Architectural design floor plan single-family house - tips wanted

Hello dear house building forum,

we are currently planning our single-family house with an architect. Due to the long and narrow plot (14x39m), we do not have many options. On both sides, a setback of 2.5m from the boundary must be observed; to the rear, we can build up to approx. 16m. Of course, we want to build the garage on the boundary to the right neighboring plot (north side). The plot is located in an existing residential area; there is no development plan, and the city’s requirement is that we must build the house facing the street. We have thought for a long time about whether to move the garage to the back to have a driveway in front of it. However, this would cost too much living space, and the house would become narrower towards the back (toward the garden).

The house is planned to be partially basemented. On the upper floor plan, a “HWS” room is marked, which we want to use as an office/guest room.

Currently, the kitchen is too small for us (approx. 3.30 W x 2.80 L) and offers too little counter space. Furthermore, we are unsure whether we have made the most of the plot. We would be very happy to receive improvement suggestions and criticisms.

Thank you very much for your feedback.

Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: approx. 540 sqm (14m x 39m)
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: basement + 2
Roof type: flat roof
Style: Bauhaus style
Orientation: terrace faces west

Requirements of the builders
Number of persons: 2 adults + 2 toddlers
Space requirements on the ground floor: open kitchen with cooking island, open living/dining room, guest WC, storage room with access to the kitchen
Space requirements on the upper floor: two children’s rooms, parents’ bedroom with dressing room, bathroom, and an office/utility room
open architecture
modern construction
fireplace
balcony
garage

So, just the apparent size of the house alone is quite something. Then there's a basement underneath. I wouldn't even know what to do with all that space. Difficult, as you already said, is the shape of the plot. What strikes me, without looking closely at the measurements, is the zoning. Somehow the ground floor feels like a big hallway with randomly placed furniture. I imagine it to be somewhat uncomfortable. It’s probably meant to be a very modern architectural style. The kitchen, yeah... it’s a disaster and not exactly the "center" of the house. But everyone sees that differently. What’s supposed to happen with the second living room in front of the fireplace? How do you properly place a TV? Don’t you have one? Because if I turn the couch and put the TV on the short wall (west?), then I can’t get through the door to the terrace anymore, or are all those MEGA fixed elements? Upper floor -> 14 sqm bathroom is quite something. I hope it’s not all floor-to-ceiling tiles, which could give a different impression. I also find the balcony oddly placed since it’s at the children’s room. Who is mainly supposed to use it in your plan? If it’s the rebellious teen, then I don’t want to see him knocking on the bedroom window with his friends ^^. The large children’s room also has an absolute north orientation, maybe that can still be swapped.

My personal opinion? I don’t like it. But there are also other inputs from the professionals.

Best regards

At the top, I would place both children's rooms facing west, so they both get some of the balcony. The rest can be rearranged quite well upstairs, for example the bathroom towards SE, the bedroom towards the east... Since you like openness, I would move the stairs further up on the plan; where the stairs are now, put the storage room. Then you still have a spacious living room, but also a large kitchen. The stairs could also stay and above them on the plan a pantry. Something like that :)

Best regards

With so much space and 4 people, in my opinion one shower bathroom is not enough. It’s best if you manage to get another shower downstairs. When the children get older, everyone wants to use the bathroom individually, so in the morning it will be a matter of taking numbers.

Hello,

thank you very much for your suggestions.

Since we always have a lot of visitors and a large family, it was important to us to have a large open living/dining area. The kitchen is really a problem in this floor plan, as it is too small for us. The suggestion from "ypg" to place the pantry next to the stairs is interesting, however we wanted to have a separate sink in the pantry to quickly unload dirty dishes when visitors are here. I don’t find the trip through the hallway very convenient for that. Moving the stairs, on the other hand, would also impact the upper floor. This would result in the dressing room disappearing or creating new space above the utility room, which we wouldn’t know what to do with.
Orienting both children's rooms to the west is definitely a good idea.
The fact that the bathroom is located in the middle of the house has the intention that the distances from all rooms are "equal".
The second children's room is not oriented to the north but to the southeast. The window arrangement is not yet optimal or the planning is not yet finished here, we are more concerned with the floor plan. The left boundary is the south side.
We definitely have to look into planning a shower in the guest toilet.

We look forward to further suggestions.

[*]The pantry is 160cm wide... Two shelves 60cm deep lead to a 40cm aisle, even two shelves 40cm deep lead to an 80cm aisle... that is unpleasant to arrange.
[*]Do you maintain the necessary distance to the neighbor on the right? 2 full floors and only 280cm distance space?!?
[*]The same applies to the left upstairs with the overhang.
[*]The children's rooms have different sizes, one with access to the balcony, one without... this can lead to discussions.
[*]You yourselves allow yourselves 26.7sqm for sleeping, the children "live" later on 17 and 18sqm...

Conclusion: I think it is possible to create the same living experience with less space and lower costs.