Floor plan 200m² single-family house, raised ground floor, existing plot, double garage

Our architect didn't manage to work with 11x9m and 42 bricks .... but with 11x10 we are already close. Three bathrooms are too many ... one still has to go, I think the one on the ground floor. I'm also not completely happy with the windows. For the living room, I would take a double window, but not floor-to-ceiling, or a single one and then another window between the kitchen worktops. With a single window, it would at least look a bit nicer from the outside, I think. In the pantry, I also miss some light. Because of the extra meter, the children's room 3 and the bathroom are already very large, but I would like the basic design. Maybe swap the shower with the bathtub and have a window above it, if that's possible? Or what do you think? In the attic, he already went very high, it feels. He said it’s mandatory because of the shower height, but the space gain will be huge and probably expensive? Actually, it should only be as high as necessary for the stairs.

Three bathrooms are too many ... one still has to go, I think the one on the ground floor.

The most important??! That is what is used the most. You don’t go upstairs during gardening and mess up the place. Also, after coming home, sometimes someone urgently needs to go, age doesn’t really matter here, rather situations where you haven’t been anywhere else yet.

Actually, it should only go up as far as necessary for the stairs....

So, to save costs, the attic has already become almost decadent. I would normalize the windows, that brings value and comfort in the attic. Nobody sees it anyway, where you could show off. A shower toilet is enough in the attic, 3-4 sqm. Even if no exact sqm are given here, you can still limit it well. If you can afford it, then leave it as it is.

Regarding the pantry: In my opinion, working with a window makes little sense, as it takes away the only thing a pantry is actually for, namely storage space. If more light is still important, I would rather consider a glass door. If that is too transparent, one could of course also consider frosted glass or whatever materials there are nowadays for doors that let in light but are not see-through.

I would reconsider the kitchen/dining area, which is only 581 cm, and move the wall towards the living area further.

In the attic parents' room, I would place the bed further downwards and thus consider a higher and further downwards positioned knee wall. Because I think, depending on height, it could become very uncomfortable when getting up. The same applies to the respective office areas. The reason is simply the roof's pitch angle.

I am always focused on storage space, but somehow the furnishing plans and the rather large-sized rooms now seem to me like an overproportioning of closet space.

The most important??! That's what you use the most. You don't go upstairs while gardening and make the house dirty. Also, after coming home, some people often have to go urgently, age doesn't really matter, it's more about situations where you haven't been anywhere else first.

That's true, but wouldn't a small room with a toilet be enough? Of course I understand the shower and dirt all through the house, but there is more space for a second bathroom in the attic than on the ground floor, or am I seeing that wrong?

So, in terms of saving costs, the attic has become almost decadent. I would normalize the windows; that brings capital and well-being in the attic. Nobody sees it anyway, where you could show off. Shower-toilets are enough in the attic, 3-4 sqm. Although no exact sqm are mentioned here, you can still limit it well. If you can afford it, then leave it as it is.

Honestly, that's too big for me, too. I only wanted as much height as needed for a proper staircase and no more than 50%, just as K a t j a suggested.

Regarding the pantry: working with a window makes little sense in my opinion because you lose the only thing a pantry is actually for, namely storage space. If more light is important to you anyway, I would rather consider a glass door. If that is too transparent for you, you could of course also consider frosted glass or whatever materials now exist for doors that allow light but not visibility.

Great point, I'll take that with me and think it's a good idea! Thanks!

I would rethink the kitchen / dining area, which is only 581 cm, and move the wall towards the living area further. In the attic parents’ room, I would place the bed further towards the bottom of the plan and consider a higher and more centrally located knee wall further down the plan. Because I think, depending on body height, it could be very uncomfortable to get up. The same goes for the respective office areas. Simply because of the pitch angle of the roof. I am always focused on storage space, but somehow the furnishing plans and the sometimes quite large rooms now seem to me to be an over-proportioning of closet space.

Why is the kitchen / dining area too small? We actually wanted to plan the wall behind the fireplace so that with 30 cm more we could also integrate a wide "second kitchen row," but even more? I had the same idea with the attic, the bed has too much slope when getting up. Yes, we have way too much space in the attic. I would first shorten the house by 50 cm and move the knee wall more centrally under the roof as you suggest. Does anything else come to your mind that I might be overlooking?

He said it’s mandatory because of the shower height

Huh? Please don’t let yourselves be fooled. Yes, the shower obviously needs the space in height so that it can be set up at all. But you can just measure the height of your current shower, then you’ll know how much is actually needed. I also think the shower on the ground floor is exaggerated. Who’s supposed to use it? Get rid of it! The additional 80cm in depth are eaten up by the monstrous staircase. If the shower on the ground floor is removed and this room is optimized, there will be an insanely large pantry left. In my opinion, this space is missing in the living room in depth. I am at 4.70m and you only at 4.30m, even though I am 80cm smaller! In width I am at 6m, so cooking/dining is >= 28sqm. Of course, that’s a matter of taste. A platform staircase is nice, I would understand that. But personally, I wouldn’t plan it if the main living spaces suffer because of it. On top of that, there are the unnecessarily large rooms on the upper and attic floors. Also, it really is very large with 2.45m in width and over 3m in depth. Is this something you absolutely wanted? For me, the impression arises here that the architect wants to make the whole project as expensive as possible at all costs, so the cash register rings. An additional shower on the ground floor, an inflated attic, monstrous staircase to cover things up, built-in cupboards under the stairs are also not cheap. I’m curious what he will come up with next. Otherwise, I would also note that the bed under the sloping roof is already placed very far back and will probably cause plenty of headaches. The knee wall at 1m would be too low for me here. The cupboards in the office and bedroom under the slope can’t even be reached if you’re not a dwarf. Just look, the 2m line is far in front of them. Are you supposed to crawl there? What I also don’t quite understand: why is the washing machine still on the ground floor when the laundry is on the upper floor? If it is okay that way and it should stay down there, the laundry chute is still missing, right? By the way: I wouldn’t make the recessed doors in the two children’s rooms. That makes the laundry room smaller. There is enough space in the children’s rooms even without the offset, as you can see from the dozens of cupboards that no child needs. This whole “narrowing hallway with chimney hide-me wall on the upper floor” is not really my thing either. It feels tight, cramped and dark. I always prefer open, free and bright. Also, pointless corners like in the attic (near the chimney) always look restless and like an afterthought. I would rather straighten the wall and clad the niche with built-in cupboards or suitable shelves. The whole chimney and fireplace issue is also not ideal yet, if you ask me. If the fireplace is supposed to go there, I wouldn’t put a double door into the living room. Is the fireplace shown to scale there? Have you already picked something out? Regarding the pantry without a window and with a glass door – I couldn’t warm up to that. First, a pantry isn’t perfectly tidy, but rather a storage place where you don’t have to store everything perfectly in cupboards right away. Having to constantly see all that stuff through the glass would bother me a lot. Frosted glass doesn’t help either. Also, I personally find it ideal in winter just to open the window when the Christmas goose has to cool down so you can remove the fat. Also, if there’s a bad smell in the pantry because something went bad (yes, it does happen), I throw it out and open the window to air it out. Another recommendation, what we did wrong here because we didn’t know better: if you install underfloor heating including cooling, have the heating pipes laid in the pantry with their own switch. Our planner saved that because he thought it wasn’t necessary. Now we’re a bit annoyed because in summer we can’t cool the pantry. Maybe we’ll retrofit that (at the ceiling). On the subject of windows, I’m totally with you. This isn’t far from Hundertwasser anymore. I also don’t find the front door platform with the side wall so nice personally. That would be too bulky for me. I do like the window strip in the kitchen line. I like it even better if it goes around the corner, but that’s just fancy.