I read an interesting comment somewhere, where a lady invited a group of her friends over to lovingly point out all the problems they saw (through fresh eyes) with her home on preparation for sale. She said she was surprised at marks and damage that she had lived with for so long she no longer noticed them. We "owner built" a home previously, and when we came to sell 7 years later, we painted the garage and did those jobs that we had put off, and it became sad to finally see her at her best, at the end, when we could have been living in a completely finished home all that time. I read about a lady who decluttered her home, had it professionally cleaned (build clean, or bond clean) and had a professional styler do her home and she realised just how nice it could be and decided not to sell. :) ta

Provided there is 1200mm clear between the breakfast bar and the opposite bench then by rights, you should have ample room and if that's the case, I think I would opt for the design with the kitchen on the eastern side. My reason; you get a much greater feeling of open plan by having the dining and lounge on the North/South plane. I like the large WIP in this one - on paper at least. The second plan somehow feels wrong. I personally don't like the idea of having the breakfast bar being located in the lounge. If it were me though, I would ask for a 3D CAD plan of both kitchens [to walk through on the computer] before making up my mind on which one to opt for as it gives you a much clearer vision of what the finished kitchen will be like rather than looking at a flat plan.

I can't get the picture to blow up big enough to see much , but unless you are running a backpackers , I would suggest 1 bathroom for 3 bedrooms would be all you need , in fact unless you are having a 'grannie flat' or similar built in , I would think that 2 bathrooms and a 3rd powder room with its own handbasin would be all you really need . Of course , more is more luxurious , so having a second ensuite is good , having a shower and WC in every room has advanatages , mind you so does having another with a bath and twin showers , 3 seperate WC's in case you have 100 people visit , a seperate spa room with its own shower and toilet , a sauna , an outside pool with its own male and female changing rooms with showers -- in other words , do what YOU want once you get past the basics . And I'm not a fan of two doors from 2 bedrooms into a bathroom -- especially if there is a bath or shower and a toilet -- it relies on everyone working together , but also on everyone pushing the right combo of locks so that there's no accidental walking in on someone .

my suggestions has the central entry and a small study off the living room...(twin desks provides more counter and wall storage and avoids sitting face to the wall) there's a generous laundry mudroom with direct external access, a bathroom with separate powder room, more space in the master suite with the window offsett for furniture and more privacy from views across the courtyard and reversing the wiw and ens allows for morning sun in the shower and the wiw creates a sound barrier against the guest room.. adding furniture helps suggest room sizes and there's various setdown spaces and extra storage throughout the house ...luckily there's plenty of room for more than minimum offsets to create a garden, alfresco, courtyard, screened spa room, entry, kitchen and laundry porches, garden sheds and drying areas and careful choice of building sizes allows for a neat gable roof with the extended eaves and a hip roof over bed 3 keeps the whole roof simple and economical to build