Hi Em, I'm not suggesting that you have to start again, only that it may provide you with a better outcome than trying to work with what you already have. By starting with a blank canvas, new possibilities arise. I agree with most of Amelias comments and I'm not interested in getting further involved beyond my general comments. Good passive solar design is now a fundamental of good design practice these days and that was not evident in the single level plan you published. It's not just about northern sun, which can be excluded in summer by a simple roof overhang, it's also about excluding the extremes of the sun from the east and primarily from the west. So you can see that your games room will suffer the hot afternoon sun in summer as it had a lot of glazing facing the western sun. Protect that elevation with a blank wall to exclude the sun or at least restrict the glazing to the west by incorporating either slot windows or high level windows that gain protection with screens or roof overhangs. Open up the games room with glazing to its north and east. Create a small courtyard perhaps with some luscious landscaping or water feature that works for both the games room and the living room. Returning the glazing will allow for large glass doors to slide back into pocket walls bringing the garden into the home and blurring the line between home and garden, thus making it feel bigger. By incorporating more glazing to the north you will visually "widen" your home, making it feel less restricted because the room boundary will visually move to the fence line while at the same time providing better solar access during the winter months, which helps warm the home and maintain a year round comfort level. Sydney has a mild winter compared to southern Australia. Take a look at some of the homes designed for narrow east facing sites in the northern beaches of Sydney or on the far north coast in places such as Salt. They all have similar siting as you have. They all offer mass glazing to the North and open their living up to the north and the east with pools, terraces and outdoor living areas etc. Don't be scared of experimenting with simple shapes at first. Just pencil in where you want the various functions to be placed and make sure that they work together. Move them around until you think you have the relationship right and go from there. A well planned house is a dream to live in. A poorly designed house will remind you every day that there is something wrong. So invest well in the design because it will pay dividends. Sure, seek help but be cautious because the help can be confusing which is why I have tried to take a general approach to it all rather than squawk over this or that. It's your home and you have to live in it, not me, not AU or OK or anyone else. Keep it simple and have it function like a well oiled machine and you will love it.

I think a full 3D walkthrough and visualisation package is MORE than worth the cost. Get an architect or design company to do it for you and you wont regret it. It makes a huge difference actually seeing the flow of your house when you walk through it, the light changes at different times of the day/year, (all adjustable in the 3D package). Incredibly important for solar gain etc. Also gives you the ability to really visualise where your furniture items are going, where the lights look best. We are thrilled we did it and the print outs or actual 3d file can be used to show builders/tradesmen to relay the look youre after and the setup. Even for some of those qualified people it can be a help to fully visualise the end result. If youre spending soooo much money building, factor this cost into it. Well worth it.

I have noticed that people worry about condensation in Laundry cupboards, and it's such a simple thing to deal with, we did laundry cupboards and the F&P dryer had duct kit that was fitted to the dryer and then out through the wall across the ceiling and came out through the eaves (Not the roof). Worked beautifully and when the laundry door was closed it was very quiet even with machines running. The laundry cupboard still allows light and a decent passageway through the house Kitchen and bathrooms sell houses and add value. I think maintaining the existing rooms as much as possible and turning the current bathroom into the ensuite is a great solution to give you a better Master suite. you would just need to add a door at the entrance to the master The laundry becoming the family bathroom with toilet for everyone to use including visitors. The possible extension to the rear of the house across the one wall (Living/ dining/ kitchen would be more affordable than doing two walls, the new rear wall would mainly be made up of doors and windows. The one thing I would like to see is to keep the roof extension in sympathy with the rest of the house., tall ceilings and character, would make your house look and work brilliantly. Everything comes at a cost, but making these changes should prove cost effective, instead of the expense of adding a new double garage and master suite to the front of the house. Keep the charm of your house and by spending time in the front garden would really make a difference, cheers

my suggestions are based on zoning the areas for multiple cooks and helpers and has a bar open to the living area from both ends with an optional privacy door between bar and pantry and no door between kitchen and pantry, the island should be much narrower for quick meals and the arrangement of drawers and supporting post under the island allow for cook's stool spacebtw, unless you prefer to iron in the laundry the laundry and mudroom seem a little generous at the expense of the small study that could also be a useful downstairs emergency sick room