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 been largely well implemented here. However, we are also happy to accept the critical points.
The building envelope would have allowed more living space. We find that the house with 142 m² is well designed. All rooms are well shaped individually (except maybe the office).
I will try to organize the points a little and hope that it doesn’t get too confusing with all the quotes.
First of all about general things:
The OP just has the first draft in hand
No, this is not the first draft, but already a bit revised (the circulation area in front of the wardrobe was too small for us and there was a real approx. 2 m² storage room in front of the bathroom)
Draw your actual furnishing to scale.
We will not take many pieces of furniture. The furniture that we will take or buy is already planned correctly to scale.
I just wanted to say that a house can never have enough windows.
We also wouldn’t know which one to do without . 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 natural light is better of course than having to constantly turn on a lamp.
Of course, the question arises: who should clean them all? We have to accept that: after all, this is a detached house and not a terraced mid-house.
About the hallway:
With 2 kids, I would consider planning a door between the hallway and living room for more quiet.
Thanks for the hint. We have already considered that. However, we find the view beautiful when you enter the house and can look directly into the greenery through the large window front. If it gets too noisy for us, we can always install a drywall. If, however, from the beginning you extend the (load-bearing) wall of the living area towards the kitchen, you probably won't open it 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 change shoes at the same time.
Besides, there is a bit of space under the bench to put school bags or integrate drawers.
About the kitchen:
Since the utility room and the hallway with stairs need a certain width and the building envelope width is 8.70 meters, 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 open a catering service, I think it’s still okay.
We won’t offer a catering service .
- Kitchen is not big. Maybe change the door to a window and then make the worktop around the corner.
In the first draft, this was drawn exactly like that.
We want circulation space in the kitchen. With a U-shape, we would probably get in our own way more often than with a two-liner. Also, we find the door practical. Probably the trash bins will stand there, and from the parking space, the path to the kitchen would be even shorter.
But: the kitchen is in my opinion much too small. ... No wall cabinets planned either, right?
and in all the enthusiasm, storage areas ... but especially in the kitchen, which has to function every day, are scarce.
Thanks for the hints. We still need to think about it.
Probably no wall cabinets fit in this variant.
One variant would be an L-shape, so also put cabinets on the wall to the hallway and forgo the light cutout. Then the peninsula would be 1.4 meters instead of 2 meters wide.
About the bedroom:
We have already gone through a few rounds with the general contractor for the bedroom as well.
We considered swapping child 2 and the bedroom somehow. The adjusted floor plan did not please us at all.
The window behind the bed in the bedroom is also a kind of makeshift solution but wouldn’t bother me much.
The only drawback would be that you’d have to stretch a bit to open the window (if you still do that with controlled residential ventilation at all).
Cleaning the window would then be a bit more complicated, but that would be only occasionally.
the bedroom window should be tolerated because of 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 that. We could also move the window from the north to the west side, but visually this doesn’t look so great from the outside.
About 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 cabinet - 0.8 meters for a desk = 1.4 meters of circulation space ... that is 0.5 meters more than I have in my office at work .
About 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 actually not floor-to-ceiling.
Then we had the idea that the floor-to-ceiling window with the window of the utility room underneath would form a visual line. Also, there would be two identical windows in the bathroom.
We would of course hang pleated blinds in the window or satin the fixed glass. But we are a bit unsure, especially because the window facing the street is exactly where the shower and bathtub are located.
If we reduce the window: what should we do with the second window in the bathroom then? Also shorten it and then also the one in the hallway?
About storage spaces:
The TV wall in the living area is wide enough at 3.5 meters to place cabinets up to 2 meters wide next to the TV (max. 1.5 meters wide).
In the first draft, the bathroom was smaller and there was a storage room in front of it. We also considered making a niche in front of the bathroom (like in the wardrobe) and moving the window in the hallway toward child 2. But this niche would only be 1.2-1.4 meters wide. Now there is optional space in the hallway to place a built-in cabinet up to 2 meters wide.
The wardrobe is wider than desired at just over 2 meters.
There is space for a cabinet at least 3 meters wide in the utility room.
There is space for a cabinet up to 2.75 meters wide in the office.
There is space in the bathroom for up to 3 highboards.
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 is a suitcase or other large items that don’t fit in any cabinet supposed to go?
and in all the enthusiasm, storage areas, whether for suitcases and decorations
We are confident that these storage spaces will be enough.
The few things we currently have in the basement fit more than comfortably into 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 cabinet in the hallway. It looks like a leftover piece.
Polish details on the floor plan, e.g. upstairs hallway at the stairway. Whether there is a cabinet there or not is up to you. The planner probably just wanted to fill unnecessary space “sensibly”
It is rather meant as a placeholder anyway ...
Farm cabinet from grandma
... or for grandma’s farm cabinet
About the garage:
- Do you want the garage set back so far to the rear? 5–6 meters in front of the garage is enough.
Rethink garage placement
In the first draft, the garage was placed 5 meters from the street and protruded 0.35 meters. Then the idea came up to extend the house flush accordingly or push the garage forward a bit.
Then we asked the general contractor how noise and privacy protection to the neighbor would look in the terrace area? Our idea was to build a wall or similar (noise-shielding) at the border to the neighbor at terrace level. The general contractor and building authority told us this is not possible because building is only allowed 9 meters at the boundary. Consequently, only a hedge and/or fence is possible as a boundary. This type of boundary works as visual protection but only limited as noise protection (the word sounds strange in this context ... but it’s about not wanting to hear every conversation of the neighbor).
Therefore came the idea to push the garage further. Whether it is pushed 3 or 3.5 meters is still open. The terrace is supposed to be 3.5 meters deep. Maybe this also depends 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 allowed 2 meters high boundary . The disadvantage is that a bit of garden is lost and while the driveway is long, it is not so long so that two cars could also park in front.
About 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 on the upper floor, but only access via the kitchen. Space under the stairs still as pantry.
It’s now more storage space for cups and pots - but is this better? I don’t know.
Or maybe like this?
Thank you very much for your ideas. This could also be a solution.
Both of your floor plans unfortunately rather have an open plan. We definitely want a proper L-room.
Regarding the variant to get to the living and dining area only via the kitchen, the general contractor also asked us back then. We did not and do not find this variant so good.
The general contractor also had the idea in the initial conversation to place the entrance from the side but said that it would already be tight with the driveway and a car possibly standing there.
