135 sqm single-family house with gable roof floor plan evaluation / improvement suggestions

My main concern is the everyday usability, (affordable construction costs) and the living comfort of the floor plan, basically how I should place the walls, position the stairs, windows, etc. One annoyance is, for example, the entry on the ground floor to the stairs over the dirt area of the front door, so you always carry dirt in both directions, but with the size of the house, little traffic area, and as large a living, dining, and kitchen area as possible, I couldn’t come up with a better idea.

Traffic area anxiety regularly leads to bottlenecks, boxy furnishings, and too many multifunctional rooms that do not do justice to the living feelings of the here ...

personal situation: currently a single household, but should also make sense for a small family in the future

... still unknown family constellation. After all, having no roommate is better from the perspective of the future roommate than moving into the nest of her predecessor, and this doesn’t look like a mancave here. But a single household somewhat explains ignoring the cleaning supply cabinet.

and doesn’t look like a mancave here. But a single household explains a bit the hiding of the cleaning supplies cupboard.

Well, I had to chuckle a bit. After studying and living for years in very tight spaces, I probably would have had similar blind spots. That’s why I’m writing something too – a house is such a big investment, you should avoid preventable problems, well, avoid them. I would recommend the thread starter the following approach: 1. Really sit down with regard to floor plan planning and find out what is actually needed in the house ("must haves"). Here, also think comprehensively about things like storage space (for a possibly planned family), lighting, and so on. At first only "must haves", do not add too many "nice to haves" (otherwise you quickly blow any budget). 2. Look at what the plot dictates! A house should always be considered together with the plot of land. Some things are dictated by the development plan, some by the plot itself (e.g. slope). Then combine both considerations and see how to create the best possible fusion from both aspects (what do I need and what does the plot dictate). And then you can see which nice to haves still fit in or are within the budget. (Best of course with professional support.)

Unsorted thoughts:

- I am almost certain that the utility room cannot work. The second door further reduces the usable wall and storage space in the already minimally sized room.
- I fear that the lighting effect, especially on the upper floor, will be really bad. Some rooms only have roof windows. And you can’t exactly look out of them. That will create a prison cell effect.
- The upper floor still lacks information on how each room is supposed to be used. The extremely elongated room could serve as a children’s room, but it would not be practical as a master bedroom.
- There are many decisions here that I think are worth reconsidering. Examples:

So what? Even looking at trees or a street is nicer than having rooms (upper floor) completely without windows at eye level to see through.
So either lower the knee wall and install roof windows you can look out of. Or raise the knee wall and install windows you can look out of. Or put windows on the east wall.

If finances are very tight, all this is luxury and causes a whole chain of problems.
- there is a lack of storage space.
- the utility room is far too small in dimension.
- the light/window concept on the upper floor is questionable from my subjective point of view.

Two full floors and a gable roof are possible.
Conservatory not drawn.

Meter box, house connection box, depending on the federal state also photovoltaic requirement (meaning inverter), and so on... 6m² is enough for a compact heat pump and little else, if you have one door (!). The second door effectively subtracts at least another 1 to 1.5m² (because less wall and storage space). That means the utility room here is comparable in usability to a 3.4-3.9m² room. Too little.

So. And now just think from the perspective of a couple:
Where should everyday stuff be stored? Like vacuum cleaner? Cleaning supplies? Ironing board? Washing machine? (That won’t fit in the mini utility room.)
Where should things be stored that you should keep a certain stock of (even just one pack of toilet paper needs to be stored somewhere and requires space)?
Where should things be stored that are only needed every few months (decorations, suitcases, etc.)?
Sure, you can live minimally; vacuum cleaner and such still need a place.

The question here is not what you personally need. If you are building so that a family will live there someday, then it needs a certain family suitability. And then the question is: What do you need then?

And based on that question, you design the house.

You’re really right there. I would agree with you on most points. Thanks for the comments, I will take a look at how I apply them.

I have read all your contributions. You are probably right. The missing windows on the east side are part of an agreement with the neighbor so that neither of us can have possible views into the other’s property. You are also right about the storage space. For example, I have planned a built-in wardrobe under the stairs, or floor-to-ceiling built-in cupboards behind doors upstairs. But apparently, that is not enough. Regarding the utility room, I was of the opinion that the technology could be accommodated relatively compactly. (I am a craftsman myself and will do the installation myself). Maybe the wall of the utility room can be raised somewhat to create enough space. I don’t understand the fundamental criticism of self-drawn floor plans. After all, at least from my imagined point of view, I haven’t found a floor plan that fits better or uses the space more efficiently. The rooms on the left upstairs also have windows facing outside; it’s only missing in the room on the right, and I don’t want any view in the bathroom. What do you think, from what knee wall height do the dormer windows become too high? Actually, if it makes sense, I would do without 2 full floors, since I don’t find that very attractive myself and it could look like an alien in the area. (rural, all houses have gabled roofs or bungalows with very low roofs)

I don’t understand the fundamental criticism of self-drawn floor plans. After all, at least from my imagined perspective, I haven’t found a floor plan that fits better or uses the space more sensibly.

I also like to criticize floor plans from ready-made kits. However, often for different reasons. I ask myself three questions for every floor plan: 1. Do the rooms work? 2. Do the paths work? 3. Would something probably annoy me in everyday life? You can find a lot to criticize even in some ready-made floor plans. Often because they are more geared towards brochures than towards real life. (My favorite example is the inflated use of floor-to-ceiling windows. When I walk through a settlement here, I see that on the upper floors in almost all houses the floor-to-ceiling elements are hidden with pleated blinds or furniture. Because they simply are not practical for everyday use.)

The rooms on the left on the upper floor also have windows facing outside, only the room on the right is lacking, and I don’t want any visibility in the bathroom.

Or also: currently 2 of the 4 rooms have no possibility to look outside at sight height. Regarding the bathroom, yes, that’s debatable. I believe (but of course don’t know) that one will regret that later and it will be considered depreciating by external parties. Regarding the other room (the bedroom, children’s room?), however, I consider it a very questionable decision. A lot depends on windows and thus daylight, on how a room feels. At the same time, you have the huge problem of heat protection in summer depending on that as well. These are things that should be taken into account.

What do you think, from what knee wall height do the skylight windows become too high? Actually, if it makes sense, I would forgo 2 full stories, as I don't find that so attractive myself and it could look like an alien in the surroundings. (Rural, all houses have gable roofs or bungalows with very low roofs)

The house, as it is currently planned, will look almost like two full stories from the outside anyway. The reason is simply the exterior wall height with the currently planned ceiling heights. In our building area, there is a development plan that only allows full stories (i.e. either bungalow or two full stories, knee walls not allowed). The older houses all have a masonry height (eaves side) of 5.5–5.8 meters with 2 full stories. How would that be with the planned house? 3 + 1.6 + 0.4 (estimated; intermediate ceiling) = already 5 meters height. (For comparison with many houses here in the area: 2.45 + 2.45 + 0.5 = 5.4; and then often a step in front of the house for water protection.) Regarding the question of skylight windows: The problem is that as they are now, you can’t look straight out of them. They are already too high for that. The line of sight depends on the eye level of the residents. Eye level + 5cm should be aimed at least to the top edge of the window glass area. With wall windows, you can manage that reasonably well including rollers (shading...) at a clear knee wall in the 220 to 230 cm range. However, with very tall residents that also does not work. If you shade with venetian blinds, the knee wall can even be somewhat lower. Or alternatively, with a clear knee wall in the 220 cm range, also possible for rather tall people. The alternative would be to make the knee wall lower so that the roof windows come to eye level. This would also mean the roof should become steeper (otherwise too much space is lost). Then you can look out again. However, they have to reach significantly further down so that smaller residents and especially female residents can look out. Then you quickly end up with the classic knee wall in the 50–70 cm range for this to work at all. Regardless of the planned construction method, I really can only recommend going to a show home park. There you can see various houses with different knee walls and window designs and see how windows have been realized well or not so well with different knee walls. And whether you like it.

Addition on the topic of windows: If it were within the financial scope, one could also consider dormers. (So significantly lower knee wall, into which a dormer with a wall window = view to the outside and area gain in the dormer.) Unfortunately, they are also rather expensive again and probably not budget-friendly. However, it would also require a change of the rooms again, as in my impression they are currently not so well suited for this either.