Hi celfoote, My friend Tony Beattie is a long term resident in Erskineville and very good architect. Allow 10% of your budget for the careful, comprehensive and considered planning of an architect. Tony is a brilliant architect. http://beattieco.com.au/

Just moved in.... lots of space, light, floor to ceiling Windows. Totally solar and off the grid. Totally self sufficient. Double sided tile fire. Best inclusion was a bench seat incorporated into the Island bench.

My thinking behind moving the Scullery to the outside wall gives direct access from the garage into it and the kitchen which could also have a servery to the alfresco, but also to avoid a long narrow passage way entrance between the living and family room which closes it in The only wall space between the living and family will be the depth of the fridge, which going by the floorplan still protects the room I have as a dining/study if you maintained that wall

I really love the work of Ross Chapin, he has really influenced my approach to homes in general! He is a US (i think) based architect who champions small homes and has a concept called a pocket home. I've read a lot of his articles and he likes homes that are homey and cottagey and small neighbourhoods with common parklands and great greenspace access. One feature of his homes is they are typically 1-2 bedroom a thing he often does is replace what would in other homes a whole room with a nook. So for example, a hallway might be extra wide but have a nook for an office that could be closed off with a sliding door into a spare room. Or an attic space that can sleep grandkids, dining nooks off the kitchen so entertaining is possible, like an oversized bay window. Decent living spaces. His designs are worth a look at to get some ideas. https://rosschapin.com/plans/small-houses/ I've also stayed at a newly built unit for an elderly person. There was this large foyer space at the entrance with an extra wide door that was level with the paving, no lip at the entrance. It was designed so ambulance access would be easy in an emergency. The large foyer had cupboards with a laundry and storage, and then there was a bathroom directly across, again for easy emergency access. There was a phone in the bathroom too in case of falls. The whole area was tiled from door to bathroom for easy maintenance and access. The kitchen was simply run across one wall of an open plan dining and lounge area with like a corridor of tiling to designate it as separate. You can use flooring changes to create different spaces. It there were no awkward pokey spaces and it was the easiest place I have ever stayed for cleaning and organising. There is a universal access guideline, its worth checking things like bench heights etc... https://www.architecture.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Universal-Access-Policy.pdf