Floor plan, ideas for spatial separation within the kitchen

Dear House Building Forum,

my wife and I are currently in the middle of planning the construction of our planned new build and have already invested a lot of brainpower to put together the optimal house concept for us.

The following conditions are given:

Plot size: 430 sqm [Northeast orientation of the plot (= southern access)]
Plot width: 16 m in the south / 16 m in the north
Plot length: 26 m in the west / 28 m in the east
Main ridge prescribed in east-west orientation
Secondary ridge possible in north-south orientation (for our south-attached extension)
Building window: 10 m in width (east-west) + 14 m in length (north-south)
Start of the building window in the southern area of the plot (= 3 m distance to the access road)


Our house should offer:

Ground floor:

[*]Kitchen/living/dining with south orientation as well as access to the south-facing terrace
[*]Office for my wife
[*]Technical/storage room including wardrobe with access to the north garden and the carport
[*]Storage room under the stairs
[*]Small bathroom/shower/WC
[*]Possibility for potential separation of the ground floor from the upper floor
[*]Eastern access (front door) + 9m carport with access to a storage room behind it

Upper floor:

[*]Master bedroom with access to the main bathroom
[*]Children’s bedroom 1
[*]Children’s bedroom 2
[*]Main bathroom with shower/bathtub and WC
[*]Children’s and guest bathroom with shower and WC
[*]Utility room (dryer, washing machine, ironing area)
[*]Guest and office room for me

Attic:

[*]Project room (playroom, lounge for the children, etc.)
[*]Storage room for all kinds of stuff

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We now have a first draft from our architect, which you can find attached. What do you think of it?

Do you have any idea how to possibly create a spatial separation from the connected kitchen/dining/living area? We were thinking of an option with a sliding door (between kitchen and living), which can be opened or closed as needed. However, the architect’s current room concept does not quite allow for this, as we see it.

Give us your two cents

Best regards,

GTSport1982

Almost 180 sqm of living space and all three bedrooms are relatively small? There should be more to it.

Various 45 degree angles ... .

I don't like it

Hello,

Do you have any idea how to possibly create a spatial separation from the connected kitchen/dining/living area? We were thinking about an option with a sliding door (between the kitchen and living room), which can be opened or closed as needed. However, we find that the current room concept of the architect no longer really allows for this.

A classic 3-gable house; may I ask what costs your architect has estimated for the new build?

Actually, it is not particularly difficult to separate this area. I would recommend "internal" sliding doors; that way you gain space for furniture. The question is why you should/want to do this, because in my opinion the original character of the house would be lost ...?

Rhenish greetings

Why do you need a shower on the ground floor if you already have 2 upstairs? Wouldn't a simple guest toilet downstairs possibly be enough? I also think that even though it's 180 sqm, the house feels small because of the many angles. Otherwise, I quite like it, but sometimes it's a bit too convoluted.

Hi!

First of all, thank you for your quick replies

The initial cost estimate includes pure construction costs (including carport, outdoor facilities, connection costs, architect fees, authority and administrative fees, financing costs as well as other incidental costs) amounting to approximately €240,000. In addition, the plot of land would cost nearly €80,000.

We planned the bathroom with a shower on the ground floor to possibly create a separate living space on the ground floor in retirement age (when the children have moved out), so that the upper floor could potentially be rented out. Then the study downstairs would be converted into a bedroom and an intermediate door would be installed in the stairwell. That was our approach...

Yes, the upper floor feels somewhat cramped with all these 45-degree angles, but spatially we would have accommodated everything we envisioned. Are the 13 sqm children’s rooms (already calculated taking the sloped ceilings into account!) too small?

Or would you have other suggestions to make the living space on the upper floor more harmonious?

We are grateful for any suggestions

Regards,

GTSport1982

I do not see the size of the children's rooms as a problem. Our three children each get approx. 12.5 sqm children's room (our bedroom will also be "small" like that). You also still have the playroom in the attic. As a child, I would have been happy about so much space.