First of all, thank you very much for your feedback.
I am glad that some of you see it similarly to us, that the requirements have largely been well implemented here. But we also gladly accept the critical points.
The building envelope would have allowed for more living space. We think that the house with 142 m² is well laid out. All rooms are well designed individually (except maybe the office).
I will try to sort the points a little and hope that it doesn’t get too confusing with all the quotes.
First of all, on general things:
The OP just has the first draft in hand
No, this is not the first draft, but already somewhat revised (the circulation area in front of the wardrobe was too small for us and there used to be a proper approx. 2 m² storage room in front of the bathroom)
Draw your actual furniture to scale.
We will not take many pieces of furniture with us. The furniture that we will keep or buy is already correctly planned to scale.
I just wanted to say that a house can never have enough windows.
We wouldn’t know which one to do without either. Of course, the second window in the bathroom is not a must, and theoretically you don’t need a window in the wardrobe either. But naturally better to have natural light instead of always having to turn on a lamp.
Of course, the question arises: who should clean them all? We have to put up with that: it is a detached house, not a mid-terrace house.
Regarding the hallway:
With 2 kids, I would consider planning a door between the hallway and living room for more quiet.
Thanks for the tip. We have already considered that. However, we find it nice to have the view when entering the house and then looking directly out into the greenery through the large window front. If it gets too loud for us, a drywall can still be installed. But if one extends the (load-bearing) wall from the living area towards the kitchen right from the start, this will probably not be opened so quickly anymore.
The desired bench is missing downstairs
It seemed quite important to the OP
The bench is not a must, but quite practical if 4 people are putting on/off shoes at the same time.
Additionally, there is some space under the bench to put school bags or to integrate drawers.
Regarding the kitchen:
Since the utility room and hallway with stairs need a certain width and the building envelope is 8.70 meters wide and we want an L-shape, not much can be gained in width.
The kitchen is small but cozy. If you don’t want to start a catering service, I find it still ok.
We won’t offer a catering service.
- Kitchen is not big. Perhaps change the door to a window and then make the worktop around the corner.
That was exactly how it was drawn in the first draft.
We want circulation space in the kitchen. In a U-shape, we would get in each other’s way more often than with a double row layout. Also, we find the door practical. Probably the garbage bins will be there and from the parking space the way to the kitchen would be even shorter.
But: in my opinion the kitchen is way too small. ... No wall cabinets planned, right?
and in all the euphoria, storage space is scarce ... but especially in the kitchen, which has to work daily.
Thanks for the hints. We still have to give it some thought.
In this variant, probably no wall cabinets fit.
One option would be an L-shape by putting cupboards on the wall towards the hallway as well and giving up the light opening. Then the peninsula would be 1.4 meters wide instead of 2 meters.
Regarding the bedroom:
We have already discussed a few rounds with the general contractor about the bedroom.
We considered swapping child 2’s room and the bedroom. The adjusted floor plan didn’t please us at all.
The window behind the bed in the bedroom is also a kind of makeshift solution, but I wouldn’t be very bothered by it.
The only drawback is that you would have to stretch a bit to open the window (if you even do that with a controlled residential ventilation).
Cleaning the window would be a bit cumbersome, but only occasionally.
The bedroom window should be tolerated due to the look and lack of alternatives.
We considered putting the wardrobe on the left side and moving the door at the expense of the office and putting the bed on the right side. But since we want a TV in the bedroom, there would be no suitable place for it. We could also shift the window from the north to the west side, but from outside that doesn’t look so good.
Regarding the office:
Measure if the office is deep enough. It works but is not generous.
What exactly do you mean?
2.8 meters - 0.6 meters for a cupboard - 0.8 meters for a desk = 1.4 meters circulation space ... that is 0.5 meters more than I have at my employer’s office.
Regarding the bathroom:
- Floor-to-ceiling windows in the bathroom I find suboptimal. Especially the floor-to-ceiling window facing the street.
I would shorten the bathroom window facing the street.
In the first draft, this window was indeed not floor-to-ceiling.
Then we had the idea that the floor-to-ceiling window would visually align with the window for the utility room underneath. Also, that way there would be two identical windows in the bathroom.
We would of course hang pleated blinds or satin the fixed glass. But we are a bit unsure especially because the window facing the street is exactly the area where the shower and bathtub are located.
If we shorten the window: what should we do with the 2nd window in the bathroom? Also shorten it, and then also the one in the hallway?
Regarding storage space:
The TV wall in the living area is 3.5 meters wide, enough to place cupboards up to 2 meters wide next to the TV (max. 1.5 meters wide).
In the first draft, the bathroom was smaller and in front of it a storage room. We also considered making a niche in front of the bathroom (like at the wardrobe) and shifting the hallway window towards child 2. But that niche would only be 1.2–1.4 meters wide. Now there is optional space in the hallway for a built-in cupboard up to 2 meters wide.
The wardrobe is a good 2 meters wide, wider than desired.
The utility room has space for a cupboard at least 3 meters wide.
In the office there is space for a cupboard up to 2.75 meters wide.
There is space for up to 3 highboards in the bathroom.
And then there is the garage with an extension.
- Personally, I would generally miss some storage space.
But flat roof, no basement, and no additional storage rooms. Where do suitcases or other large items go that don’t fit in any cupboard?
and in all the euphoria, storage spaces whether for suitcases or decorations
We are confident that we will manage with these storage spaces.
The few things we currently have in the basement fit more than comfortably in the garage and utility room. And then we have the office as an additional room in the house and optionally the space in the hallway.
I don’t like the cupboard in the hallway. Seems like a leftover piece.
Refine details in the floor plan, e.g., the hallway at the stairway. Whether there is a cupboard there or not is up to you. The planner probably just wanted to “use” the unnecessary space sensibly.
It is rather intended as a placeholder ...
Farmer’s cupboard from grandma
... or for grandma’s farmhouse cupboard.
Regarding the garage:
- Do you want the garage so far back? 5-6 meters in front of the garage is enough.
Reconsider placement of the garage
In the first draft, the garage was placed 5 meters from the street and protruded 0.35 meters. Then came the idea to extend the house flush accordingly or to push the garage a bit further in.
Then we asked the general contractor how noise and privacy protection to neighbors in the terrace area would look. Our idea was to build a wall or similar (noise repellent) at the border to the neighbor at the terrace height. The general contractor and building authority told us this is not possible because you may only build 9 meters at the border. Accordingly, only a hedge and/or fence is possible. This kind of enclosure acts as privacy screen but only to a limited extent as noise protection (the word sounds strange in this context ... but it is about not wanting to hear every conversation from the neighbor).
Therefore, the idea came up to push the garage further in. Whether it is pushed 3 or 3.5 meters is still open. The terrace is to be 3.5 meters deep. This may also depend a bit on the terrace roof, whether we make it over the full 8.7 meters or not.
The advantage of using the garage as noise and privacy protection is also that it is higher than the actually permitted 2-meter-high enclosure. The disadvantage is that a little garden is lost and the driveway is long but not so long that 2 cars could park in front.
Regarding the created floor plans:
An alternative so the OP doesn’t think we are just too lazy to think. A bit more kitchen and in my opinion nicer layout upstairs, but only access through the kitchen. Space under the stairs as pantry. There is now more space to store cups and pots – but is that better now? Don’t know.
Or maybe like this?
Thank you very much for your ideas. That could be a solution as well.
Unfortunately, both of your floor plans tend to be open plan. We definitely want a proper L-room.
Regarding the variant of accessing living and dining area only through the kitchen, the general contractor also asked us about that at the time. We found and still find that variant not so good.
The general contractor also had the idea in the initial discussion to make the entrance at the side, but said that with the driveway and possibly a car standing there it would be tight.
