would be interesting to have a quote for opening up the current media room and making the dining area a separate kid's space or adding a simple extension beyond the dining area and keep the separate alfresco and current media room but can't read dimensions to make a plan for you ..please enlarge your plans so printing is readable after posting but what is the distance from the outside of the dining room to the rear fence, where is north and how would you feel about changes to the pantry, kitchen and laundry?

Thanks oklouise for the reply. It's my first time posting here. I've uploaded another picture and I hope it shows a clearer picture with dimensions?

My husband really likes the media room so he will like to keep it as is. We considered extending outside of the dining room but there's a build over sewer issue. It's located outside of the dining room. There's possibly 5-6m from outside of the dining room to the rear fence. We built our house 4-5 years ago so it's pretty new. I'm open to make some changes to the pantry, kitchen and laundry if they won't cost too much and offer us more storage and internal space for our family.

Thank you again! I'm keen to hear your suggestions.

If you Can’t hide it then make it a focal point. Maybe a fireplace, or wall with pics all over it. Etc
Where is north?

Hi Kate and oklouise, north is where the media room.

before deciding what to do it would be useful to confirm all the options..it can be possible to build over sewer but also depends on available space and the size of the proposed extension plus existing house compared to the size of the block and my thoughts about changes to the kitchen were relative to alterations to the media room and would not have created extra space but, depending on the ages of the children, it might be more cost effective to consider moving in the next few years but without removing whole walls you could relocate existing windows and doors by opening the dining room sideways to the alfresco and adding a see through storage wall where the current glass sliding doors are located and move the sliding doors to the external wall of the dining room and use one or both of the old windows in the new kids' space... the old family room makes a more comfortable dining area with space for a supervised study nook, a sitting area in the old dining room and kids stuff tucked into the old alfresco and a simple pergola covered deck out the back

What are dimensions of your sofa and piano?

The new space will allow you to position the dining table across the room. The piano can also be moved off the external wall onto the long internal wall.

Hi Kate, the piano is 109cm tall and 149cm wide. The couch is 2800mm long 1050mm deep and 900mm high

Thank you oklouise for the proposed changes. The floor plan helps!

Thank you siriuskey. We did consider putting an extension beam across if we were to remove the load bearing column. But price we’ve been advised ranges from $45-70,000 opposed to <$20,000 to keep the load bearing column there

Couch. You said it is 5 seater L shaped. Is 2800 the length of main back & 1100 the length of seating along the short edge of the L. and which side is that arm left as a “ L. Or right

This basic floorplan will give you a better idea of what your $45000? will achieve

For the price of a car, the car will depreciate but the room will appreciate over and over

Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

Are, so the couch is 2.8 x 2.8 L with an 1.1m seat depth.

I’d start by position couch with its back to hallway and solid wall. Then see how the floor space works for you. Long lounge rooms are hard. But this should give more flexibility for a larger crowd using some flexible furniture.
Maybe piano and bar/buffet along the new side wall with just a highline window