Detached house on a hillside, approx. 220 m², 2.5 floors, gable roof - ideas?

When I look at the "normal" daily routines, in my opinion it makes more sense to really place the kitchen upstairs facing the street. Otherwise, carrying groceries into the house would be rather inconvenient. However, I would not degrade the rooms in the basement to useless ancillary rooms. They are too nice for that. Maybe plan a guest room that can later possibly become a children's room – after all, it’s not really a "basement" in the usual sense. And I would – I know, I’m a bit special *laugh* – plan a small kitchenette downstairs. An inexpensive Ikea kitchen with a dishwasher, sink, a tall cabinet for dishes, maybe a small fridge and a coffee machine would do. Especially if you want to have a coffee outside or host a small (barbecue) party outside, you don't have to constantly walk through the house to get dishes, unload dirty dishes, get drinks, snacks, etc.

As far as I can see, you only have the window front to the garden in the basement. There is no room on the side for kitchen windows or a guest WC window. For me, that rules out a living area in the basement. It’s also not nice to have to go down to the "basement" first when coming in to get to the living room. I like sitting on the balcony at our place (even though we have the living rooms on the ground floor), it also just feels safer, especially when you’re sitting there alone.

Best regards
Sabine

Therefore yes

It would also be possible to place eating/cooking as communal/public rooms in the basement and a secluded living room on the ground floor with the balcony. Then you have both.

A second garden kitchen downstairs and the normal kitchen upstairs... that is rather impractical. And children in the garden... quickly getting a drink in the kitchen without having to walk through the whole house, that is practical. And really the quick way from the kitchen outside, to always enjoy the beautiful seasons, is also much more pleasant with short routes without stairs.

And in the living room you can then sit wonderfully peacefully on the ground floor.

And in terms of construction and thus cost, you save the overlapping upper floor that was currently planned so that the ground floor balcony would still be partially covered. For the balcony, about 2m depth on the ground floor is enough as a cozy spot.

The idea that the kitchen and living area are separated by a floor would not appeal to me personally at all. Most of the time, I would then be standing alone in the basement kitchen while the rest of the family sits in the living room on the ground floor in front of the TV. The distance from the children’s rooms and the bedroom to the kitchen would also be too far for me.

Best regards
Sabine

Thank you very much for your input. Having a small kitchen in the basement is a good idea and we will probably implement it that way. What is marked as an office on the floor plan can also be used as a guest room. A bed fits in there. The depth of the balcony is currently 2.50 m - we may enlarge it. The house is also on very small "stilts" - we will address that as well. Does anyone have experience with these "Velux" windows vs. dormer? We are considering replacing the French balconies with glass, which, however, means more effort for cleaning.

By the way, the knee wall is 1.50, because the question arose earlier whether we can still stand in front of the bed in the bedroom. We are also still considering what to do with the roof. The development plan does not allow turning it 90 degrees, and 6.15 m is practically not feasible with a flat roof.

And I would – I know, I’m a bit special there *laugh* – plan a small tea kitchen downstairs.

I also find that very seriously worth considering (because of the outside, the "party room" will, in my opinion, rather become a storage room – maybe with a foosball table).

The house also stands on very small "stilts"

means what exactly?

Does anyone have experience with these "Velux" windows vs. dormer?

I would have relatively little concerns with Velux, but this is a typical example of something that looks great in the brochure but is not really loved in practice. Honestly, I would not take over anything at all from the design shown here. Not because everything is bad there, but because reengineering makes less sense the more you carry along from the old design.

I believe there was already an invitation to provide the discussants with facts on which alternatives could be built. You can’t derive anything suitable from the rather vague pictures.

We are still considering what to do with the roof. The development plan does not allow turning it 90 degrees

A main ridge direction does not forbid returns. With cunning and trickery, something can be done there.