Do you have ideas for designing our floor plan?

Me again: You don’t have a problem plot now, you can probably build whatever you like. But you don’t like many things, and that is your problem. Each of us here has to make compromises, whether financial or according to the development plan. For example, I also don’t like Velux windows, but I will have one because otherwise no light will come into the dressing room. I like strip windows, but I don’t have the space for them. I like an open view, but I don’t have it in the new development area. DerDa, Norderney, and projekthausbau and all the others here also make their compromises – the only thing that counts is: the floor plan has to work in the course of the daily routine.

I don't know if the living room facing North / West might be a bit too dark. The solar gain in winter is not exactly small. Here in Germany we maybe have 1-2 months of real summer and the rest of the year?

Haven't you ever looked at other rooms than your own home? Go into houses, ring the doorbell of the future neighbor, who also has the same problem (but please imagine away a dark paneled ceiling, which absorbs a lot of light). Go to model homes in the afternoon on cloudy days and look at the rooms facing north or east. By the way: we all live in rainy Germany as well, not at the equator ;)

I honestly don’t understand the hype about HAVING TO move the living area to the south. What does your daily routine look like? Do you lounge around in the living room during the day? In a small family (and elsewhere too ;)), the living area is only used in the evening or on rainy weekends. During the day, people work, cook in the kitchen, do crafts or eat at the dining table, or do homework. The living room can, for example, be a bit smaller because this area is mostly just used for watching TV. The sun is a nuisance then!

Nowadays everyone has a large living/dining area and then an open kitchen as well. I also want to have a large living and dining area because that’s exactly where life takes place. I just don’t want an open kitchen. In the living room you also read a book or play games etc. you don’t just watch TV there. When you invite guests, you can sit together in such a large room and not be split up into several rooms. You could put the bedrooms to the south and the living room to the north/west. Yes, there probably is no perfect floor plan and you have to make compromises. The main thing is that everyday life works.

Haven't you ever looked at other premises besides your home? Go into houses, ring the doorbell of future neighbors who also have the same problem (but please imagine away a dark-paneled ceiling, it absorbs a lot of light). On cloudy afternoons, go to show homes and look at the rooms facing north or east.

By the way: we all also live in rainy Germany and not at the equator ;)

Tell that to the architect, then you get something like. You learn in the first semester that main living rooms should face south.

Our bedroom is exactly on the north side and it is always dark from the afternoon onwards.

Nowadays, everyone has a large living room / dining area and then an open kitchen. I also want to have a large living room and dining area because that’s exactly where life takes place. But I don’t want an open kitchen. In the living room, you also read a book or play games, etc. You don’t just watch TV there.

That’s not quite right! The living room has become smaller nowadays in favor of a large dining and kitchen area. Some even do without a living room and only have a big couch in front of a TV.

Your bedroom probably only has 1 sqm of windows, while standard plans give you almost 8 sqm (2 double doors) in the dining and living area. If they suggest placing the windows to the west, it’s too dark for you; to the south, you have the problem with your north terrace. A living room is also indirectly illuminated by an open design through the dining area.

Basically, you need to find your priority for your property: either pure southern living (then the north terrace becomes problematic) or a north terrace, for which you must plan panoramic windows to the west and the north garden. In another forum, there was recently a discussion about a house on a northern slope: everything was oriented northward in favor of the beautiful view. That’s another way to do it. And based on your prioritization, you will find a standard design (possibly mirrored or rotated).

Hi,
how about an L-shaped bungalow? I really just took the first one from the Google search and modified it only slightly so you understand what I mean. Because of the angle, you get sun from the south in the living room and still have the terrace at the back. Wasn't that the main problem? (The red lines are supposed to be terrace doors.)