Floor plan after architect appointment

Hello everyone,

we are building with a large prefabricated house provider and had our architect appointment almost 3 weeks ago. In advance, we had already been thinking for several weeks and months, so there were no real surprises. Now we have received the "rough" plans and would appreciate further tips.

Here is the completed questionnaire:

Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 850 sqm
Slope: slight slope (< 1 meter over the length/width of the house)
no relevant requirements in the development plan

Requirements of the builders
Style, roof shape, building type
Basement, floors: No basement
Number of persons: currently 2, later 3 to max. 4
Room requirements on ground floor, upper floor
Office: family use, possibly later home office
Guests per year: 1-2
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: kitchen island
Fireplace: yes
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: later double garage

House design
Who designed the plan:
- Architect of a construction company

What is particularly liked: conservatory, open kitchen, door to the kitchen

I personally find these "modern" windows terrible. They look like old arrow slits.

Additionally:

- Staircase right at the entrance = dirt distribution throughout the house
- With a wardrobe, the way to the living room becomes very narrow
- 2 children and only 1 shower bathroom is personally too few for me.
- I find the bedroom right next to the children's room unfavorable. You also want to be intimate sometimes without fearing someone might overhear.

I just somehow don't warm up to the floor plan in general. From the outside it looks okay, but in my opinion, that's about it.

The kitchen is an absolute horror. The sink and cooktop are really WAY too close together. You can't work in the kitchen. The fact that there is only one bathroom is a bit of an issue, but since only a maximum of 2 children are planned, preferably one, it's still manageable. I would also swap child 2 with the parents. I would make the walk-in closet accessible from the hallway, so you don't disturb your partner if you have different wake-up times. I also really don't like these narrow light strips. I agree about the stairs. I don't find the bathroom successful. The shower is supposed to be open, meaning when the first person has showered, they only come out through a puddle, and the next ones will also have wet feet. Overall, the floor plan looks like the company has had it in their program for about 40 years. Very old-fashioned, in my opinion.

The kitchen island could also fail due to safety regulations. There are apparently minimum distances between water outlets and electrical appliances that must be observed. It was also a topic with our last kitchen, but unfortunately I don't have any documentation. I really like light strips. Unlike floor-to-ceiling windows, they make a room genuinely brighter all day long and thus have a benefit. It just must not become too slit-like.

I don't see any space for a dining table.

In the bedroom, 4m² are carelessly wasted to somewhat separate the wardrobe. You could just as well make the hallway or child 2 larger or, as already mentioned, use the dressing room as a passage from the hallway.

In the bathroom, I would provide a wide or two hand basins. While there are still several options for body washing (shower, bathtub, cat wash at the sink), only one person can stand in front of the mirror/shave/brush their teeth here.

The kitchen would offer me too few cupboards and work surfaces. Is that a pantry or a cupboard in a niche?

The door opening in the conservatory is of course unfortunate, and then you even have the door twice in the way.

Is the fireplace intentionally only usable from the conservatory?

Where do the overnight guests sleep? In the children's room?

The hallway is very narrow and thus hardly equipped with a wardrobe. Apart from the fact that shoes also have to go somewhere.