Help with Choosing right house layout

Hi there, So we have taken the massive step in leaping into the unknown.. We have just secure a 604m2 block 15.5/36m ish..
The block is orientated at roughly N to the rear.. We really love this design http://wisdomhomes.com.au/wp-content/up ... nity31.pdf
I would like you opinions about weather it would be best as is or flipped so the kitchen/alfresco is on the East rather than the West.
Thanks in advance.
Andrew

Think about where you live and what you would use more... East gets morning sun, West gets afternoon sun. When do you entertain most - morning or evening? Do you have summer daylight savings? Is it suitable to sit out in the ambient air temperature at that time? Is there suitable shade available to not get burnt sitting outside with the angle of the sun? West facing with some taller shrub/trees along the boundary may well provide enough shade but still allow enough light through.

We are in Melbourne and have chosen to have the living areas North and West - we get more light in summer from the West to be enjoyable sitting outside; on the East side once the sun has gone over and it is cooling down later in the day it can become too cold to sit outside of an evening. Some will have the opposite opinion though.

Living areas to the north ideally, but if I had to choose between east and west I would choose east. The afternoon sun and heat would bother me more than morning light. Also the master br would be cooler to sleep in at night, although beds 2and 3 would then get the heat. Guess it depends on which suits you better!

Thanks for the reply. Yes i am in Sydney and do get daylight savings. I think It would be better to have kitchen/master on west and BR 3&4 on the north side of the footprint..I just have an issue with to natural light as the only window is the one behind the kitchen top(in place of splashback i guess) and the skylight in the office.

I would flip it for sure and also ad a window in the master against the side wall to let some morning sunshine in
facing the west the alfresco would be uncomfortable during summer

You're very lucky to have a north facing backyard. I'd use this to my advantage & look for a design that follows "passive design" principles. That is, choose a design with north facing living areas. More can be found here,
http://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design

I would flip the design, it looks like you will have a window splash back from the plan. The western afternoon sun can often be hot in the summer and cooking dinner will become a rather heated space.

If you flip the design, I would look at upgrading your insulation along that wall so the bedrooms don't become like saunas


GJ Gardner Modified Coolum 277
http://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=83643

I would repeat whatever everyone else has already stated!

You could also look at two nice building sites I used to teach myself about passive solar design and what considerations you make in orienting a house, or choosing a house plan.

http://www.yourhome.gov.au/ - Gov website but still very straight-forward to read!

http://anewhouse.com.au/ - this is run by a forum participant who lurks from time to time, and again it has a whole wealth of info on it.

All the Best!