Project type homes are fine if you can locate a suitable design that suits your family, site, council area, etc. Problem is as you've probably discovered is that there are just so many to wade through before finding something usable!

Better to have a custom designed home to suit in many cases.

Some high end project homes can be cost comparable to a custom designed home once its all completed. It can be the standard of fit out that adds up rather than the 'bricks and mortar' structural component.

Set your budget, sort your brief and seek an experienced designer (architect, building designer or a well experienced draftsperson) with preferably local knowledge.

This is my problem I’ve been talking to so many, and I’m struggling to find the right balanc. Obviously it’s got to be within budget as we simply run out of money otherwise. what im finding though is either really high end custom builders or larger builders that do custom in our budget but simply don’t understand what our vision is. Any recommendations would be amazin. Building in leongatha victoria...

the Sienna is a better solar passive design but what variations are allowed and what companies offer these designs? and what would be included in the perfect house plan and what makes the Maddox feel more family friendly to you?

So any variations Are allowed, Roseleigh do both the designs. For us I think the laundry being closer to the bedrooms and getting that garage onto the south instead of north. We would prefer the bathroom to have a window to the outside. I think the way the rooms are quite spread out in the sienna puts me off. I quite like in the Maddox how the living and bedrooms are joined almost in the traditional rectangle shape but with that courtyard to seperate them. i Love the idea of a long house but maybe I’m a little worried about functionlaity. An example is if the garage is at the front and the kitchen is at the back it’s a long way to carry the grocerie. Its The little things I guess. Anyway I hope I’ve helped and not made things more complicated haha. Thank you

You have a huge lot with a lot of width. Both of your plans look like they were designed for much narrower suburban lots, so may look a bit lost on such a wide block, depending on the siting. A design that is squarer, with more width and less length will be more cost-effective to build.

As both designs belong to Roseleigh you should approach them to see if they have the capabilities to design a combination. Using a third party, such as a building designer or architect, to blend the two designs will breach Roseleigh's copyright, and you could end up in hot water.

If Roseleigh don't have the in-house design talent (many builders employ draftsmen rather than designers) to meet your needs then you will need to start with a clean slate, prepare a brief and get a home custom designed for the orientation and your needs by a professional.

Best of luck,

Dr Retro

of Dr Retro House Calls

something like this?

btw is the street frontage on the east or west?

Thanks for all the suggestions:) I’ve gone through all of them and met with a lot of those people already and keep an eye on the designs as they occasionally update them. I’ve also Seen the free one available on the your home website. But thanks for your time @genkii

@dr retro, thanks again for your time but I’m also aware of the copy right. This is our second time building and all of those will be very carefully considered. As for a Square house I’m not sure that would make use of the length of the block. I’m not worried about making the block look filled from the street. I’d rather make use of the north side I think. Cheers Kate

@oklouise this looks great. Our block faces east. At this stage we don’t need/want an Outdoor area as we never used the one we had at our last house. Could it be possible to put the rumpus(it’ll be our media room) next to the garage? I would like it a little more central. Maybe to stop a bedroom from being on the west we could put the laundry where the rumpus was? Really appreciate your time! Cheers Kate

glad to make the changes but would you like the rumpus room to be open to the kitchen and/or the hallway to the small bedrooms and the bathroom could be between the two bedrooms but closer to outside access could be useful and what would you like for the master suite and kitchen and would you like a verandah along the northern side of living areas???

I think like a double door to the kitchen so it could be used as more space when friends are over. I think we Could fit the pantry behind the kitChen and ditch the study to bring all that in line. i think a veranda along the north would be a great idea. Do you know rough size of what you’ve drawn(minus allowances for wall thickness)

just about to post this latest variation with furniture and some doors and windows when i saw your last post about the pantry so i'll rearrange the pantry so you can compare the two variations...the study in this plan is intended to use some of the oversized master bedroom and create a parent's retreat, nursery, 4th bedroom, extra wiw, study, MPR, hobby room etc without more hallway and keeps the width of the house and the twin gables similar to the original.....maintaining the interesting roof style is quite challenging and the dimensions shown on my plans are the internal room spaces and the sq m floor area is the total of the whole building allowing for single walls like the original with cladding ..

.. i've added a copy of the plan without furniture showing the roof and division of the living areas

and will work on the pantry/study variation and post later

Wow thank you so much!

thinking about the pantry/study please explain your concerns with the northern pantry as using the wiw for a pantry means having a doorway from the kitchen which loses lots of counter and means that the old study would become a walk through wardrobe or ensuite which loses privacy or needs a hallway from the entry to the bedroom...another option could be to use the ens as pantry and have the ens facing the street but that would also lose space to a hallway ...what do you want in the kitchen (island sink, pantry sink, wall oven, MW, DW location, fridge freezer?) ens (size shower, vanities, separate toilet), wiw (his and hers?) and pantry (sink, extra fridge, appliances ready to use?) more info will help suggest solutions btw the verandah on the northern side can shade the living areas in cold weather, you said you didn't use the alfresco but would you use a verandah sized space on the western end of the living area??

100% Agree with Retro, if you are going custom there is a HUGE opportunity to maximise your site. Remember it's not all about internal space. The way a building is connected with the site/context is probably THE most important thing to get right, and typically custom solutions will do this in a far superior and sensitive manner due to the fact the decisions and scaling will be derived directly from site conditions, rather than having an floor plan resolved in isolation applied/plonked onto a site. You need to work out where you want to proportion/balance your investment into your home. Do you want a well considered design, which realistically will involve a customised solution that will be higher cost/m2, or are you happy to live with an off the shelf kind of option, which may give you more m2 for your money, but not the quality. Best of luck! Cheers PD

here's the new pantry arrangement but have had to adjust dimensions of other rooms to allow enough space for kitchen appliances but the change allows for sink & dishwasher on northern wall and empty 3m x 90cm island ...the total floor area is 241 sq m including single external walls, garage, verandah and front and back porches but very strongly recommend that a 60cm eave will be enough summer shade without a northern verandah which would exclude winter sun although a western flat roofed verandah (or increase to 4m deep for enough sheltered outdoor space for a barbq area and undercover access to the toilet from outside. (future pool?)..i've included dual access for the rumpus room for multipurposes but consider insulating walls and solid core doors between zones to improve noise and temperature control

coincidentally aiming to maintain the dual gable roof shape has resulted in an almost symmetrical building with southern driveway to access your big backyard and plenty of space for generous gardens all round

Where are you building? We started looking at project builders but didn't love much of what we saw. We ended up looking locally to where we are building and met/interviewed a few local builders. Perhaps this could be an option for you? We ended up finding one who was all over the design for passive solar/energy efficient home, and seemed to get that we are budget conscious. While he does a lot of custom builds, he has a stack of designs he has created for specific block directions, specifically for people like us (on a budget!). He was able to talk us through a few designs that best suited our block, and from there we modified what we wanted. We have found his local knowledge to be invaluable as he has bought to our attention things we hadn't thought about or even knew about. His price isn't too outrageous either. We are building in South-West WA.

Worth consulting with a Permaculture designer as well at this stage, if you want to maximise the productivity of your site for a sustainable future. Catching and retaining heat from walls is ideal for growing fruit trees and vegies that thrive in warmer climates and need frost protection. Also catching and retaining water on site and using any slopes to your advantage, to minimise the need to water your garden, with slowing how water moves along your site is also vital. Creating a view if you don't have one, is equally important. Do you want raised vegetable beds for ease of work and watering. Wicking beds are ideal for this. Vegie patches and herbs are best located close to your kitchen. The time to plan all those elements of sustainability is now! Habitat for local bird species and beneifical insects is also worth considering, now, rather than when your house is built. Are you considering keeping chickens as part of your sustainable living schemes. If so the best designs for chicken runs, now tends to be a narrow enclosure that runs along your fencelines and can be planted out with fruiting trees. I am actually a Permaculture designer, but I suggest seeking one out locally, who is familiar with your climate and can help you create microclimates ideal for specific plant demands. Even if you didn't use your previous garden, have you considered why not? In an ideal world, outdoor space and greenery helps our spirits soar. Growing your own food saves on food miles and contributes so much to a more sustainable world and offers the freshes, tastiest organic produce too!

@lynette how do I go about finding a permaculture designer? You sound amazing and exactly what I’m looking for!