Floor plan critique - Single-family house on a hill

Yes, the creative ideas are missing here, it somehow looks correct but lacks punch. May I ask where in Lower Franconia this is supposed to be? It looks to me like the Aschaffenburg/Spessart region where we also build.

Hello, first of all I have to praise you for having used your time and put a lot of thought into this.
There are many good detailed considerations that you want to implement.

But the house actually looks somewhat uncharming, even though I really like 60s/70s architectural styles: somehow it lacks the sparkle that was used in the past.
Are the windows placed somewhat arbitrarily? I would reconsider some of them for the sake of the façade.
Also, I notice that a lot of love was put into the parents' rooms, but the children get a bit shortchanged. On the one hand, they are relocated to the north, on the other hand, I can rather imagine that children would benefit more from a window seat as well as a bathtub than the parents.
Since you asked about roof usage, I would basically suggest thinking about an offset shed roof with rooms open to the top.
Lower the roof structure further down on the south side, use the third gable to indirectly illuminate the children's rooms with higher placed south-facing windows.
However, then, for example, some of the windows on the south side on the upper floor would partially disappear. But that would fix my second criticism, namely: even if there is nothing out there in the middle of nowhere, it would, in my opinion, not be comfortable to have such open windows in the intimate areas showing you completely. I would probably rather use a skylight in the dressing room as well as in the bathroom, which ensures brightness but also privacy. There is the east window in the bedroom anyway. South windows in the bedroom would probably always be closed due to the heat; in the dressing room, the clothes would fade...
I personally find the bathroom too big and thus uncomfortable, but that is up to everyone to decide how they want it. For the sauna, I would probably want an outside access as well.
Then, of course, there are many empty spaces. Large rooms in the basement do not mean that furnishing becomes easier, especially with storage rooms and utility rooms where you need more walls than space.

I would divide the background kitchen: separate storage room - shelves on the left/right, two doors.

I would recess the guest bathroom and place both elements side by side... although... somehow the hallway doesn't flow... I don't like the idea of the three separate closets at all...
I think the kitchen with a scullery is great!

Edit: why not close off the gray area of the scullery as a wardrobe?
Since the basement is still for storage, a good hidden meter is enough for the kitchen, that is, what is currently shown as “colored.” Access from the kitchen is also sufficient.

Hello everyone,

thank you very much for your feedback and honest criticism.

The general tone that the house shape has become rather classic also caught our attention in the first iteration. However, at first we focused on the development of the inner floor plan and less on the exterior appearance.

So thanks first to for the idea of the staggered shed roof - I immediately sat down on Friday and reviewed some material and selected the pictures for the next meeting with the architect.

Regarding the specification: well, 100 pages add up quickly as our existing apartment with pictures, floor plan, and description of everything that currently annoys us takes 10 pages, then the description of the plot including the development plan as well as all documents from the municipality, etc. - basically, it is a detailed described room program with many example pictures. It does not replace talking, but we constantly update this document and save ourselves piles of paper and scraps....

:
The exceeding of the building limit would indeed take us out of the simplified approval procedure, but it would be feasible since we comply with the clearance areas in the public traffic areas - cf. Bay Building Code.

/ Wickie:
yes, the budget will probably be very tight, so we are also considering shortening the parents' rooms accordingly.

:
- We wanted the carport in front of the house on the north side, the remaining garden area in the west was too valuable to us. But I also see the entrance as too dark - the garage should be moved further back to relieve this, and the carport possibly reduced again.
- The division of the pantry with a small sliding door we have already recognized and will have implemented - well spotted.
- Where the fridge was originally, the entrance was. But in this design I have rated the functionality of the kitchen workflows higher. Next to the fridge in the hallway, an open family closet with a bench is to be placed.
- The children's bathroom could indeed be a bit bigger - we are happy to reconsider. I have already set the wall massively for soundproofing reasons.
- The corner in the hallway at children's room 1 was taken 1:1 from the specification; there we noted to keep a closet for cleaning utensils on the 1st floor. We are still discussing this and then the corner may be removed.
- Due to our sleeping habits, no closet should be in the bedroom - only the bed. The dressing room has become correspondingly large according to our planned closet area. I could gladly give up 2m there...
- We had planned the children's rooms to the south in one of our first drafts. But then we discarded this again based on our previous experiences. The family center remains on the ground floor and the kids probably spend most of their time there with their toys as today. In later years, the children's rooms upstairs are only used until the kids leave the nest - out here in the countryside, they will probably move out quickly...

:
- We also do not like the windows from the outside yet; the view and optimization were initially only considered from the inside.
- Changing the roof shape, very good idea - it has been passed on to the architect. As you wrote, we will also revisit the windows. I had already considered your hint regarding the sun and the dressing room - currently we have closed Pax, but you never know if it might become an open closet room.
- I could realize the outside access for the sauna in the bedroom if we plan to move the garage back anyway.
- The utility room could be smaller, true. I am currently considering placing a technical installation wall in the middle for storage and technical rooms.
- The background kitchen will get a sliding door
- We will make the guest bathroom a bit wider.
- Thanks for the suggestion with the wardrobe swap to the storage room. But I wanted to store all food and beverage crates directly on the ground floor and with a very short way from the garage. Therefore, the room with the already planned shelves and kitchen appliances is too important to me. I would rather leave the winter jackets upstairs in the dressing room.

So thanks again for your comments.
If anyone else wants to express criticism, very welcome
best regards,
Fred

Well, you will have to go somewhere with the current pile of jackets and shoes from 4 people... that should be planned and also given more focus than a bench or oversized pantry in a house that also has a basement.

What about the sauna? Is it a must-have or just planned out of desperation because of too much space in the bathroom? I also find it very unfortunate that you have to run through 3 doors to get to the toilet. Sure, you can use the other one. But our experience shows that you prefer to use the WC in your own bathroom.

I would probably try to bring the 2 bathrooms closer together and sacrifice parts of the huge bathroom for the sake of the smaller bathroom. Also, the dressing room in the position of the current children's bathroom and the bedroom in the sweet spot of the dressing room.

Maybe you should also just mentally consider the possibility of placing the parents' area in the basement and assigning the upper floor to child, guest, utility room, and hobby. And then make the upper floor “more pleasing in size” [emoji6] But actually, the cloakroom is more the problem...