as a mum I agree worktop is priority, but also there's extreemly little cupboard storage so I would stick with the pantry cupboard and add a freestanding ikea Varde unit like attached pic ( I would have preferred integrated dishwasher too and a bit of moulding/ shape to the door style in a perfect world ) where's the fridge supposed to go?

Just wanted to post the most recent plan that incorporates all of the suggestions that I have received from the very helpful people on the Internet! Changes made: - added an extra bathroom on far left of the house near kids bedrooms - changed the toilet/main bathroom to move the shower over to the toilet room so that we could have 2 separate kids showering at a time (without coming into our room - although that remains and option) - moved the door to the library so that it doesn't look into the toilets/bathroom - optimised the space in our bedroom by moving walk in closet and bathroom around. This modification even allowed us room for a tub in the bathroom a so thankful for that suggestion! Now we just have to find room in the budget lol Questions: - when you walk into a bathroom, do you prefer to walk into a shower (from the door) or into a toilet? What would you prefer visible from the door itself? Logically you are going to use a toilet 9 times out of 10 so you would think that should be there first, but there is something odd about walking past a door and just seeing a toilet there... Thoughts? - is there enough room in the 2 bathrooms we created by joining the toilet and main bathroom? Dimensions are 3m by 2m (roughly) and with a shower coming out about 1m and the vanity about 550mm, that leaves more or less 1.45m to walk around, surely sufficient? If there are any other suggestions or thoughts on what you would do if this was your home we would greatly appreciate the feedback. Thanks you all so much in advance!

The taupe countertops are nice. Have you seen all the new choices of backsplash tiles that are available currently? There are so many beautiful ones, there isn't a need to settle on white subway tiles. Venture out to the big box stores or flooring showrooms and take a look... There are tile caps of all sizes to finish off the ends. A nice one is called a tile liner, and it's about 1/2"-wide. There's also metal strips that can be laid in to finish the tile, it looks very nice. They are called: Schluter Systems 0.375-in W x 98.5-in L Aluminum Commercial/Residential Tile Edge Trim and can be found at Lowe's. They come in different colors.

I couldn’t buy it. I was dependent on 3 other people to pay the rent, and have just $15,000 in Kiwisaver. Every Big Wednesday I think “If I win, I’m gonna find out who’s got it, and offer them whatever it takes to get it off them”. It might not be a good deal, but it’s my home. I could write a whole essay on how perfect that spot is. My whole life revolved around living in THAT EXACT SPOT. I twice told the landlord and the agent together that I want the house, but can’t afford it. The second time I said “If there’s any helper person that can buy the house for me, that’s what I want to do”. Alas no. That might sound laughable, like the ultimate in dreaming, but of course I was gonna ask. It has an RV of $500,000 ($440,000 land, and $60,000 house). It sold for $508,000. To renovate it would be almost building new: at most you’d keep the perimeter wall, what isn’t rotten of the framing and weatherboards, and everything else would have to be new. So you’re getting up near a million no matter what you do. Re: Deserving a medal for living there for 12+ years: There were spots you couldn’t stand on the floor. The floor wasn’t remotely level – people got a kick out of how it ramped up and down. The bathroom ceiling was covered in mould (though I’m sure I killed it). Weeds and ivy grew through the walls into the interior. Termites and clothes moths had eaten it. Every windy day when I got home form work, I was scared to look at the roof, thinking “Is it still there?” Of course Healthy Homes killed it as a rental. Staying so long was my way of staking claim to it in whatever little way I could ‘cause I couldn't let go of the spot. I ate at my computer desk, with is the kind of desk I had in primary school. I liked to jump down those two steps leading to the toilet. I did pick up speed like you guessed, and had to put the breaks on myself each time. Yes, that bedroom is the noisy one. I had that one. I go to sleep at 6PM to get up at 2AM, and it was near impossible to get sleep in that room. Though the 90's house I'm flatting in at the moment has cheaper walls even worse for keeping the sound out.