion, probably similar to siriusky without base corners, has about 2.4 m of Lshaped counter with a *narrow drop in sink on the short arm, open underneath (without any corner cabinets) and 750mm wide drawers or cabinets near the glass door..space for a stacked (or top mount and wall hung) washer and dryer between the sink and blind corner for tall cabinet for vacuum, ironing board etc with shelves above and tall shallow end cabinet storage for linen? .. almost 2m of standard wall cabinets and a drip drying rack over the sink...there should be space for all the usual laundry supplies and equipment including twin tall clothes basket under the open bench and potential ceiling height storage above the ironing board for suitcases, xmas storage etc...*the narrow drop in sink is to allow a little more generous width for the stacked washer and dryer although reducing the tall storage cabinet to 500mm deep would also allow for a wider sink cabinet and doors and shelves in the tall cabinets should be sized to suit the items to be stored ie ironing board, vacuum and brooms should fit under about 1200mm and the blind corner should be for storage of the rarely used steamer or carper shampooer etc) and storage of vacuum cleaner hoses and ironing boards can be made much easier with specifically designed hanging racks to be attached to the wall inside the storage cabinets and available from IKEA etc...