building can be cheaper than renovating but it's usually not cheaper to buy and sell quickly if you change your mind, money can be saved with creative DIY but are you ready to live in a demotion site, do you know where you want to live, what type of home you both like, are you ready to give up all your free time to building or renovating and commit all your money to the house? homes mostly become more expensive but wages do go up, expenses can be reduced, interest can be earned on savings and interest saved by not committing to a huge mortgage before you're ready...i sometimes wonder if paying rent for a while is an opportunity to pay more attention to your relationship and your job while filling your HOUZZ ideas book and saving together until you find the decision that suits you...after many years of renovating old homes and building new ones some of our best and worst times have been involved in the current building project and it's certainly been a common interest for us, best of luck for your future.

Ok so after all the feedback I made some changes. After looking at it, I would like to make entry point from garage on the garage wall, so you still enter into pantry, but you dont have to walk through pantry to gain access to the house. I would also like to flip bathroom and bed 3 so bathroom is centred between rooms. Also not convinced I should have entry to lounge from kitchen, should I have kept it entering from the entry. My only issues now is, do you notice how the bathroom steps in? This is because the ensuite is a bit bigger. Will it look ok once built or do I take that 30cm from my ensuite/main room to level it up? If so do I take 15cm from ensuite and 15cm from main bedroom? Also I really wanted the compartment bathroom that oklouise suggested. But its not big enough. Any ideas? My current bathroom is 3100 x 2600.

Hi canan_ef, if north is at the front, why is the front room closed off to the rest of the home. Why can't you make this your living area, open to the kitchen and dining room, and alfresco. Having a separate lounge room at the rear of home. Therefore taking full advantage of the northern sun. In your original brief, you have mentioned an office. In your new design I can't see one. The toilet downstairs in your new plan, is not private. oklouise plan, shows the laundry and pantry are better placed for everyday use. Upstairs, a separate toilet is always better for other occupants. In your master bedroom, the robe and ensuite are too far apart. For a big room you will be spending time walking from one to the other. Again oklouise plan is a better use of space.

Wow, you must have a big bathroom to fit all of that luxe stuff in! Most 1950s houses have very compact bathrooms with tiny showers, minimal vanity and small baths. A double vanity, a walk-in-shower and a free-standing bath all take up a lot more room than what is normally allowed for in a 1950's bathroom so I hope you have it carefully planned. These items often look luxe as they are in bigger bathrooms and the space around them actually contributes to the luxe look. Trying to squeeze these items into a small room doesn't look luxe, it just looks try-hard. Make sure you allow enough room behind your freestanding bath to swing a mop for cleaning, and that your towel rails are more than 1800mm from your shower rose, unless your new buyer likes soggy towels! 1500mm is adequate for a double vanity, but it depends on the size of each bowl. A pair of smaller bowls will give the illusion of more benchspace. An 1800mm vanity has a better proportion if you have the space. The smallest I have seen is a 1030mm wide one from Ikea, with little benchspace, but I reckon it would feel too crowded with two average sized people using at the same time, so hardly worth while. I know some of my clients prefer to have a single vanity with more benchspace. https://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/S69185850/ Best of luck with your flip, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls