Ideally , we'd like to see an impression of the front of the house -- being 2 storied , where the upstairs windows or terraces or similar will dictate how everything looks and ties in .

For an entrance and foyer though , almost regardless of what is above it , I'd go as tall as I could with the front door ( a $2000 custom one as opposed to an $800 1.85 metre one from Bunnings that everyone has , can make your house look $100k more expensive ) . IF the council stipulates 1.85 maximum for an entrance door , or even if you are allowed 2.4 , I'd even try double solid wood doors , or windows up each side or a window above the door ( lets in light but also sort of gets around a 1.85 height restriction ) .

Normally I like a feature light in the foyer , but at 2.445metres you are probably better to go with maybe 6 downlights along the length , have a feature light maybe in that area beside the kitchen and at the base of the stairs -- it should be able to be seen from the foyer , and sort of draws you in .

Hi. I’m not keen on the kitchen sticking out into the main walkway down centre of house. I would pull out the powder room wall to edge of kitchen and put a cupboard on stair to keep same line. Recessed lights in front hall. Then features in family dining - see green positions for lights plus a feature on back wall than shows off the 3m height.

Thank you Ruth, unfortunately my husband isn't a fan of the modern squareset as the house is more traditional looking in the sense.

Thank you Pottsy for your recommendations! 2040mm would be the tallest I could go, with I think a max 1.6m width based on width availability. I like your idea of two reveals on each side of a 1.2m solid door. definitely consider the showstopper lighting to draw the eyes towards the lower level.. any suggestions on what kind of lighting this would be? I currently live in a 2.7m single story with just a couple of standing side lamps. on each corner of my house lol

Hi. I’m not keen on the kitchen sticking out into the main walkway down centre of house. I would pull out the powder room wall to edge of kitchen and put a cupboard on stair to keep same line. Recessed lights in front hall. Then features in family dining - see green positions for lights plus a feature on back wall than shows off the 3m height.

Thanks for your suggestions Kate~ The floorplan was originally a mostly consistent width wall however that hallway running along the powder to the kitchen was 1m in width and for me I felt very claustrophic when I went to the display ( it had 2,7m ceilings). I was thinking the extra 30cm width would make a big difference to that walkway and thought perhaps showstopping pieces in the living room would lead the eyes away from this. Any other way around getting a wider width down the powder area without compromising on the kitchen?

If the facade is facing south west then the alfresco will be north east and it will block all the day sun from the living areas so negating the passive solar gain for winter heating for FREE. I would reduce it to just the one side of the width of the house. then the sitting area by the stairs will have morning and day sun and the worst of the west summer sun will be blocked. Planting deciduous trees along the back garden will assist too bu allowing the sun thru in winter but making lovely shade in summer. The front door size doesn't matter to me: you do not need it longer than standard 2040 high maybe with side lights or top light is good. Think about security too. But the control of the sun at the back is vital IMO> Cheers Margot

i think the standard height ceiling in the foyer helps emphasise the drama of stepping down to the higher ceilings at the back but i prefer not to be looking into the wall of the toilet or the island (to focus long views on a great artwork on the wall between the sliding glass doors at the back but think that the steps are too close to both the garage and laundry doors so my suggestions include losing a small amount of space off the media room in order to have a straight line of wall from front entry to family room and keep the 1500 width of the hallway between media and pwdr by rearranging the powder room, pantry and laundry, reducing the length and increasing the depth of the island and distance between cooktop and sink...i would also add space to the column near the front door with a matching depth projection (with storage?) near the internal garage door to create an alcove for a sideboard/set down space against the garage wall of the entry and safer distance walking from garage to steps

I really like OKLOUISE'S suggested layout. Much cleaner lines and will lead the eye straight down to the feature of the view out the back and the higher space you have in the family room area.

I like doors to be as high as possible for better air flow and it adds something special to the house at not too much cost. However, you need to be consistant with it so either do all of them tall or just the front door. I would never suggest doors lower than 2m especially in the Sydney climate. If your front door is wide, make it tall too. It can be framed right up to the ceiling if you want. Doors upto 2400mm high are not too much more expensive but give huge impact. I'm not a fan af old fashioned cornices in a new build. They are perfect in a period home. It's all about personal choice.

Lighting, keep pendant type fittings for the higher spaces. In the entry, maybe look at some wall fittings. Also, although it maybe too modern for your husband, what about recessed strip LED lighting on the ceiling? This could be made a feature behind your cornices shining across the ceiling or as a rectangle to define the space about 300mm in from the walls. Or you can play with long strips of it to lead the eye down to the family space. With LED strip lighting if it is 'hidden', you don't get bogged down with choosing fittings and you can spend your time of the feature you want to create with the light and on the more decorative fittings in the living areas.

C.

If the facade is facing south west then the alfresco will be north east and it will block all the day sun from the living areas so negating the passive solar gain for winter heating for FREE. I would reduce it to just the one side of the width of the house. then the sitting area by the stairs will have morning and day sun and the worst of the west summer sun will be blocked. Planting deciduous trees along the back garden will assist too bu allowing the sun thru in winter but making lovely shade in summer. The front door size doesn't matter to me: you do not need it longer than standard 2040 high maybe with side lights or top light is good. Think about security too. But the control of the sun at the back is vital IMO> Cheers Margot

Thank you Margot, things progressed way to quickly I didnt see this message until we submitted our plans to council! It is a big shame we will be missing out on the natural light, I wonder if there is anything I can do post build to change this without creating more cost headache?

i think the standard height ceiling in the foyer helps emphasise the drama of stepping down to the higher ceilings at the back but i prefer not to be looking into the wall of the toilet or the island (to focus long views on a great artwork on the wall between the sliding glass doors at the back but think that the steps are too close to both the garage and laundry doors so my suggestions include losing a small amount of space off the media room in order to have a straight line of wall from front entry to family room and keep the 1500 width of the hallway between media and pwdr by rearranging the powder room, pantry and laundry, reducing the length and increasing the depth of the island and distance between cooktop and sink...i would also add space to the column near the front door with a matching depth projection (with storage?) near the internal garage door to create an alcove for a sideboard/set down space against the garage wall of the entry and safer distance walking from garage to steps

Thank you OKLouise! I loved this plan!! My husband update dthe plans before I showed him your plans. The following has since gone to council.

Is there anything we can do to screen off the entrance foyer so we dont see the toilet door at entrance?

really like OKLOUISE'S suggested layout. Much cleaner lines and will lead the eye straight down to the feature of the view out the back and the higher space you have in the family room area.

I like doors to be as high as possible for better air flow and it adds something special to the house at not too much cost. However, you need to be consistant with it so either do all of them tall or just the front door. I would never suggest doors lower than 2m especially in the Sydney climate. If your front door is wide, make it tall too. It can be framed right up to the ceiling if you want. Doors upto 2400mm high are not too much more expensive but give huge impact. I'm not a fan af old fashioned cornices in a new build. They are perfect in a period home. It's all about personal choice.

Lighting, keep pendant type fittings for the higher spaces. In the entry, maybe look at some wall fittings. Also, although it maybe too modern for your husband, what about recessed strip LED lighting on the ceiling? This could be made a feature behind your cornices shining across the ceiling or as a rectangle to define the space about 300mm in from the walls. Or you can play with long strips of it to lead the eye down to the family space. With LED strip lighting if it is 'hidden', you don't get bogged down with choosing fittings and you can spend your time of the feature you want to create with the light and on the more decorative fittings in the living areas.

Thank you for your great lighting suggestions Christine! Although we will have cornices, our front door will have a little profile and we will have some lights on the wall as we walk in!

Give me a functional mudroom dropzone space any day. I don't see how ceiling height makes the space more functional, and don't forget hot air rises and you're paying for that heating. In a room you can have a ceiling fan on winter mode for that, but in an entry you're just walking through a space that is complicating your home's energy efficiency.

If you push the cupbd noted as 'linen' that opens into the garage, out to create the entry hall alcove as previously discussed, there will be no direct line of sight into the powder room from the entrance hall. Even if you don't, you have positioned the toilet and vanity and assisted by the door swing, so the interior is not visible from the hall. You should be fine as it will just be another door that can be seen and not any plumbing.

Why is a linen cupbd opening into the garage? The fumes on linen is not desirable. Open it into the hall if that is its purpose, unless it is garage storage.

Sadly it is clearly too late but I didn't realise that you have the kitchen on the west side of the house. I would have switched the stairs and media with the kitchen etc. You will need to be careful of the kitchen overheating in the afternoon and into the evenings, even in winter when the sun reaches further into the house in the evening. Make sure you choose a suitable blockout blind for the kitchen window.

C.

Thank you MacyJean, mudroom would have been ideal also ( we had initially planned on using the downstairs ensuite as a main bathroom, and then converting the powder room to a mudroom but we decided not to. Now regret it!

Thanks Christine, We thought we could use the linen closet as a shoe closet for the garage but we will have the option to move it into the laundry.

Our west facing neighbours built a commanding 2 story house which we think will most likely overshadow that part of our house through the day once we build :/ Dont know if this is a good or bad thing though

Im relieved to hear that the positioning of the powder wall wont look too eek on entering the house..

Hello Ai, I think building the alfresco all across will be a big problem..One I think you should take about with the builder. It is pointless to have the rear living rooms to the north if that is blocking the light and air and SUN into the rooms. Surely they can stop it short of the sitting area so you get best of both. Unless it could go to the west side. of the house which would then block the hottest afternoon sun... Too vital IMO to ignore and build as it is drawn. Also Now I look at this again: I would suggest the laundry be another bench wider. space for drying, folding, storage and generally lots of other laundry activities so they are not spread all over the house: usually the family room making it like a "Chinese Laundry". Have you got a chute from bathrooms upstairs too? If not get it in somewhere... vital for every day running and washing management. I do not really see the point of the pwd room when you have a full ensuite down stairs: surely guests can use that and the space of the pwd can be put to better use in the laundry? Hope it is all going well for you at this point... Cheers Margot

A powder room is useful too, it avoids guests walking through most of the house to use the family bathroom.

I don't know what you intend to use the "guest" room for but It's a shame the ensuite couldn't be reconfigured to be a two way bathroom, it almost raises the question is it an unnecessary duplication?

Rear is north? Kitchen and Home Sketch Designs Margot is right, you don't want a covered alfresco there.

Thanks for your feedback Margot! Unfortunately we cant make changes to the alfresco as we have a living space and balcony above the alfresco.

Cabinetry hasn't been set thank goodness so Ill definitely add some of your design suggestions to the laundry room!

i would love a chute but the there is a bedroom above the laundry so designing was out of the scope of our project builders capacity.

I do have major regrets about not going ahead with a mudroom in lieu of a powder, been eating at me for ages. Unfortunately with it locked in to council, making any singular change at this stage will cost upwards of $1990.

Any suggestions that I can do without making major changes would be greatly appreciated!~

Thanks Macyjean, the guest room is intended for my inlaws who will be moving in with us. I also pondered on the idea of having 2 way entry as we have seen in so many homes. We thought the privacy for my parents was a priority.

In that case yes, privacy for the permanent occupants of that bedroom is important.

Are you soundproofing the wall between the ensuite and the media room? I think that's a worthwhile thing for the benefit of both sides and you have the opportunity to do that.

Thank you Macyjean for your feedback! We plan on soundproofing the media room only. We thought maybe wrapping up one room would be sufficient.

I had a random dream about door openings ( so random!) and now wondered whether the front entry door hinge should swing open on the left ( as it is in the plans ) or on the right. If I kept it as is, would I need to build something behind the door so it stops at 90 degrees?

Have a really good look with builder/designer to make sure the door doesn’t overlap the opening of the adjacent sliding doors. Looks like it will in which case rehang. You will need a door stop whichever way it swings to stop handle denting wall, They get installed last

Bit late, but I would have the Entrance door hinged against the garage wall so as not to mess with the doors into the guest room, which could be repurposed into a sitting room and the doors left open to add to the entrance. As Pottsy, an over sized front door would work really well.

I would have liked to have seen the Garage door re positioned opening into a possible Mud laundry room, and the powder room rearranged. Plus an external door at the rear of the garage with a pergola walkway on the west wall to enter the rear and kitchen, good luck

"Are you soundproofing the wall between the ensuite and the media room?"

"We plan on soundproofing the media room only. We thought maybe wrapping up one room would be sufficient."

I'm not sure what you mean, but I think you're on the right track.

The media room and the ensuite have a common wall.

You don't want loud movie noise going out of the media room and you don't want the sound of running water and flushing toilet going in the media room.