Hi. Congrats. Plan looks great. It is missing a basin in the wc at the back. I would say that is essential even if it is a basin integrated with the toilet. I would also add a window to the west side of living room. It will be shaded from the worst of the western sun by the building but will let in some valuable;r afternoon light.
The other thing missing is doors. Noise travels and you want to be able to close off rooms like the theatre and activity room from the main living space. Also the ensuite to keep steam in. Is there a batch missing from ensuite? I would also move the doorway to theatre room down a bit. It will add functionality allowing table or extra seating on corners. Sliding door on theatre would work well.

Oops batch should be bath

Kate, where can the living room have a west side window?

I would try and keep laundry and bathroom and toilet together. Keep plumbing off the bedrooms as much as possible. At the moment bed 3 and 2 are surrounded by plumbing. Therefore, if keeping the existing layout, the sound insulation on the walls need major priority. Could you run the three bedrooms along the south east of home, and have utilities along the west/kitchen wall.

Depending on the climate where you are building this home, you will require external shading down the western side of home for bedrooms, kitchen and pantry, and possibly theatre windows.

Which region are you building in?

Climate and how close to the equator you are makes a difference.

These comments apply if you are in southern Australia and need to plan for cool/cold winters and warm/hot summers.

Don't have a permanent roof covering over the alfresco because it will block the valuable winter sun. If you want something you will need to look at something adjustable for the seasons.

If that side faced north the sun would not shine into the house in winter, but because it faces north east you will get morning sun. That's nice in winter but undesirable in summer. So deciduous trees would be helpful along that side of the house.

It looks as if your neighbour will block the worst of the afternoon sun. Keep the size of those windows to minimum, and you might need additional external shade in summer. The front window will also get afternoon sun and make that room hot in summer, so external shade from plants or structure is necessary.

I was also wondering about the bath?

The secondary bedroom area could be improved, as others have said. A basin in the wc would make it a powder room, which avoids needing to go in the bathroom. I don't like the location built-in robe in BR2, if not done carefully and insulated well it could be prone to condensation, and I speak from experience.

Thanks @Kate, @dreamer, @macyjean. I am building in Perth.

@Kate, yes, the bath is missing in the ensuire as I am going to supply so it is not shown in the plan. I too thought of adding a window to the west of living room for the winter sun and adding vanity to the WC. For theatre, I am going to swap the entry to west side but have concern if master bed entry and theatre entry face each other. Have any thought?

I meant on the short nw wall of living.
Are there any afternoon breezes?

@dreamer, thanks I honestly did not think about plumbing running around the bedrooms. Is it just the noise issue or more than that?. I will workout the layout as you suggest to see if all fits well

@macyjean, spot on with the alfresco, I too have the same concern as it also block the winter morning sun so to maximize the exposure plan to have window to the western corner so to let in the evening sun or go with pergola altogether. With regards to the window, did you mean the north facing? Also on the bed 2 robe, the issue of condensation due to no eaves on that wall? I will need to worry if that is the case because right from theatre to kitchen all don't have eaves. Please share your thoughts

If you are building in Perth, where I live, you must must must have eaves on the west side of home. And the east side! I assume if building in Perth then your home will be double brick and a concrete slab?? Maybe not. What are you building with brick or timber or steel. The plumbing is an issue with homes because the noise does come through the walls. With brick, not condensation but noise. Brick walls, because the pipes are chased into the brick wall. You can have built in robes in the bedrooms backing onto the plumbing to insulate the noise. But the current set up, as said previously, the bedrooms are surrounded in plumbing.

And as Kate has asked about breezes. Afternoon Summer Cooling Breezes in Perth come from the south and west. Morning cooling breezes come from the east. Do you have windows/doors you can open in these directions to make sure the house is naturally cooled without having to use air conditioning. Example. windows on the west to be opened with also window/s on the east where there are no walls obstructing the natural air flow from these directions.

This is a basic sketch of the sun movement if your north arrow is correct. The living will get no western sun. The summer sun will come into the bedrooms, kitchen the pantry and theatre. And also early summer into the office window. Your builder should be able to give you exact information of orientation and the sun angles for all months of the year.

Hi Rifay,

With the NW to SE orientation, as others have said, you will need to be really careful with your window and internal door placements to maximise summer air flow for cooling. Consider having some high level opening saches to get rid of the heat as it rises and also avoid mid afternoon sun.

Just to upset the apple cart a bit, can I ask if you have considered putting the master suite at the rear of the house and the other bedrooms nearer the front? Being the owners, I would allocate the best morning location to you by allowing external access to the yard where you can sit and have a morning coffee or a snipet of evening sun with a glass of something once the kids are in bed. As long as you have good security on the front gate/door, kids adjust to where they sleep pretty well but it makes for a much better day if you get out of bed feeling great.

I would put the master suite where you have B4, the laundry and B3. Move the K,D & family down next to this and put everything else up front. I would add a tall window on the small step out north wall of the family room that is not under the alfresco roof, to get some winter sun in the middle of the day into the family room area. Put the laundry between the ensuite and kitchen scullery with a door out to the west for rear yard access. That would cluster a lot of your plumbing and keep it away from bedroom walls for quietness. Leave the office and garage where you have them with a back door out of the garage for easy access for maintenance or rubbish bin location.

Is the activity room for the kids? I assume so as it is next to all the bedrooms. In which case I would put that next to the family room with the theatre roughly oposite it on the west. The theatre would only need high level windows for ventilation rather than views so the walls can be fully utilised for furniture placement and the screen etc. If you had sliding or folding doors to the hallway for both of these rooms, they could open up to be one big room when you have parties, for kids or adults. Consider which internal walls may need some sound insulation too but this arrangement should minimise the need for this. The activity room could also have doors out to the side yard. The bathroom and powder room could go next to the theatre with B4 behind the garage. If it works better with the powder room and/or bathroom on the NE side, that works too. B2 & B3 could go between the office and activity room on the NE.

I agree with comments above about having a basin in the powder room and issues with wardrobes on outside walls. B2 & B3 can have 2 robes between the rooms. B4 could have the wardrobe on the hallway wall.

Without knowing your thought process, that would be my take on the layout but understand if you have good reasons for having it as you have it.

Good luck and hope you enjoy the process of designing your new home.

C.

Many thanks @CHRISTINE HALL ARCHITECTS LTD. It is very interesting to read your ideas. I can follow your suggestion for the Master, Family. Theatre, Activity but I could not do so for the laundry, bath, powder and minor bed rooms. Could you help with a rough sketch if possible?