Floor plan 2 floors and hip roof

Hello everyone,

for several months now, we (38, 34, 12, 7) have been considering buying a home and have gone through quite some literature and picked up suggestions from various forums and processed them for ourselves.

A specific plot of land is available, and we have created a possible room layout based on a "catalog house" from a general contractor (GU), of which only the outer walls remained in the last stage. The first 3 drafts were completely reset because we encountered insurmountable problems every time. Now, draft no. 4 (besides minor adjustments and additions) is ready, in which we find ourselves again (as far as this is imaginable in theory) and most of the wishes have been considered.

The previous talks with the GU rarely went beyond "we will build as you want," so I would like to have expert exchange with you and gladly accept suggestions for improvement.

Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 2014m²
Slope: approx. 1.25m over 40m from south to north
Floor area ratio: 0.4
Floor space index: none
Building window, building line and border: statutory setback distance
Number of parking spaces: 2x garage + 1 outside
Number of floors: 2 full floors
No other restrictions

Requirements of the builders
Style, roof shape, building type: 2 full floors without sloping ceilings, hip roof, no dull "city villa concrete cube"
Basement: yes
Number of people, age: 2 adults, 2 children (12, 7)
Office: private study
Overnight guests per year: approx. 5 (no extra guest room, as 2 children’s rooms)
Conservative or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, cooking island: semi-open kitchen without doors
Number of dining seats: 6-8
Fireplace: yes
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: yes, garage if within budget
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Wishes: separate dressing room for parents, 2nd exit, spacious front door, landing staircase (so far not feasible due to lack of space), workshop

House design
Who designed it: exterior floor plan from catalog house, interior planning and windows independently based on our wishes
What is particularly liked: almost all room requests integrated, nearly identical children’s rooms, spacious living area, orientation of rooms towards the sky, varied facade, front "staircase" with lots of light
What is disliked: staircase area just fits the plan dimensions, landing staircase with straight steps not integrable, kitchen furnishing uncertain, bathroom furnishing tight.
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: 400,000
Preferred heating technology: no preference

If you have to give up, on which details/extensions
-you can give up: clinker, garage, "luxury" (KNX, bathroom ceramics, etc.)
-you cannot do without: basement

Why has the draft turned out as it is now?
Started over repeatedly until most wishes could be taken into account

What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
Is the design practically livable? What hinders room usage?

Best regards

Daniel

A small addition: it is a purely new development area, the marked streets are residential streets, speed limit 30. On the other sides, neighboring plots border.

The utility room seems a bit undersized to me if it is supposed to have both washing and technology. I also don't like the window arrangement on the [Sudseite]. It somehow looks strange.

Which program did you use to draw this?

This was drawn with Sketchup, I know a bit about that from the 3D printer. Regarding the washing machine and dryer, we are still undecided; there is also space available on the upper floor.

What I don't like: Staircase area barely fits the plan dimensions, [...] kitchen furnishings uncertain,

The staircase, however, is such a central point that you hardly need to plan further if it does not "work."

We created a possible room layout based on a "catalog house" from a general contractor, but in the end only the exterior wall remained.

I would rather plan the whole house myself than adopt an external framework that ultimately belongs to a "different" house and only fits an unsatisfactory staircase.

Requirements of the builders Style, roof shape, building type: 2 full floors without roof slopes, hipped roof, no dreary "city villa concrete cube"

Whether the city villa weather house is really the less ugly sister of that, I mark with a big question mark. The exterior views look like a stew of solid builder catalog houses.

The protruding portal does not structure the facade but degrades what "stands on the edge" beside it. Basically, anything less than fifteen, better eighteen meters wide inevitably backfires.

Thank you for the hints.

Yes, we have actually already thought about detaching ourselves from the house and possibly having our "wishes" planned by an architect. We are still completely unbound and we have at least 12 months until realization.

However, when it comes to taste, I don't quite agree with you. I know you have a deep aversion to such house types *g*, but we actually find it chic. A design with "15-18m" width is a completely different league of house, both in terms of living and financially. Personally, I don't like the smooth, square concrete fronts at all.

I'm more interested in functionality – and yes, a flat front wall has advantages there.