It looks like the separation of the living from the hall is to put the bedroom entry off a hallway. One option is to enter the bedroom via the WIR. Make that cupboards and it will be your entry. No need then to seperate hall from giving bigger space.

Sorry. Last sentence should read
No need then to separate hall From living or extra door out

It makes perfect sense to me and I would not change a thing about that hallway. It looks like your designer has put an opening between the stair and living room so it won't feel like an enclosed hall. I think if you look at a 3D model of that area you may be pleasantly surprised.The hinged door to the balcony makes perfect sense as well as it aligned with the main circulation spine.

What doesn't make sense is the second set of stairs between dining and living actually adds more cost, more circulation space and less flexibility to furnish both spaces.

Best of luck,
Dr Retro
of Dr Retro House Calls/Dr Retro Virtual Visits

Dr Retro is right . You do not need two sets of stairs and if you are using the dining table , there may be a chance of falling backwards down the living room stairs .

I can see a couple of changes that I would be looking to do, The toilet/powder room with the door opening out is a no no in a new build, either make the STUDY narrower, it's 2.5, so if allowing 600 down one side and 400 for linen cabinet you would have 1.5 walkway which could be just 1m, so that 500 could be better used in the bathroom and powder room.

Keeping the stairs, make the wall between the kitchen family living a Nib/hip height wall, ie; open above.

The passage out to the deck become a study with a door out to the deck or?

and change the study into a WIP store

my suggestions are based on my opinion that we don't naturally walk in straight lines and creating diagonal walking paths allows for better furniture arrangement for the balcony, central opening sliding doors and external steps (directed down left or right) and stepping down to the balcony will reduce the height of the balcony and lower the outdoor furniture that could obstruct inside views ... the entry to the bedroom is now a short hallway for more separation between bedroom and dining room and also creates better connection between ens and wiw .. the steps from dining down to the living area are further away from the outside wall and allows for more flexible seating area and option for TV etc at either end of the room and i'm wondering if the wall dividing living and dining will be solid or have an internal window to allow views from the dining room through living area to the backyard and i've added a small sink to the barbq area

I forgot to mention that it looks like you have the entrance into the ensuite opposite to the head of the bed, not good to turn over and look into that, so two options shown on my sketch.

Here is one of the 3D render by the architect which is quite nice, but the thought of falling off the ledge, even though unlikely, might make the space feel less comfortable to be around. However, putting a barrier or wall of sorts closes off the area and isn't as nice.

Just to follow up on my rough sketch as above

what about a low ledge/wall along between dining and living ..could be a 20-30cm thick wall with built in shelving on either side and a servery display ledge along the top and no wall along the master suite side with or without supporting posts at suitable spaces?

And another if you wanted to make use of the wasted passageway and turn it into a study you could still have the shutters as suggested by your Architect but only down to desk top height so that it can still be open or closed off, they would open into the living room and not back into the study and interfere with the desktop

The lounge would need to be a bit out from the wall

Sorry, Siriusky, where is the powder room on the plan posted? I can only see a linen cupboard. Am i missing something?

use a low bench furniture as a ledge stopper. something like a 300mm high storage bench

sorry Sirisky, not on your plan, But on the plan that Leo Tao has posted. It is a linen cupboard not a toilet.

Thank you all for your help, especially everyone who spent time drawing up plans!! So do you all think a step down into lounge/tv room and balcony is better than having it flat the whole way through?

I'm tossing up having step down vs no step down in the house and having a flat single level all the way out to the balcony, but seems like most people think a step down will create a better view and sense of space? Is that fair to say?

the view would be better from inside the house if it was all on level, and gives you a bigger single kitchen dining living, but the sunken lounge is interesting, very mid century

We sunk our lounge as my husband wanted a higher ceiling and it worked better for our deck as it allowed deck to be barrier free. But we find that room difficult to heat, it has no door separating it from higher area so the heat just flows out leaving our feet cold. Life is a compromise though.

Leo, I really like the concept as drawn, and shown by 3D renders.
Could you install a low slat wall on dining room level that mirrors the slats in dividing wall on hallway. Maybe 900 high.
The direct access through hallway,to outside is perfect.
The measurements on your plan show a wonderful generous space, and it is a great alternative to the predictable one level open living area.

,

the advantage of the step down is to have better connection to outdoors and to separate the inside spaces without the need for any screens and walls that for me serve no useful purpose in the open plan living spaces when you have the separate study and the library for private space and siriuskeys powder room is an excellent inclusion and sitting at the dining table you can look over the top of the living and balcony furniture to the outdoors but, what can be seen?

yes what are we looking at, and the new study in the wasteful passage way will have a wonderful additional view. Personally those large internal shutters would better used in a more commercial use

I like Siriusky’s design but would still remove the unnecessary stairs from the dining room to living room .

Leo, Your original question was how can the 'hallway be better utilised'. The separate hallway gives direct access to outside. This allows for better furniture placement, and a defined living space instead of a thoroughfare. The hallway is doing what it is supposed to do.

If the hallway is utilised as a study, then everyone has to pass through the lounge area to go outside.

Another inspiration photo

we need Leo to answer some extra questions: what direction are any views, where is north so we can understand the windows, describe the climate, the balcony is shown as a "garden room" is it an open space or enclosed room, would love to see the whole house floor plan and 3D images of the proposed deck and roof from the backyard and i really have to object to built in seating when there is so much available space

Thank you for all the references, all those images are very useful. I've updated the plan to include the directions. The views would be towards my backyard which slopes down gently towards the north side, at about 5-10 degrees I would say. The balcony is an open space, not enclosed, but has privacy screens on both sides. I live in Sydney so the climate is generally quite warm.

I've also played around with a few more concepts, rearranging the Study, ensuite and Walk in wardrobe. This makes use of the hallway in a more dynamic way, allowing it to be a bigger study if the pocket door is closed, or a thoroughfare out to the balcony when the pocket doors are open. However, I don't want to ruin the flow of the house for the sake of using every last square meter as there is enough space, I don't want to make everything feel cramped by getting rid of the hallway. For the purpose of imagining a different space, I've removed the stairs for the moment.

Let me know what your thoughts are.

Leo do you work from home to need such a big study? with all the steps shown on your plan it appears that your slope could be more, 10degrees, for every 10M the slope would go up or down 1M. I think it would be a shame to take away the northerly outlook from the bedroom, also splitting bedroom and ensuite on opposite sides of the room and most of all having the doorway into the master opening straight off the kitchen dining. So many things to consider.

Would you consider showing us the whole floorplan with the front entrance into the house

Sure. Here is the original plan. The front part of the house we dont want to change too much as it's double brick and it'll be very expensive to knock down any walls. Red outlines where the exising walls are to be demolished and the new exteion area is towards the back.

thank you Leo, it's wonderful to see how the whole house flows

I do work from home occassionally but I don't need a big study area, just thought it might better utilise the hallway that's all. If it doesn't make sense from a design perspective I'm happy to go with some of the recommended designs above.

I would try and avoid a walkway between kitchen and back exit that takes you in front of a tv. First work out the minimum space you want for each area, then the flow and then the visual and try and balance. I think your last plan completely changes the visual. You need to work out your priorities in that respect over the larger study.