170m2 single-family house in the Bavarian countryside

Hello everyone,

now on the second attempt I am probably in the right part of the forum and have also found the questionnaire. I would like to ask you for an opinion about my current planning. Overall it is mostly done, but maybe one or the other detail could still be optimized.

Bebauungsplan/Einschränkungen
Size: 830 m2
Slope: hardly any
Number of parking spaces: 2x
Number of floors: Everything allowed
Roof shape: Everything allowed
Style: Everything allowed
Allowed roof colors: Everything except violet
Planting requirement: 2 smaller trees

Anforderungen der Bauherren
Style: Modern & traditional at the same time, gable roof
Basement, floors: 2 full floors
Number of people, age: 2x late 20s (children planned in the next years)
Office: family use or home office: home office
Guest overnight stays per year: maximum 1x
Open or closed architecture: partially open
Conservative or modern construction method: a certain mixture
Open kitchen, cooking island: open
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: yes, pellet
Balcony, roof terrace: terrace is enough for us, but it should be covered
Garage, carport: garage with utility space
Utility garden, greenhouse: not directly planned in the house plan

Hausentwurf
Who designed the planning:
- architect
What do you particularly like? Why? Large children's rooms, wellness in the basement, open kitchen, extra bathroom in the master bedroom
What do you not like? Why? I can’t think of anything at the moment
Price estimate according to architect/planner: /
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment (furniture): 550,000€
Preferred heating technology: pellet
House automation desired: KNX
(but programming will be done by myself, and it should not be used excessively everywhere)

If you have to give up, on which details/extensions
- can you give up: a lot of space in the bedroom (we have that too)
- cannot give up: 2 bathrooms, space for children

Why did the design turn out the way it is now? For example
Standard design from the planner? No
Corresponding/which wishes were implemented by the architect? Yes
What makes it particularly good or bad in your eyes? Modern building style with traditional/conservative elements.

Attached is the current plan.
Edit: The terrace will be only 3m wide on the south side instead of 3.5m for brightness reasons.

Please share your opinions.

Best regards,
XxTankerxX

Hello first of all.
I find it positive that the master bedroom here gets a smaller en suite shower bathroom and the large family bathroom is for everyone.

On the negative side, I notice two essential things here: the staircase and the kitchen.
The kitchen bay window is not useful for the floor plan and the passage to the living room appears very narrow.

I find the staircase even more unfortunate. It does not fit or does not fit in this position in the floor plan. Obviously, this will be in the upper floor. The hallway is very long and becomes narrower towards the children's room.
On the ground floor, the ratio of entrance area + wardrobe + hallway compared to the actual living space is far too large - the three mentioned together have as many square meters as the living room!

Hello first of all. I find it positive that the parents' bedroom here gets a smaller en suite shower bathroom and the large family bathroom is there for everyone. Negatively, I notice two significant things here: staircase and kitchen. The kitchen bay is not useful for the floor plan and the passage to the living room appears very narrow. I find the staircase even more unfortunate. It does not fit or not at this position in the floor plan. Apparently, it will be on the upper floor. The hallway is very long and becomes narrower towards the children's rooms. On the ground floor, the proportion of vestibule+wardrobe+hallway compared to the actual living area is far too large - the three mentioned together have as many square meters as the living room!

Regarding the kitchen, well, a few square meters can be gained and then the house is not just a rectangular box. How far to extend the counter to the dining room is still a matter to decide. A few centimeters more space probably won’t hurt, I’ll give you that. Regarding the staircase: I find it brilliant. This way, the basement with vestibule is thermally separated from the living area with the staircase to the upper floor. And especially in summer, when doing garden work, one often has to go to the basement. This way, it’s also quite quick to get there from the front door. And at first, we wanted a very large square entrance area. The hallway is more of an interim solution – it takes up somewhat less space and still offers enough room for additional dressers or other storage options.

Make the terrace deeper than 3 m. The lawn edge is a stumbling block. You don’t have to extend a roof over the entire depth.

A wellness area in the basement without access to the outside? Really? That wouldn’t be wellness for me.

Draw the existing and desired furnishings to scale in every room. Consider traffic routes.

I find the staircase position unfortunate and the kitchen doesn’t really appeal to me either. The space by the bed in the master bedroom looks quite tight. Usually there is still some storage space next to the bed. Or temporarily a baby bay.

I really like the design a lot.

[*]Stairs: When arranging the stairs, I immediately thought it was quite clever to place the access to the basement from the entrance area and the stairs to the upper floor from the inner hallway.
[*]Entrance and wardrobe: It is certainly quite large – for a household with a whole generation of children ahead, this is very practical. A stroller is never in the way. There is plenty of space for clothes, coats, and jackets, and the front door can be left open without causing thermal disruption – also great with children.
[*]Kitchen: I would connect the hallway, pantry, and kitchen into one large room, acoustically damp it somewhat and light it with daylight-like lighting. That would be a great focal point for a family. The passage to the dining area could really be somewhat wider.
[*]Bay window: I see that this brings space to the utility room and the kitchen. From my point of view, this is well solved, although not cost-optimized. But costs are never the only criterion.
[*]Living area: Why people like to sit with their backs to the windows remains an eternal mystery to me. It probably has to do with the importance of the TV – although here no classic TV orientation is visible.
[*]Privacy: The structure of the house allows – provided there is no super-tight surrounding development – a pleasantly private life away from the entrance area.
[*]Children’s rooms: Nice that these get a prominent place in the house and also a proper family bathroom.
[*]Parents’ bathroom: Works just about. If a baby crib is in the room, getting in and out of bed is like in a motorhome. Of course, it’s possible; I wouldn’t have a problem with that.
[*]Sauna area: I would consider an outdoor staircase to the garden. Rotate the sauna 90 degrees and lead the stairs under the living room window into the garden. Maybe there will be a permanent or seasonally placed water feature in the garden – very pleasant between sauna sessions.
[*]Garage: A continuous door is more practical than two single doors. Can you go around the garage to, for example, not have to push bikes past the cars? Then a wider door or another gate at the back and there will be no trouble with scratches. Children’s vehicles are typically used intensively and with varying parking care.
[*]Driveway: Hopefully not just a straight paved strip as suggested in the drawing. There is room here for greenery and curves.
[*]Terrace: Some “curves” are also good here. This creates a cozy area with a stricter (partial) roof. People sitting outside need space.
[*]Terrace roof: Translucent photovoltaic elements provide light, energy, and look good too.
[*]Transition from the dining area to the outside: Consider a fully glazed solution. Then, despite the roof, it will neither be dark nor visually cramped.
[*]Outside: Put wood on it ;)

I really like the draft a lot.

[*]Stairs: When arranging the stairs, I immediately thought it was quite clever to place the access to the basement from the entrance area and the staircase to the upper floor from the inner hallway. [*]Entrance and wardrobe: Certainly, it is quite large – for a household with a whole generation of children ahead, this is extremely practical. A stroller is never in the way. There is ample space for clothes, coats, and jackets, and the front door can be left open without everything immediately getting thermally disturbed – also great with children. [*]Kitchen: I would combine the hallway, pantry, and kitchen into one large room, acoustically dampen it a bit, and illuminate it with daylight-like lighting. That would be a great centerpiece for a family. The passageway to the dining area can really be a bit wider. [*]Bay window: I see that this provides space in the utility room and kitchen. In my opinion, this is well solved, although not cost-optimized. But costs are never the only criterion. [*]Living area: Why people like to sit with their backs to the windows remains an eternal mystery to me. Probably has to do with the importance of the TV – although there is no classic TV orientation visible here. [*]Privacy: The structure of the house – provided there is no super-tight all-around construction – allows for a pleasantly private life away from the entrance area. [*]Children's rooms: Nice that these get a prominent place in the house and also a proper family bathroom. [*]Parents' bathroom: Just barely works. If a baby crib is in the room, getting in and out of bed is like in a motorhome. Of course, it works, I would have no problem with it. [*]Sauna area: I would consider an outdoor staircase to the garden. To do that, rotate the sauna 90 degrees and lead the stairs under the living room window into the garden. Maybe someday there will be a permanent or seasonally placed water feature in the garden – very pleasant between sauna sessions. [*]Garage: A continuous gate is more practical than two single gates. Can you go around the garage, for example, so that bicycles don’t have to be pushed past the cars? Then a wider door or another gate at the back would prevent scratches. Children’s vehicles are typically used intensively and with varying parking care. [*]Driveway: Hopefully not just a straight paving as indicated in the drawing. There is room for greenery and curvature here. [*]Terrace: Some “curves” would also be good here. This creates a cozy area next to a stricter (partial) roof. People sitting outside need space. [*]Terrace roof: Translucent photovoltaic elements provide light, energy, and also look good. [*]Transition from dining area to outside: Consider a fully glazed solution. Then it won’t get dark or visually cramped despite the roof. [*]Outside: Add wood to it ;)

Thanks for your opinion. -Where would you put wood? -Definitely some greenery will be added in the courtyard, just as in front of the terrace. Here, a south-facing staircase to the garden is planned anyway. Question for you and everyone: How would you design the roof? I also thought about glazing. However, a nice solution has to be found to cover the bay window as well. Maybe something could be combined.