Extensions and renovations or "I can dream can't I?"

I've spent a large chunk of today sitting hunched over pieces of paper, drawing, erasing, leaping up to measure walls and furniture, drawing some more, looking up dimensions of various household goods on the internet, erasing again...

I think I get it from my mum, I have vivid memories of her doing the same thing (only without the internet research) trying to work out whether it was possible to add another room to the back of the house so the piano could be moved out of the front hall, or if putting a long skinny lap pool in the back yard was a good idea, or if we really needed a garage and what other use that space could be put to. No building work ever eventuated though the piano did get a new home in the lounge room once my brother moved out and his room became the TV room.

When we bought this house nine years ago we did so because it was in a great location, a short walk to the train station, close to my parents (babysitters ahoy!) and we could afford it. We could afford it because, among other things, it lacked a dining room, the kitchen was in dire need of gutting and the downstairs laundry and bathroom were a half-finished disaster area. But there was space to extend and we figured we could cope with its shortfalls for a little while. Apparently we're really good a coping because all I've done in those nine years is draw endless variations on plans for extending and renovating. Everything else is in pretty much the same state as when we moved in. Except for the bits that are nine years more the worse for wear.

My exercise in wishful thinking, let me show you it.

Upstairs

The front of the house is at the top, entry from the street is into the lounge room off the front deck. The dining room and back deck don't exist at present and the stairwell is currently off the kitchen where there's a cupboard and shower in this design.

Downstairs

We have a very steep driveway leading down to a double garage that runs right through to the back of the house, it's a drive through garage in fact, just in case you ever want to fill your back yard with vehicles of some kind I suppose. At the moment the gym is Adam's study; the garage has a small room built into the back corner off the bathroom; the bathroom has a toilet, some half done plumbing for a shower, a stairwell and a laundry in it; the main bedroom doesn't have a wardrobe, or a door; the gym is in the main bedroom (which is really a rumpus room and is a thoroughfare to the backyard); and the garage is never going to have a car in it again so I've given up pretending. The billiards table is currently languishing in the shed at Adam's mum's place, and I'm not sure if Adam's brother has any interest in it so whether we can lay claim to that or not is a little uncertain, but I hope we can, it's something of his Dad that means a fair bit to Adam.

So, now all I need is to get these plans drawn up properly, find a builder and win the lottery.

No worries.