160m² bungalow floor plan

What has become of your house? You are still active here... unfortunately, the planning has not been continued nor has the final product been shown. Show it here sometime :)

I am happy to fulfill your request. First of all, a few words in advance.

-The house construction itself was quite exhausting. Our construction company filed for bankruptcy during the shell construction phase (exterior walls finished, roof on, interior walls 50% complete). We were unable to find a company willing to complete the house on short notice (within 12 months). So we had no choice but to award each trade individually. The effort to discuss the scope of work, get quotes (3 quotes per trade), the unexpected personal work, etc., was enormous. Although we almost despaired of the situation, the house is now standing and we enjoy living here.

-The floor plan has hardly changed compared to . The biggest change was the window front to the terrace in the living room.

-I still see the concept of the "children's wing" away from the parents' bedroom as a great idea. Our toddlers have not moved there yet, but the phase when children need spatial closeness to their parents is relatively short. Interestingly, this has created the possibility to prepare a separate living unit in this part of the house. Water runs to the kitchen in the study, and there is a washing machine connection in the children's bathroom. If needed, a door could be installed in the hallway, and one would have two separate living units. It will probably never happen, but at least the option exists.

-The dark children's hallway was equipped with a daylight spot and is pleasantly bright even in dull weather. Otherwise, there is hardly any usable space here; only the niche behind the door to the large hallway can be used for wardrobes/cabinets. Since the two children's rooms have been hardly used so far, the stroller currently does not bother in the children's hallway.

-Your numerous comments regarding sufficient space in the hallway were taken into account. Currently, the hallway is not yet equipped with wardrobe cabinets. Provisionally, a few places were created for shoes and jackets. Basically, there is enough space for several meters of cabinets in addition to the stroller/bike trailer and children's bench.

-We are very satisfied with the bedroom/dressing room. We do not miss the direct connection to the bathroom. The dressing room is quite spacious (as you also noted), so the changing area is currently located there as well. Somehow, we managed to fit two baby/children's beds next to the 2-meter-wide parents' bed (of course, there is no space for nightstands now, and the passage to the dressing room is slightly restricted). When the children move to their wing one day, the bedroom will be wonderfully spacious again, including space for nightstands (despite the 2-meter bed). Actually, it is a dream to be awakened by the morning sun while lying in bed. It is almost even nicer than I had imagined.

-The space in the utility room was sufficient to accommodate controlled residential ventilation, heating, washing machine, dryer, refrigerator, water softener, and other stuff. What we did not expect was that, due to the unfortunate arrangement of controlled residential ventilation including ventilation pipes, heating, heating circuit distributor, and fuse box, a lot of space is lost. Unfortunately, we could only influence this to a limited extent, so we now have to make do with the remaining niches. However, I claim that a larger utility room would have led the installers to be even more wasteful with the available space.

-The two children's rooms are ultimately the only rooms that got narrow 75 cm doors and, of course, the handles also bang against the little bumpers on the wall. Not a really annoying matter, but making the house 20 cm wider there probably would not have ruined us. Another window in each children's room (to the garden southeast sunrise and to the street northwest sunset) probably would not have hurt either. Then the rooms would be a bit brighter and more attractive as living spaces from an adult perspective. The children probably would not care at all. We left out the additional windows mainly to have better furniture arrangements in the rooms.

-The living room including the kitchen is our absolute main living area. The rustic oak parquet flooring and the generous window fronts make the room extremely cozy. Because of the children, we spend most of the time on the floor and, depending on the season, with a burning fireplace. Most of the time, the living room is therefore a large play area, which will change when the children grow up. We also like the open kitchen. The originally planned island was pushed to the wall and thus became a peninsula. Most of the time, various stuff is piled there, so you first have to tidy up before you can do kitchen work. Due to moving the island, the available free space has become much larger, so we are freer in positioning and orienting the dining table. Our long table for family celebrations is also feasible. Nevertheless, I have to admit that the room would have benefitted from being a bit larger, especially (as you suggested) in width. There would have simply been more furnishing options.

-The fireplace with a view through to the hallway was completely abandoned. Instead, it became a freestanding round fireplace, which ultimately could not be positioned as we had imagined. The (later insolvent) construction company forgot the chimney in their planning, so the roof structure at the planned location did not allow a chimney (the chimney would have pierced directly through the valley of the roof). So the chimney had to be repositioned, and with it, the fireplace. We tried to make the best of it and used the resulting dead space for two wood shelves.

-The brick-clad garage cost a fortune (after all, it is virtually a residential building without interior finishing), but I am glad we did it that way from the start. It accommodates two cars, a motorcycle, and a small workshop. For the rest, we will probably have to build one or two sheds. Back then, you criticized the eaves on the garage door side. Possibly it would look better to rotate the roof 90°, but I think it also looks reasonable as is. The garage roof matches the overall ensemble. Apart from that, the use of the garage roof (south-facing) with photovoltaics (storage, electric car, ground source heat pump, etc.) is coming closer and closer, so eventually, the intended use will also be fulfilled.

Thank you again for your comments, they definitely helped us. I noticed repeatedly in conversations with friends about their building projects that they are hardly willing to accept good advice regarding the floor plan. Every home builder seems to be so in love with their project that, after a certain point, they become resistant to advice. Much more likely, one mainly hopes for confirmation of one's own ideas. That is probably how it was for me as well, looking back at the first pages of this topic. I would not be surprised if you encounter this behavior more often.

Pictures Part 1

Images Part 2

-At the front door it has been suggested several times to move the utility room wall outward to create a continuous passage instead of "wasted space." Honestly, I think the small niche is great. The front door is very wind-protected due to the strong offset. The wood stack is normally not there but just the cozy bench where we occasionally enjoy the sunset. I think it's cool the way it is. Also nice is the possibility to walk along the long side of the house in the dry under the roof overhang. Ultimately, though, you still have to go through the rain to get to the garage. So far, it doesn't bother me at all.

We have now been living in the house for about 3 years and are very satisfied.