External

1
External
2
Outside area
PLAN A Site-plan (1)
New house
Existing house (shell)
PLAN B Site-plan (2)
New house
Existing house (shell)
3
Outside area
Plan B
New house
Existing house (shell)
4
Outside area
Plan C
Existing house (shell)
New house
5
Outside area
Things we like

• We like very much the notion of using a series of
  buildings to enclose the secret garden and how
  the old house adjoins the garden
• The positioning of Dave's room in plans A(1) and
  B. It feels part of everything and close to the
  house, yet is clearly separate. Also we like
  that it is big!
• We like having the clearly defined car-parking
  area in plan A(1) especially
• We like how there are "sticking out bits" on
  buildings into the garden area, and the symmetry
  of them, in plans A(1) and (B)
• We like the idea of a having a turning space as
  part of the driveway, as in plan A(2)
• We like the idea of having a clearly defined
  services area, as in plans (B) and (C). I liked
  the idea in plan (C) of it being closer to the
  kitchen end of the house, but not quite so close
  that its just outside the kitchen window.
• We like having lots of verandah areas, but on
  separate buildings, like in plan (B)
• We like the idea of having the option of an extra
  shed, as in plan (B) opposite the back of the
  house, in addition to Daves shed. This would
  be really handy, I can imagine us using it for
  animals to live in if they needed to be close to
  the house. Also, as a place for gardening
  potting up plants, etc. Or as a place for
  storing straw, wood, bottled food, etc

Things we dont like

• We dont like site-plan A(2) because it doesnt
  have a secret garden and generally feels too
  ordinary in layout
• In plans A(1) and B, the secret garden feels too
  open. I think its because it's too regular in
  shape, so doesn't feel like theres enough
  hideaway areas. We would prefer the area
  enclosed to be less rectangular. We like how
  there is the alleyway area in plan (C) but if we
  had an area like this would like it to be part of
  the garden area (e.g., a fernery perhaps) rather
  than a purely functional space
• We dont want a large BBQ / party area outside in
  the secret garden area, as it would overtake the
  space and reduce the space for dense planting.
  It would be nice to have a small open area we
  could use for smaller gatherings, e.g just
  outside where the screened porch opens out (plan
  B). But we envisage this to be lawn with seating
  in the form of hammocks, cushions on the ground,
  rather than paving or decking
• In plan (C) we dont like the fact that the
  existing house joins the rest of the buildings at
  its front. I would like for the old house to
  keep its view and its face, and for the
  joining-up to happen at the back and/or partially
  along one side.
• We dont like the verandah in plan (C) because I
  think it would feel too much like a walkway
  rather than someplace youd feel like sitting in.
  Also, by having the houses physically joined by
  the verandah I think theyd feel too close. Id
  like them to be near each other but still separate

6
Outside area
Additional requests / thoughts

• We dont want to have to cut down any of the
  existing trees if it can be at all avoided. It
  seems silly to do so considering we have so few
  established trees and so much empty space.
• The gas pipeline on your map seems to be drawn a
  lot further away from the existing house than I
  recall it being. If it is a lot closer then
  building to the front of the existing house may
  not be possible (e.g., plan C)
• We werent sure what the U shaped thing is which
  appears on several of the plans. E.g., plan (C)
  near the car parking and plan (B) in the secret
  garden
• Please could you add in the paths to and
  positions of the other main garden areas, as per
  Prues plan? E.g., the walled vegetable garden
  and the orchard
• Can we plan in for a wine cellar, perhaps also an
  underground cool-room area, near to or possibly
  even underneath the house?
• Can we have the driveway swinging around from the
  opposite side? Ie so that it comes up behind
  the house rather than across the view? This is
  also the way that the lemon gums have been
  planted
• We would really like to plan in for an outside
  fireplace, such as in these pictures

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Elevation
Plan A North elevation
Plan B North elevation
Plan C North elevation
8
Elevation
Things we like

• We like the way that the house has a friendly
  face, especially in plans (A) and (B)
• We like the idea of having a run of square
  windows in the first floor, like in plans (A) and
  (B)
• We adore the little triangle windows in plan (C),
  either side of the chimney
• We like the option in plan (B) of having the
  outdoor sleeping area under the eaves
• We like the pattern created by the overlapping
  triangles in roof shape, on the left in plan (C)
• We like there being verandah at both sides of the
  house, as in plan (A), and we like that they are
  different widths

Things we dont like

• We dont like the arches in the windows on the
  first floor in plan (A). We would rather they be
  rectangular, or triangular at each end with a
  little rectangle in-between. In fact, in general
  we would prefer all windows to have straight
  lines rather than curved unless they are
  deliberately a small circular window for emphasis
• We dont like that plan (C) is single-level. We
  are now 100 sure we want a 2nd storey
• We like the look of the outside in plan (A) but
  we dont love it. The longer weve thought about
  it, the more it feels a little too storybook.
  We much prefer the outside of plan (B) with the
  spine running along and not so symmetrical

Additional requests / thoughts

• Its hard to be specific about it, but based
  solely on the North Elevation drawing (as I cant
  visualise the other sides), my feeling is that
  the ratio of windows to solid wall in plans (B)
  and (C) is the closest to what we want. We want
  to be able to take advantage of the view, but for
  it still to feel private at least in some parts.
  Plan (A) just feels like it would be a little too
  open.
• Weve been inspired by the wooden houses we saw
  in Tallinn. Even falling down they had such
  presence that wed like to mimic some of their
  shaping, especially in terms of window shapes and
  having a tower room. Its hard to explain in
  words, so there are pictures on the next few
  pages.
• It would be nice for the upstairs window in the
  bedroom to have a small balcony even if it was
  just wide enough to stand plants on. We could
  then have sliding or french doors that opened
  inwards in the bedroom in place of windows. If
  it was a proper balcony you could walk onto, then
  perhaps underneath could be a bay window (see
  picture of Tallinn house)
• We like the concept of their being steps as part
  of the house area e.g., as in plan (C) en-route
  to the old house. These steps were outside, but
  perhaps we could incorporate some also into the
  internal ground floor? Especially if they were
  e.g., the width of two normal doorways and
  leading to an area that had a view. Then, they
  could function also as places to sit!

9
Elevation
Inspiration Tower rooms
We both adored the effect created by these little
jutting up extra rooms, and so would really like
to have one at Amherst too. For example, perhaps
it could be accessed via steep steps (like on
ships) from the study? Or, from the landing area
on the first floor, via a pull-down staircase?
It wouldn't need to be big, just enough space eg
to have single futons around several walls, low
bookshelf on another, and opening windows to all
4 sides from waist height. We could put the
telescope up there. It would just be a fun place
to spend time reading if you wanted to be alone
and would double as extra sleeping space for
guests, at least on summer nights. (Guessing it
might be too cold in winter, but that's OK, we
don't mind if it's only usable part of the year).

10
Elevation

• Or perhaps if you think a full-blown tower would
  look stupid, we could compromise. For example,
  like in these pictures, the tower effect could be
  gotten via having a room that you enter via a
  half flight of stairs, with a room underneath
  that you enter similarly by walking down a half
  flight. If we are having very high ceilings in
  most of the house then perhaps in these areas we
  could fit 3 rooms with lower ceilings? Or maybe
  not having a tower at all but just hinting at it
  by having an interesting tower-like part on the
  roof?

11
Elevation
Inspiration Window shapes
We would like the house to have some
interestingly shaped jutting out windows. For
example
We love the idea of there being a small balcony
above the top of the square bay (would be great
for the bedroom)
We like the notion of a square bay window
sticking out from the house, like here
We like this example of a bay window being used
on a corner except for the roof part
We love this triangular bay shape
12
Elevation
Inspiration Patterns
We like the idea of fitting the weatherboards so
that they form patterns, such as here
We like the idea of there being some parts which
have a lot heavier detailing than others e.g.,
this sunburst pattern atop the window, and these
deeply patterned doors
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Tallinn wooden houses
Inspiration Other aspects
We like the windows not being at the same level
in this house, plus the idea that the top floor
might extend over a section you could drive into
We like the sweeping staircases and that there
are a lot of different levels
We like the concept of using the edge of the roof
to make a pattern
Just generally we like the rhythm of this house.
It is too big as it is, in fact I think it is two
houses joined up, but we would even like it if
you just cut it in half!
This house feels a little bit heavy and too
many windows all the same, but we like the mix of
levels
We like the pattern made by having different
shaped balcony areas
14
Elevation
Finally, here are some other pictures of outside
parts of houses which we like which weve
recently found. These come mostly from the Good
House Parts book and from a book about
Australian Houses which weve only recently read
through.
We love the rhythm of this building. Its simple
but unusual We also like the use of colours and
angles
Another take on a tower. This is a bit too
tower-dominant, but we like the angled side and
the shape of the roof
Old Queensland houses apparently often had these
whimsical style roof vents. We like them too,
especially the top left. It could also help add
interest to the roofline
We like the mix of shapes and colours in this.
Its a more modern take on the notion of
incorporating pattern on the outside (as in the
Tallinn houses). We especially like the pillars
made of pieces of wood
15
Elevation
Some great ideas for shutters and screening out
the sun from windows in the height of summer
We like the notion of using trellis like this to
divide off parts of the verandah. E.g., this
would make it possible to have a functional part
of the verandah for hanging out laundry, while
still keeping it out of sight from when sitting
in the relaxing part.
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InternalMain house
17
Internal areas
PLAN A Ground floor
PLAN A First floor
18
Internal areas
Plan (A) Things we like

• We adore the staircase and the entrance hall.
  Especially like how there's a toilet off the
  downstairs entrance hall. We even have the
  perfect doors for the toilet and lounge
  entrance
• We also like that opposite is a matching
  symmetrical doorway, which we would like to lead
  to a large walk-through closet for coats, boots,
  etc, kind of like it is currently. This should
  have a door at at the other end leading to the
  mudroom/laundry (which needs to be different
  shape see below). This will mean we have
  somewhere nice for visitors to put their coats
  without having to walk into the laundry!
• We really like the upstairs layout in terms of
  having another landing/hallway area at the top of
  the stairs, from which other rooms open out.
• We like the upstairs bathroom and how there is
  another toilet upstairs but separate from the
  bathroom. We like the scale of the bathroom (ie
  big!) and the positioning of the toilet and
  bathroom relative to the bedroom. We love the
  bathroom opening out over the quiet more private
  courtyard area. We have also chosen the stained
  glass windows that wed like to use in the
  bathroom to go above the bath and in the door
• We like the master bedroom a lot except we don't
  like how it opens over the dining area space
  below. Also, we like the positioning of the
  study relative to the bedroom, and the fact that
  they are both upstairs in the quieter zone of the
  house.
• We like the study a lot, especially the double
  bed built tucked into the side which will double
  as a couch. We like having the table, but we
  don't need it to be L shaped since most of the
  time we won't be sitting at a desk when we use
  the computer.
• We love how the fireplaces are positioned so that
  they're in all the main rooms. The only thing
  that would make it even more brilliant is if
  there could be a fireplace in the bathroom but I
  know that's just being greedy! -)

Weve just bought 7 glass panels in this pattern,
each 10 by 11. They date from1880s but are
still amazingly solid! Were having an 8th panel
replica made and the plan is to fit them into a
door
Width 28, height 74.5. Glass panels 7.5
width, 35.5 tall.
This comes from an old front door. Because the
colours are similar to the windows for above the
bath, we think it would work well in the top of
the bathroom door
Glass sections of each window are approx 17
across by 45 tall. They're in a solid metal
frames so very sturdy and they have fittings to
swing open outwards
19
Internal areas continued
Plan (A) Things we like

• We love the kitchen in this plan. Especially,
  the separate pantry and the fact that there's a
  proper outside kitchen area. Dave is especially
  keen on the latter. I can see him using that a
  lot. We like how it opens out onto the breakfast
  area near the front of the house too, although it
  doesn't necessarily have to be entirely under the
  big jutting out verandah (is there a risk that it
  will make that side of the kitchen a bit dark?)
• We really like the pantry in terms of it being a
  proper room not just a walk in closet. We would
  perhaps like to move the window out of the corner
  though, so as to get the effect like in this
  picture
• We like how the front bit juts out rather than
  just going flat across the front of the house.
• We have a lot of paintings and we like how there
  seems to be quite a bit of space in the staircase
  areas and in the hallway part leading between
  kitchen and dining room to display them. We have
  too many paintings to just have them in rooms!
  (Dave's Dad and my Mum both paint plus we have
  started buying paintings as souvenirs of trips...
  albeit only when we find ones we love).
• We like how there is a clearly defined "main
  entrance" coming in off the courtyard area
• We like the semi-wrap around verandah

20
Internal areas continued
Plan (A) Things we dont like

• We don't like the mudroom because it feels too
  much like a hallway. We want it to be a room not
  only a passing through place. Wed like to keep
  part of what is currently the mudroom though, to
  turn it into a walk-in closet for coats, boots
  etc, and then for that to have a door leading to
  the mudroom
• I don't like the positioning of the piano, I
  would prefer it to be more secluded and not in
  the main lounge room area. I like the notion you
  had in plan B of it having it's own alcove,
  possibly with sliding doors.
• We don't like the dining room because Im worried
  it would feel like it was in a hallway. We dont
  really like the double height ceiling. Given
  that we want the ceilings in at least the
  majority of rooms to be high anyway (at least 12
  ft), were worried that a double-height ceiling
  would be just enormous! We'd rather have the
  ceiling area as part of the study plus an an
  extra, separate closet in the bedroom (as Dave
  pointed out, it might be nice to have his own so
  I can't keep stealing space!).
• We don't like the relationship of the kitchen to
  the lounge-room... they feel like theyd be too
  far apart. We prefer it when they're just round
  the corner to each other like in plan B. But, we
  still want them to be clearly defined and
  separate don't like totally open plan spaces
• In general, it felt like there wasnt as much
  storage space in this plan as in others. It
  would be wonderful to have a walk-in linen
  closet, like in plan B, up on the 1st floor.

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Internal areas continued
Plan (A) Additional requests / thoughts

• Wed like to have more hallways, even if theyre
  short, to give a sense of journey as you move
  around the house, plus more space for pictures,
  etc. We also really love the idea of having
  mini-hallways at the entrance to each room where
  you have bookshelves (discussed more in section
  on plan B)
• We would like there to be a small balcony in the
  bedroom upstairs, or at least a juliet style
  thing so we can open up french doors to let a
  breeze through. This is so that I can just flop
  out of bed to watch sunrises
• We would like a library, more space to store
  books. We really do have an awful lot of books
  and growing by several suitcase-fulls each year.
  We really liked the idea in Prue's garden plan
  of having a downstairs library bit that juts out
  into the garden it would help make the courtyard
  garden more interestingly shaped too. We could
  have doors which open up into the lounge if we
  ever want a big space for a party. Perhaps also
  the library can double as an extra bedroom (if we
  ever needed to make it such, and/or as a dining
  room for big occasions).
• We couldn't figure out where the TV would go...
  is it next to the fireplace? We want a spot so
  that it is good for viewing but can be
  unobtrusive when not being used.
• It would be good to have the study shaped so that
  if we ever wanted to (e.g., to make the house
  more saleable, god forbid) we could put a wall in
  and make it so that the large study area turned
  into two extra bedrooms
• Where can the giant stained glass lamp go?
  (maybe in the kitchen?)
• If its do-able wed like to have a chute from
  upstairs that goes down to the laundry. E.g.,
  this could be from the landing area so its
  easily accessible from both the bedroom and the
  bathroom?

Lamp shade is massive, approx 48 in diameter.
It has a very heavy iron frame that has lights
incorporated into it. Theres some damage to the
rims but the majority is OK
22
Internal areas
PLAN B Ground floor
PLAN B First floor
23
Internal areas
Plan (B) Things we like

• We adore the screened porch opening off the
  lounge and the relative sizes of the two rooms.
  We love how the screened porch looks over the
  secret garden on one side and the wider outside
  view on the other. We definitely want a screened
  porch area like this in the final design. Wed
  like there to also be a way to enclose the porch
  in winter so that it can be used as a
  conservatory area. E.g., perhaps it has glass
  shutters? We even have 3 large glass panels which
  would be perfect for use in the porch area
  (although most probably as decorations to prop
  against windows rather than as the windows
  themselves as theyre a bit too
  fragile)
• Did I mention we loved the screen porch? ? In
  fact, it gave us the idea that perhaps the formal
  dining area could be in the screened porch area -
  it would just need to be designed so we could
  keep it warm if we wanted to use it in winter.
  Normally wed have it set up like a porch, then
  for those big occasions wed push the porch
  furniture back and set up a big table in the
  centre. This would save us having to have a
  separate dining room all the time. For everyday
  meals we could just eat informally around a
  farmhouse style table in the kitchen.
• We like the shape of the mudroom a lot more in
  this plan, as it is a proper room. We also love
  the linen closet, especially how it is kind of
  walk-in, and how it is positioned opposite the
  mudroom. We also like how there is another
  cupboard like this on the second floor.
• We adore how you had a kind of mini-hallway
  between the dining area and the lounge, which had
  shelves... great for storing dinnersets and
  glasses (although would need to be bigger to
  house all our things). I love it so much that
  I'd like to have it at the doorway of other rooms
  too 1) outside the bathroom door, for storing
  books and magazines for bath time reading, nice
  bottles of bubble bath, flowers, pretty towels,
  etc. 2) outside the mudroom door, for storing
  books about gardening and household
  cleaning/hobby stuff. 3) between the kitchen
  and the pantry, for storing recipe books and
  especially nice things that you want to display
  like pottery jars. 4) depending on how much
  bookshelf space there is in the lounge and where
  the piano ends up being positioned, it might be
  nice to have one on the entrance to the lounge
  too, for a selection of coffee table books and
  sheet music, etc
• We like the notion of having a sleeping nook in
  the study tucked into the roof
• We like how the fireplace is the centrepiece of
  the bedroom
• We like how the chairs are arranged in a corner
  around the fireplace in the study

24
Internal areas continued
Plan (B) Things we dont like

• We like the concept of having two entrances that
  meet in a shared area but don't like this
  execution because there doesnt seem as clearly
  defined an entrance hall area like in plan A. It
  was hard for us to distinguish between the front
  and back entrances we much preferred plan A
  where the main entrance to use was the front one
  and obvious with the mudroom only for when we
  were doing laundry or particularly messy.
• We dont like the staircase entrance being so
  close to the kitchen, it took away from the drama
  of having stairs! In general, I want stairs that
  kind of invite you to sit on them, to pause and
  look at pictures, etc... not stairs that you feel
  designed just for dashing up and back on. I
  dont want them to feel like back stairs.
• The bedroom is too close to the study, wed like
  the bedroom to be quite secluded. We much
  preferred the layout in plan (A) where the
  bedroom was at its own end of the house
• The bathroom is too small. Also, its too far
  away from the bedroom, and there are too many
  corners to reach the toilet. Dave was envisaging
  how he would dash to the toilet in the dark if
  feeling nauseous, and worked out that at best
  he'd reach the sink! We also didn't like how the
  toilet wasn't separate
• We didn't like the curved bay window opposite the
  kitchen table... I think I would have liked it
  more if it were squared, although the placement
  directly opposite the table felt a little odd.
  However we like the concept of the change in
  level, so perhaps its just the table thats
  throwing me off
• The kitchen feels too small, we would like it to
  feel more open. We dont like how you get from
  the entrance hallway straight into the cooking
  part of the kitchen. We dont like having the
  sticking out bench dividing the cooking area from
  the rest. We especially miss having the walk in
  pantry. Generally, think Martha Stewart in
  terms of kitchen design. ? Also, we missed
  there being a full outside kitchen
• We liked the notion of having a piano alcove as
  shown in this plan, but dont like it being
  positioned near the door. Perhaps it would be
  better for the piano to be near the study e.g.,
  in an alcove on the upstairs landing?
• We dont like the spare toilet opening off the
  mudroom. Wed prefer it to come off the hallway.

Plan (B) Additional requests / thoughts

• Generally, were worried there wont be enough
  space for books and pictures. As for plan (A),
  wed like to consider adding a library area
• As for plan (A), wed like a small balcony in the
  bedroom upstairs
• We couldn't figure out where the TV would go in
  the lounge-room

25
Internal areas
PLAN C Ground floor
26
Internal areas
Plan (C) Things we like

• We like how both the kitchen/dining space and the
  lounge open onto the breakfast area
• We like the walk in wardrobe in the bedroom
• We love the mudroom, in that it is a proper
  shaped room. We also like that there are two
  entrances to it.
• We like that theres a pantry although not as
  much as plan A because its not as big

Plan (C) Things we dont like

• We dont like that it is only single storey
• The master bedroom is too small. We hate how it
  opens off the kitchen, and we doubly hate that
  the only way to access a toilet is by walking
  through the bedroom.
• We dont like that there isnt a guest sleeping
  area in the study (both the other plans had it)
• We dont really like the entrance area because it
  doesnt feel like a place youd stop in. Theres
  nowhere to put a bench and coatrack you walk in
  and before you know it youve reached the lounge
  area
• We miss a lot of the lovely features from the
  other two plans, like the screened porch, outdoor
  kitchen, landing areas, etc
• Theres not enough storage space

27
InternalExisting house
28
Existing house
Plan B
Plan C
29
Existing house
Things we like

• We like the notion that theres a small kitchen
  area, but would like it to be hidden away, eg in
  a kind of cupboard with doors that can shut. At
  least to begin with, well probably keep it very
  small only a microwave, small fridge, toaster,
  kettle, small sink, etc. No oven although its
  good to plan in for it so that if we ever want to
  convert it to a self-contained house then we can.
  
• We like the notion of this being something we
  could renovate first, for us to live in, while we
  built the rest of the house. Its the reverse
  order we were intending, but it might make sense
  considering itll be a lot quicker to do!
• Dave says he likes the covered walkways. I'm not
  fussed either way, and I'm wary of Dad's comment
  that it is better to keep the two houses separate
  because of danger of termites.

Things we dont like

• Both bedrooms will need their own en-suites if
  were to be able to use them as potential BB
  accommodation
• Itd be nice for one of the bedrooms to be
  larger, so that there was space for a sleeping
  alcove (e.g., with bunk beds) which we could open
  up if we ever had anyone staying with kids
• Generally, wed like there to be some kind of
  divider (even if its just open shelves) between
  the kitchen and the lounge area