Floor plan design single-family house with around 150 m²

We live directly on a footpath. Everyone who has a dog and lives in the settlement walks here... Recently, at a big public party here in town, my husband talked to someone who said: "I know where you live. I always see you at the dining table or in the kitchen"! Now he always waves when he passes by with the dog. That's how you get to know people. It doesn't bother us. I don't want to be the one everyone here talks about as the person who always hides away in the house. If I block the view inside, I also can't look out. I would value my own view more than the people looking in. If it bothers me that everyone looks in, I press the phone and close the blinds. But everyone thinks differently about that.

For the OP, I find it really terrible that he fulfilled the dream of "owning a home" and now struggles so much. Honestly, I find the living space (I don't want to be harsh, but I just feel that way) very oppressive. So I can understand the thoughts.

We also have large windows and live relatively close to the neighbors – we knew that and accepted the fact that people can look inside. Funny is that it bothers our neighbors more, who have normal windows with a regular sill height and who feel their privacy is being disturbed (yeah, THOSE neighbors). Madame then seriously demanded that we ALWAYS keep the blinds down.
Of course, we don’t do that – I don’t make big windows just to always keep the blinds down.
It doesn’t bother me either, and personally, I wouldn’t even think of looking over at my neighbors. What’s supposed to be interesting there?
Now they always have their Venetian blinds down (they don’t have blinds or shades, only shutters) – well, if it makes them feel better, they can do that. I think once we get our privacy fence in spring, things will calm down.
I just found the demand “Something bothers me, I have a problem – you make it go away!” funny and somewhat presumptuous. So whoever has a problem with it should please solve it themselves. And it worked out, now their windows are closed tight, ours are not. Although, as I said, it wouldn’t bother me if they didn’t keep their windows covered. I wouldn’t be eyeballing them. But if they prefer it like that – then so be it.

I just can’t dance naked through the house – which I haven’t done that often anyway, so it doesn’t really limit me *g*. We can move freely and unclothed upstairs in our private area of bathroom, dressing room, and bedroom because it’s completely not visible from outside and that’s enough. When I’m sitting at the table or cooking, I hardly mind glimpses from outside.

But it also breaks my heart to hear Chris like this – it’s simply sad when someone builds a house and is so unhappy with it. It doesn’t help even if you point out that you already said it before and warned about it. In his eyes, he had good reasons for the decision and now he’s unhappy with it. I’m sorry about that.

By the way, the fireplace is great! You have my envy, my dream of a fireplace was talked out of me and I still mourn it. Especially when I see such a beauty.

Otherwise: how long have you been moved in now? It still looks really sparse and carelessly furnished. I would start there first. Personally, I don’t like curtains, but with this kind of windows, they simply belong! That would be the first thing I would tackle.
I can imagine two variants here: either a bit old-fashioned with rods on top (well extending above the windows) and overly long, lush, but definitely bright curtains that clearly lie on the floor, or the clean variant with a curtain system and curtain panels. These panels tripled and a play of darker and lighter, translucent panels not only at the window but over the entire wall length (unless shelves etc. are planned there). Choose bright, friendly colors.
Buy yourself a few room-sized plants (check Ebay Classifieds – many people need to get rid of plants that have outgrown them, you can get great plants for little money!).
The lamp in the living room also doesn’t create a cozy feeling. It’s been mentioned here before: Get feel-good lighting. Around the couch area, work with small tables or illuminated elements. Right now Lidl has nice, simple lights that you can put well on a little side table next to the couch (cheaper than the classic Wagenfeld). At Ikea, the round glass light globes and a few placed on the floor (three side by side also looks pretty if you have the space – if they’re also different sizes, even better!) or the paper lanterns (make really nice light) in the corner and choose this lighting in the evening, not the one in the center of the ceiling. There I would hang a fancy lamp that is an eye-catcher even when it’s off – the glass globe currently hanging there is not very charming.
Also rearranging the couch as already mentioned several times here would be worth a try.

I have the feeling you’re a bit lacking the knack for this. That’s no shame, but that’s where I would start. Look at interiors (online, in furniture stores, in relevant magazines) and find out what makes a room so that you like it. Try to transfer that to your rooms. If necessary, get someone who knows about it and can give you a few suggestions. That can also be a good friend whose apartment you like – it doesn’t have to be a professional, but it can be (why not invest a few hundred euros if that helps you feel “at home,” it’s worth it!).
I’m convinced you can get a lot more out of the rooms.

Enlarging the windows or making them floor-to-ceiling can be a project for the future – for now, I would just be happy when the dirt outside is gone. Such a big change also makes more sense when you have been living there for a while – then you know where it makes sense or where things as they are are perfectly fine.

I’m convinced you can still get a lot out of the rooms and that you will then surely feel very comfortable in your house.

Well, to be honest, I’m always surprised about the planned sill windows – they’re not really my thing either.

My partner and I actually find windowsills nice and practical, for flowers, decorations, etc.
And on the south side, I also find it practical; otherwise, you would always be looking at the back of a sofa from the garden.
On the west side, it would indeed have made sense to have a floor-to-ceiling window, since there is no sofa there.

I would definitely put the sofa on the other wall. Then you look toward the light. The TV can be angled and put on another piece of furniture or something like that.
Put a few indirect lights on the floor and/or at eye level: you only have a skylight if you need to look for marbles.

We want to replace the current sofa with a corner sofa whose backrest then reaches to the west window. Finally, with a footstool that would then be placed under the west window.



On the west side, we have also planned a wall light at eye level that could then create indirect lighting. + pictures and so on. I think then the west wall will look nice too.

And the dining table could also be placed crosswise, right?

Yes, it could, but then half of the people would be looking toward the hallway and not out the window, which is a bit of a pity.
That’s why I had it more lengthwise as seen in the picture. But sure, both ways work.
What advantage does the crosswise arrangement bring?

I just can't dance naked through the house

So yes, of course! With your neighbors, I would definitely lie naked in the garden too. :P

I often wonder if no one here knows venetian blinds from their office.

Even during the planning stage, that just didn’t seem like an option at all. I think the main problem was that we simply had no vision... no idea how the house (at least the living room) was supposed to turn out and therefore just relied on our gut feeling and the architect. Maybe we should have "copied" more living rooms from show homes; at least then you would have gotten something you had already seen.

We want to replace the current sofa with a corner sofa, whose backrest then reaches up to the west window. Finally, with a footstool that would then be under the west window. [ATTACH alt="Grundriss EG.jpg"]41926[/ATTACH]

I am still in favor of "throwing out the island" and placing the table there. Corner sofas usually don't look as cool as two separate smaller sofas.