Floor plan 1.5 stories gable roof without basement - Criticism / Suggestions?

Development Plan/Restrictions
Size of the plot: Approx. 28x23m, 644m²
Slope: No
Site occupancy index: 0.35
Floor area ratio: 0.5
Building window, building line, and boundary: See image, building plot P53
Edge development: Garage, max. 9m/side, max. 15m total
Number of parking spaces
Number of floors: 1.5
Roof shape: Gable roof, 42-48°
Style direction: "Classic"(?)
Orientation: 16° East, see also floor plan drawing
Maximum heights/limits: Max. wall height (top edge of facade to roof covering) = 4.2m
Further specifications: Ridge parallel to the street

Requirements of the builders
Style direction, roof shape, building type: See above
Basement, floors: No basement, 1.5 floors
Number of people, age: 2 adults mid-30s, teenager 15 years, girl 2 years, possibly 1 more child planned
Space requirements on ground floor, upper floor: As in the plan, shower option on ground floor important, study to possibly be used as master bedroom in old age.
Office: Family use or home office? Regular home office "he", room on ground floor additionally used by "her" as a sewing room.
Guest sleepers per year: Few to none
Open or closed architecture: Living-dining-kitchen area open, but without staircase in living room
Conservative or modern construction: Somewhere in between
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Open, island preferably freestanding
Number of dining seats: 8
Fireplace: No
Music/stereo wall: Speakers for a 5.1 system should be installable in the living room
Balcony, roof terrace: Not necessary
Garage, carport: Double garage with space for workbench/bicycles
Utility garden, greenhouse: No
Further wishes/special features/daily routine, also reasons why this or that should or should not be:
- "Alternative bathroom" with shower option on ground floor mandatory
- Upstairs passage to garage roof desired: quick transfer of e.g. winter/summer clothes
- Proper sound insulation between rooms upstairs
- Planning also aimed at maintaining as much distance as possible to the street in the south and the neighbor in the west (when sitting on the terrace)
- Dormer in the middle room upstairs to have at least one room without a sloping ceiling

House design
Who designed the plan: Do-it-Yourself
What do you particularly like?
- Open living-dining-kitchen area
- With overview of (almost) entire plot (garden, driveway)
- Lots of storage space/expansion options through attic house and garage roof (which should be accessible directly from upstairs)
- Walk-in closet as passage to bathroom upstairs
What do you not like?
All in our eyes just small compromises:
- Slightly longer way from kitchen to terrace
- Slightly longer way from entrance to pantry (groceries can also be delivered from the front kitchen side)
- Upstairs hallway will have little natural daylight
- If the entrance area is separated as a vestibule, it only has about 1.8m depth (but we would initially leave it open)
- Light in bathroom upstairs only from double casement window (above toilet)
Price estimate according to architect/planner own planning: Based on relatively recent offers - depending on own contribution €440,000 - €500,000 including plot
Personal price limit for the house, incl. equipment: +50k
Preferred heating technology: Heat pump

If you have to give up, which details/extensions
-can you give up: Walk-in shower upstairs (if necessary, glass door also okay), dormer in the middle room upstairs, passage upstairs to garage (with great pain...)
-can you not give up: Study on ground floor, shower bathroom ground floor

Why did the design turn out as it is now? e.g.
Standard design from planner?
No, inspired by found floor plans, houses of acquaintances, many discussions between us.

The standard designs usually have an entrance on the north side, which makes no sense with "access from the south" as in our case. Since it was not possible to integrate an entrance sensibly on the south side in the planning, it moved to the side - in the line between house and garage.
At the same time, we wanted to leave as much garden as possible. Neither passers-by to the south nor the neighbor to the west should be "on our lap" when we sit on our terrace.
A small basic rule when drawing the rooms was: "no wall under 3 meters".
We also did not want a landing or half-turned staircase, as this could not be covered in the attic due to the gable roof, should the attic ever be converted.
The staircase should also be separated from the living room - optionally via the large sliding door. When junior rides out with friends on Saturday evening, we don't want the whole group trampling through the living room.
The lady of the house valued access from the walk-in closet to the bathroom very highly - the bathroom design did not exactly make this easier in combination with the sloping roof.

What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?

No concrete question. Our biggest concerns are the L-staircase and the small overhang upstairs. Also, the upstairs hallway is tight at 1.13m in front of the bathroom. A straight staircase would take up the master bedroom space in the northwest, so we would rather accept the drawing as is.
For a long time, we also struggled with how to combine the position of the garage with the entrance door, but also the passage door upstairs. Now there is an open passage downstairs, upstairs it is connected to the house. One also wants to be able to push the bike or scooter out of the garage without having to move a car.
We are uncertain about the window behind the couch: visually it is almost necessary, the direct sunlight should be blocked by the terrace roof. But in the evening you have the entire plot including the street behind you. The couch must, however, necessarily face the TV / living wall (home cinema).

I fear these were now more than 130 characters...

I am looking forward to your opinion!

Best regards

Hi,

A small basic rule when drawing the rooms was: "no wall under 3 meters".

My basic rule is similar :)

Roof shape: gable roof, 42-48°

How should the knee wall be?

Right now it is such that there is an open passage at the bottom, but it is connected to the house at the top.

Are you planning a bridge?
Whatever you plan: this corridor will be drafty and uninviting. I speak from experience.

open kitchen, cooking island

Place the cooking island crosswise!

Music/stereo wall: In the living room there should be speakers for a 5.1 system

Is this still up to date or is it better to build something else in?

- On the upper floor, a passage to the garage roof is desired:

The bridge again?

Visually it is almost necessary; direct sunlight should be prevented by the terrace roofing.

So: the access to the downstairs bathroom does not fit. The hallway on the upper floor is too dark.
The bridge version is somehow too imaginative.
This slanting wall is unnecessary: straighten it and provide the gained space for a wall unit in the office.
Before I suggest swapping kitchen and living room so that the kitchen can also be on the terrace (your draft makes no sense here), I would plan the office where the current kitchen is. Then the living room where the office is now.
Swap the utility room and bathroom, then the stairs will also work. However, plan a large wardrobe.
Upstairs it didn’t work either. I would also leave the dormer windows alone – better the bedrooms with railing.

What is that red square egg in the development plan that touches your garage - an archaeological monument?

Hello ypg,

thank you for your thoughts!

What should the knee wall be like?

With the permissible wall height, I should end up at about 1.10 m.

Are you planning a bridge?
Whatever you plan: this corridor will be drafty and uninviting. I speak from experience.

Yes, I have also been warned about the wind tunnel. I think I would close it off to the back with a glass door including a glass frame. Glass because otherwise I would immediately have a daylight problem again.

Is that still up-to-date or is it better to install something else?

I just like to have proper floor-standing speakers there :)

So: the access to the downstairs WC does not fit.

It is certainly a bit unorthodox. Above the door would be the 12th step, with a step height of 18.2 cm -> 218.4 cm above finished floor level (admittedly: upper edge of step). Shouldn’t a door at least 2 m high fit underneath?

The hallway on the upper floor is too dark.

That’s true (unfortunately). If I wanted sufficient daylight there, I would have to do without the "T" of the two rooms SW and NW and make a gallery there. Especially in the NW room, I’m reluctant to give up the space. I have thought about possibly solving this smartly: a daylight simulation with presence detection. Bussystem/KNX is planned anyway. Sure, that would use some electricity, but not that much...

This slanting wall is superfluous: straighten it and use the gained space for a wall of cabinets in the office.

I agree. It might look nice (visually enlarges the living room a bit), but ultimately it’s impractical.

Swap the utility room and WC, then the stairs will work. But plan a large wardrobe.

The basic idea here was maybe later to separate the ground floor from the upper floor. Then the shower bath on the ground floor should of course not be in the entrance area.

Regarding the wardrobe, I had considered in the meantime giving the technical room a 60 cm “cut” in favor of the entrance area. To be able to “install” a wardrobe about 1.5 m wide there. But I also think I need the almost 11 m² technical room for central ventilation system, washing machine, and dryer. Maybe I’ll manage to upload it tonight, at the moment I’m not on my private computer.

It didn’t work upstairs either.

Can you be more specific here? I will probably change the floor-to-ceiling windows of the bedrooms again – that probably takes away too much space (e.g., desk, dresser).

Living room then where the office is now.

Space-wise, it worked out best for me as it is now. But I’ll try again.

Thanks so far and best regards!

What is that red square egg in the development plan that touches your garage - an archaeological monument?

Yes, unfortunately archaeologists are still working there, which has greatly delayed the development of the plots.

Are you planning a bridge?

Kind of a "closed bridge": The garage roof is - I hope you can see that in the 3D images - connected to the house, but it stays open below.
Of course, you could also close it at the bottom and then place the front door facing south there. We just don’t find that very practical, since you would then either have to push your bike through the house every time or always open the garage door to get outside. Or you could widen the garage accordingly, but that would cost us garden space in the west (where we want to keep about 8m).

We also experimented with a detached garage with a bridge (so the roof is not connected to the house). But with the gabled roof on the garage, that really didn’t look nice. We also don’t want to give up the latter as storage or hobby room.