Calculation for a single-family house with 175m² living area, basement, and double garage

The kitchen room would have to be wider. I also wanted more visibility into the garden and not to be so cut off.

So you practically look from the kitchen/cooking island directly into the garden. The kitchen is located, for us, "around the corner" for a good reason – this was the compromise for us between an open (appearance) and a closed (for practical reasons) kitchen. We have already seen a floor plan in this form (or something similar) in real life. That works for us.

We are currently considering whether there is a compromise between "pantry" and "no pantry," namely a smaller pantry. Primarily for the vacuum cleaner and a few cases of water. The pantry as such is actually not a priority for us, but a few cases of water and the vacuum cleaner should, if possible, fit in there. Other supplies will be stored in the basement anyway.

Regarding the bathroom, we have now agreed that the passage between the bedroom and bathroom provides too little added value on one hand and on the other hand takes valuable floor space in both rooms. You could then move the sink in the bathroom a bit further to the right and place the shower to the left of it. The only "catch" would then be the shower pipes running in the wall to the bedroom – or is that negligible?

What still gives me a bit of "unease" at the moment is the technology for the pool. According to the pool specialist, it requires about 1.5x1.5x1.5 meters of space. Also, according to consultation, placing it in the basement is too complicated (shaft to the pool, etc.), and there is no space in the garage for it. Extending the garage to the back would mean that the house would have to be placed further back on the plot because of the lighting of the basement, respectively the basement windows. That unnecessarily enlarges the front yard. He suggested a small garden shed – that might be worth considering anyway for the lawnmower, etc.

Upstairs, we could also imagine swapping the bedroom and children’s room, and placing the dressing room in the corner where the skylight is currently planned. But that is just an initial idea...

It would also be important for me to know in this context: Who actually even has a basement, among those who "advise against" it to me?

My brother has a basement in his house in Leiselheim/Worms (prefabricated house, bought used), same in his first house, self-built. In both houses, the technical equipment, washing machine, and a small workshop are downstairs. The rest stands empty in the old house; in the current house (larger area), the remaining basement rooms were also unused for 10 years (2-person household). The office is on the ground floor. Only since my daughter and her family have been living in London again (since 2017, they come max 2 times a year) have the basement rooms been converted for the kids, including a bathroom. In 10 years, the kids won’t come anymore because they are too old. The house also came with a pool, 8 x 4 m, something they wouldn’t buy themselves either. The neighbor’s kids use the pool, my brother and his wife occasionally; you can’t do much with a small pool. Ideal for kids to jump in. Where I live, 7 out of 10 houses have a pool. My neighbor, 4 people, has one of the biggest, 12 m long; I can count the days it's used. The neighbor opposite, when the 3 girls still lived at home, used the pool almost daily. Now they’re considering filling it in; the grandparents and father live in the house. No one goes into the pool. To my right and behind me, there’s only someone in the pool when there are visitors. We have a swim spa, in use 5 days a week, almost the whole year, more expensive to maintain than a pool.

a 20m2 children's room, as others have written, also makes no sense. The only child sits on the bed with iPhone and tablet. that's it, nothing more happens in that room. If there were more than one child, ok, but my grandchildren, 4 and 6, live in a house that is 1/3 bigger, the children's rooms are about 12m2. But their life takes place on the ground floor and a lot in the garden, there is an open playroom, in the picture on the right.



the picture was taken from the kitchen, the living room and office are elsewhere, towards the street. But there is a distance of about 8-10m to the street itself.

(....) basemented same in his first house, self-built. In both houses, the technology is downstairs, washing machine, and a small workshop. The rest in the old house is empty, in the current house (larger area) the other basement rooms were also unused for 10 years (2-person household).

I stick to it - The basement is purely a cost/usage decision. And the benefit for us is precisely that we have additional usable/storage/development space without "wasting" "unnecessary" space on our property. Because: Before I generate an additional 40m² of living space above ground only to then "waste" it as storage/laundry room space (to put it bluntly), we’d rather invest a bit more for the basement. Of course, after weighing the price. And this final decision can then be made once we know the price for the basement. Many people we have talked to today regret their decision to forgo a basement. That’s why I don’t want to reject the basement idea prematurely. And is the argument "too much space" really one that speaks against a basement?

The house also came with a pool, 8 x 4m, something they wouldn’t have bought themselves either. The neighbor kids use the pool, my brother and wife occasionally, you can’t do much with a small pool. Ideal for kids to jump in. Where I live, 7 out of 10 houses have a pool. My neighbor with 4 people has one of the largest, 12m long, I can count the days it is used. Neighbor opposite, when the 3 girls still lived at home, they used the pool almost daily. Now they are thinking whether to fill it in, the grandparents and the father live in the house. Nobody goes in the pool. To my right and behind me, the pool is only used when visitors come.

We have a swim spa, in use 5 days a week, almost the whole year, more expensive to maintain than a pool.

That too is of course a matter of personal preference—But here the decision is basically made: We know the price (the offer is already in) and have decided accordingly. The planned pool would be sufficiently large for our purposes at 7.0 by 3.5 meters. My wife and I are both "water rats"—Surely, this investment will never pay off financially, but it brings us enough added value.

a 20m2 children’s room makes no sense, as others have written. The only child just sits on the bed with iPhone and tablet. that's it, nothing more happens in that room.

Well, there’s always room for debate about "sense" and "nonsense"—Ultimately it’s a question of one’s own priorities. For us it is clear that the children’s room should be in the range of 20-25m² floor area. The only consideration we currently have regarding this is that we might swap the (somewhat smaller) bedroom with the (somewhat larger) children’s room.

the children’s rooms are about 12m2. Their life takes place mainly on the ground floor and a lot in the garden, there is an open playroom, in the picture to the right.

Well, maybe their life mainly takes place on the ground floor because the children’s rooms are "only" 12m². As I said—It’s all a matter of personal priority. Personally, I find that with an initially planned nearly 180m² floor area, 20-25m² children’s rooms are not oversized. Especially since the other rooms in our opinion are also sufficiently large and thus no compromise has to be made here. As mentioned, considerations we currently have include swapping bedroom and children’s room + possibly bathroom and office.

I think large children's rooms are good. As a teenager, you will also have friends who visit you and may want some privacy.

EG würde ich spiegeln (

Me too. Definitely for several reasons:
The door between kitchen and garage doesn't make sense because of dirt and odors. With a mirrored layout, you can suitably position the wardrobe and provide a passage. Then it all fits together.
The path from the garage to the front door is shorter.
Also, the orientation towards south and west is open and not closed as it is now.

The kitchen is just a placeholder for the too large dance floor, right?

Upper floor: I don't like it.
Apart from the unnecessary door: a huge children's room, but next to the parents' area. There's room for improvement, even if it means that the rooms become bigger or smaller.
The bathroom is well located and, with a mirrored ground floor, would also be above the toilet...
Quite a large house. It lacks finesse for me.
I find the basement unnecessary.

Was there a site plan here? Was there a questionnaire? I didn't see one spontaneously.

The toilet is only planned for now. We like the possibility of later using the basement as additional living space.

Hm... but there are no window options or a second escape route for that. On the side, it gets tight with recesses for proper windows or entrance and exit. To judge that, a dimensioned plan of the property is missing.