Hi pcmom, there are two of us but we would like to preserve the two bedrooms as the idea is to make this a rental property at some point. The apartment is in the middle of the city, so while proper kitchen is a must a large dining table isn't (counter seating is fine). Primarily I was wondering if there is a way to get rid of the "dead" hallway space and add some more closet space or open it up in some way to make it feel spacious. Thought about it for a while but couldn't think of anything :) so thought I'd throw it out here just to make sure I am not missing something obvious :)

A small sink would fit in the second floor plan w/c. its 2.8mx 1.4m so definitely enough room. If we use the last floor plan with separate w/c then it opens up the bathroom to be 2.7mx 3.2m which for New Zealand standards is a big bathroom for a shower, bath and vanity. I'm still trying to decide if the space for the dining and kitchen areas are big enough?

Blum's idea for narrow cabinets offers a simple option for making use of even the smallest storage space in the kitchen, without compromising stability, ease of use and quality of motion.

We are late 50's couple with 1 adult child living at home. The house design is unusual because of the unusual shape of the section. We are using the maximum coverage of the section at 40% The views are to the North out of the 2 lounge windows and 1 floor to ceiling window. We want this to be a house that has clever storage and all space to be utilised. Hopefully this is the house we retire to soon. We'd really like suggestions how to better use the space we do have. We have never built before and want to get it as right as we can. Our long term plan is to use the 2nd bedroom as an air bnb space with access around the back of the garage through sliding door into the bedroom. The bathroom and bedroom 2 can be locked off from the rest of the house. We have a medium sized dog and cat that share our space too. Thanks in advance for the suggestions.