Ps the ceiling hight will be 3.6m and the height of the clerestory windows will be 45 cm.. The extension is a contemporary one but built with a roof pitch, style etc that works in with the front of the house which is a Federation villa.

This is the style of fireplace that I'm keen on, with the TV next to it.

I’d delete the Celestory windows and add landscaping or architectural feature to external wall

Thanks Kate, can you think of any architectural featuresthat might work?

You could add a mature tree or a few outside the external wall. I’m assuming that you have some type of garden already. This could be extended to add appeal to the exterior. But remember you live on the inside and that has to function best for you. The exterior is important but get the interior right.

That' s how I feel too Bigreader. We will only rarely look at the outside but we live inside modt of the time. We currently have a hedge grown to the top of the fence on that side, but we could add some trees. There are also lots of trees growing between the road and the adjacent foot path.

The architect is concerned about the bland exterior wall (and my husband, a bit)

Personally , looking at your drawings , I would try and have windows . It looks like the existing home is red brick , the extension rendered . To me , that always looks a bit funny anyway ( 2 seperate time periods ) . A modern lounge wall with a gable and no windows is fairly common , BUT when its essentially straight along from a red brick brick wall with windows that go down 2/3rds of the wall , it will risk looking like a prison cell , for want of a different expression .

So thats my answer if you are doing a full render on the extension .

But can you still get any of those red bricks still -- either new or demolition ? I gather you are Sydney , so there should be heaps around ? I'd be tempted ( yeah , I know , a change of plans on the actual plans haha ) to do an external chimney , slightly offest to the right of the gable centreline , but do the chimney in the red bricks . That will help ( a little bit ) tie the 2 styles together , and solve some of your internal queries / problems too . In this scenario , I'd be tempted to do no windows , as you have the brick chimney to tie back to the other side of the house .

Hi Pottsy99, 

Actually we're in Adelaide and the side of the old part of the  house is white painted brick ( the front is sandstone, this is a not uncommon combination in this area), and yes the new part is rendered to differentiate it from the old part. 

If I understand what you're saying, it's to add a brick exterior chimney breast to add interest in lieu of windows? Is that right? Thanks.

Also, we don't actually have a gable on the new extension ( at this point).

Taking your fireplace image

I would remove the clerestory windows - in your case I think plain wall would look better and it faces south so windows don’t help with brightening the room. Perhaps plant a lovely bed full of shrubs in front of the wall, or even an espalier?

I don’t mind Kate’s sketch but I’d need a mature tree on the left hand side to balance it up. A grevillea standard at two metres in a large pot would give you instant height without any root troubles but it depends on the rest of your garden.

That could work Kate. Big reader, apart from the fence and hedge that runs next to it there is about 2.5 m of space nect to the house where I could plant a tree.

i would also omit the clerestory windows as the focus should be from the inside looking out, keeping the fireplace central allows for symmetrical joinery and the couches can then be placed to allow for a walkway and cabinets/shelves along the bathroom wall and keeps through traffic from obstructing a view of the fire, TV and the pool....keeping in mind that the only time we ever look directly at the external wall so carefully is on the plans... in the real world we see the wall looking close up from ground level in the side yard or from across the street from an angle but a simple faux chimney added to the external wall could be enough interest and/or if there's space for attractive landscaping a tall window matching the main house and a glass door could add cross ventilation, late afternoon sun and interest viewed from inside and out but consider a wider landing, steps and perhaps a porch roof if the side door will be used regularly

Thankyou okLouise. Considered advice as always.

Thanks Julie,  love that timber cladding. Hubby has just come up with another idea that I will post.

Hi, this is what hubby just mocked up using a room online of the same dimensions. I prefer the one  without the black windows because it avoid the wedding cake effect of  the cabinetry, TV and high level windows  when they are stacked on top of each other. I think this would look fine from outside with a mock chimney breast as that would balance the highlevel wondows on the other side.  Thoughts ?

Until he does, I agree with your Architect, I have South facing glass doors which give lovely light

.I wouldn't place the fireplace on the left next to the door. Using these windows allows a longer space for your TV, plus importantly privacy from the street.

We crossed over, I would match the window colour to the others in the extension

So you got to the same solution as my hubby....I think I like it. Need to soak on it for a day or 2 but I think it looks quite ' balanced' from both sides.

I agree