Comprehensive Renovation of Swedish Wooden House

Hello everyone,

we are currently renovating a Swedish wooden house. It is an exciting construction made of 20x20 cm cross-laminated timber panels.
This wooden house forms the ground floor, while the basement is built with solid masonry. Since the house is located on a slope, the basement is about half embedded in the hillside.
We have gutted the house except for the load-bearing walls and now want to create new rooms.

The house faces south on a plot of about 910 sqm.
Garden access is available at basement level towards the south and from the ground floor towards the north.

I have shortened the questionnaire to the items that will not be changed:

Client Requirements
Number of people, age: 2 (30+28), planning for 2 kids
Office: family use or home office? Family
Guests sleeping per year 4-6
Open or closed architecture Open
Open kitchen, kitchen island Open + kitchen island
Number of dining seats 6
Fireplace Yes
Music/stereo wall No
Balcony, roof terrace Yes
Garage, carport Double garage available


House design
Who designed the plan: Architect
What do you particularly like? Why? Large open living-dining area with south balcony: beautiful view into the valley to the southeast
What do you not like? Why? No direct access to the "north garden" which would be suitable for small children, office as a walkthrough room


If you have to give up, which details/extensions
-can you give up: Parent bathroom accessible only from the bedroom
-can’t you give up: Large living-cooking-dining area


The balcony will additionally be connected to the west towards the garden via a staircase.
The south garden is significantly larger and also more visible from the neighborhood; a pool is possibly planned there in the mid-term future.
The north garden, on the other hand, is very overgrown and offers a rather very private space. Overall, the garden is already very nicely landscaped by the landscaper.
We are currently thinking about how to best combine these advantages of the property with the floor plan. On the one hand, we find the view from the living room very beautiful; on the other hand, the south garden with the trees is very pleasant for sitting.

The floor plans are all oriented north due to the southern orientation. I have also attached pictures of the garden. I look forward to your suggestions.
Yellow marks the existing walls, and red is planned renovation/new construction. The east-west wall on the ground floor is load-bearing and therefore cannot be removed.

I look forward to your suggestions.

You approach it like Blücher, leaving no "stone" unturned regarding the layout of the ground floor. I see almost only "red" windows – are all of them located in new positions? In terms of scope, I see more than just a renovation here; this seems to require approval and also to potentially lose any existing protection of the original year of construction.

If I see it correctly (only opens very small for me), the garage is in the south, at the bottom of the slope, and the entrance is also there.
The main garden is planned to be in the south.
The view from above is good.
I would plan kitchen, dining, entrance, wardrobe, building services, guest bathroom with shower, etc. downstairs.
Advantage: groceries don’t have to be carried upstairs.
The kitchen is located by the south garden, the summer living area.
Upstairs bedrooms and the living room, possibly with a mini tea kitchen and refrigerator (a user here also implemented this and showed pictures do you know who it was?).

You really go at it like Blücher, leaving no "stone" unturned regarding the layout of the ground floor.
I almost only see "red" windows – are they all in new locations?

Yes, the rooms were very small, but thanks to the timber construction, this can easily be changed.
All the windows are exactly in the same places as before, red only because they are all being replaced. The only additional window is the one on the east wall. In the basement, the windows are already there as well, they are just going to be extended to floor-to-ceiling.

The garage is in the southeast corner of the property, exactly, and above it the path leads to the house entrance.
thanks for the idea, I'll think about it!

Yes, they were very small rooms, but thanks to the timber construction, this can be easily changed.

I also meant conversions between previously wet and now dry rooms and vice versa.

Upstairs bedrooms and the living room possibly with a mini tea kitchen and refrigerator (a user here implemented that and showed pictures, @11ant do you know who that was?)

If you mean the Neo-Siedlung house with living downstairs by the garden, living again on the street floor, and then sleeping in the attic, that was SupaCriz. Otherwise, give me more hints about what you mean.

I was not least referring to reclassifications between previously wet rooms and now dry rooms and vice versa.

Yes, that's probably true. Since everything is going to be redone anyway, repositioning is not too much effort.