I think we are going to use the white subway tile to keep the budget down as I priced new tiles and it would blow out the budget. Really like the contrast grout idea to add a bit of texture and pattern. My partner is a builder and he loves the reclaimed wood shelf idea as we have a lot of spear old wood left over from the renovation. We have made a dinning table and fire place mantel from it already so it would tie in really well.

I think the first layout is fine. You might want to consider moving the door for the storage room of the master bedroom so that it opens into the hall. That way the kids can use it for overflow storage. Also, that hallway is big enough that I think it could hold a large armour, providing more closet space. (There's no need to sleep in the same room as your clothes, so long as they're not too far off.) Also, don't forget that while the drawing shows kids in double beds, this need not be the case, so there will be more room for furniture (dressers or whatever) in their rooms. Finally, that step to bedroom 4 will not be odd at all. I've seen it in other homes. It looks clumsy in the drawing but it isn't. What you'll see when you come up the stairs is a bedroom door on a slight diagonal. It's only an odd jagged step if you walk like a robot, in straight lines along the wall, which is what your eye is doing on the drawing but you won't do in real life.

A very simple layout keeping the floor space within the kitchen, the WIP takes up a lot of space with not much gain, The broom cupboard could be moved to the Laundry/entrance, narrow. If the wall has been bumped out to the eaves on the deck side giving an extra 300 depth to the kitchen you could make the island 2700 x 1200 and all drawers. The wall of narrow pantry will hold all pantry needs and more, no deep cupboards to dig into. cheers

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.