Floor plan multigenerational house conversion old barn

Your built-in shell structure can take the support loads of the roof. At what height is the purlin in the picture? I would rather use the support pillars as a design element. Of course, you shouldn't install a door directly in front of one.

I would have to have it precisely checked where the purlin is then. I thought it runs in the knee wall. But that's "layman’s". ;) I will clarify that... Regarding the support pillars, I thought similarly, but leaving them free also costs space in the attic.

What roof pitch is that? Is 50 degrees correct?

P.s.: Furniture are just placeholders... so not the nicest ones. I also chose a fairly large staircase so it won't get more complicated later.

Roof pitch is 45 degrees. The look of the furniture is understandably secondary. :)

I want to take another calm look at the draft made. I find many things great or simply awesome to rethink, for example
- Kitchen on the west side - why not. I myself already thought about the side where the couch is now, to possibly have a pantry.
- Large door to the open-plan area: very good, below the support pillar: also very good - a great approach!
- Parent’s wing extended completely to the “north”: very good input, thanks. The layout of the elements is also very well considered. Walk-in closet in the darkest corner: great idea!
- Guest toilet: good location, in connection with this staircase.
- Bathroom: light strip or window is interesting, could be done like that

What immediately caught my eye (but is not fully thought through) are the following points. Off the cuff:
- Bathroom: would be great on the south side with a direct window. But I also know about the lack of space there. As mentioned above, alternatively behind the bedroom is also conceivable.
- Entrance area: seems designed quite wide, it could also be narrower, possibly opening up other options (like the bathroom)
- Staircase: I’m not so sure about a spiral staircase. It’s all good, that can look great. Personally, I just like stairs where the first steps are extra wide & look inviting. Usually they are straight or have a quarter turn or a small landing.
- Living room in the open-plan area: I don’t know if it gets too tight with the couch, possibly TV and fireplace - but it can also work

I think it’s a really great approach & what I wrote down as points that don’t immediately please me are basically not criticism at all, but rather points I hadn’t considered before. I still need to let them sink in.

Thanks again. Really great.

This is just supposed to show how other minds think.
Regarding the upper floor: I somehow suspected that... if those are really 45 degrees... from the outside it actually looks even less.
I will write a bit about the attic at the end.

I was already thinking about the side where the couch is now, to possibly have a pantry.

In principle: the kitchen needs more light, the chill area needs hardly any light.
The pantry is in the cupboards opposite the stairs, but it could also be moved into the kitchen corner. I had it there first...

large door facing the open space: very good, below the support pillar: also very good - a great approach!

Well, daylight has to be able to spread everywhere.

Bathroom: light strip or windows are interesting, could be done like that

Well, the house is too deep...

Bathroom: on the south side would be great with a direct window. But I also know about the lack of space there.

... and the south side is too valuable not to use it for living spaces.
I can switch it tomorrow, then you’ll see the difference.

Entrance area: seems designed very wide, it could also be less wide,

No, it had to be like that with the stairs. You need some kind of path, corridor, past the stairs to reach the guest WC.

Stairs: I’m not so sure about a spiral staircase

Living room in the open space: I don’t know if it won’t be too tight with the couch,

You won’t get all rooms facing south!
Many corners and fancy walls catch the light and don’t direct it further.
A barn conversion is a compromise
A house with only windows on the south means a lot of compromises
The depth of the barn means many compromises.

You have to be aware that you are taking a LOT OF COMPROMISES TO THE POWER OF THREE if you have to do this barn, exactly as you imagined it with the south wing.

The fundamental problem on the upper floor:
Your dashed line, the 2-meter line, which corresponds on the other side, shows you about 40? sqm of area that is over 2 meters high, in the middle of the house (ridge).
If the roof pitch turns out even less (I estimate 38 degrees), then it becomes a one/two meter strip over the whole width. And that without any beams which still support the roof structure everywhere.
The stairs MUST come out in the middle there, the rooms above have a standing strip and otherwise a cave...
You will hardly be able to realize any real or permitted living space according to building regulations. A second emergency exit is just a dream.
Basically, on the south side either dozens of dormers or one long continuous dormer have to be realized. Then you can fit 3 children's rooms there. On the north side then bathroom, office, and storage room.
That’s why as a first step the main wall that separates the stairs from the living area must be almost at the beam, since there is also a wall up there. That makes the open living area smaller...
I will tackle the bathroom task again tomorrow... I already have an idea ;)

That is just supposed to show how other minds think.

Great. Thanks. That helps a lot. Especially as a layperson, you tend to believe that you can somehow find a solution for the facts you emphasized, in order to ultimately fulfill all wishes. But as you write: you have to live with these said compromises and come to terms with them!

Food storage is in the cupboards opposite the stairs, but it could also be relocated to the kitchen corner.

I understand. That would be conceivable, but it would certainly have to be quite small. But that again takes up space in the open-plan room, and a kitchen with more storage space also provides good relief.

You can’t get all rooms facing south!

Of course. By the remark "too tight with the couch" I didn't mean that this room should move to the south. It was more about the fact that this room measures just under 3.20m in width, and I have never been quite sure whether this size can be used well. But a couch fits in, TV furniture and a fireplace are also conceivable.

No, it had to be like that with the stairs. You somehow need a way, a hallway, past the stairs to reach the guest toilet.

I find this part very interesting, which is why I quoted it separately, as I consider it very important.

Just to say in advance, it’s all understandable. The 3m just seemed quite wide at first glance. And I also find your positioning of the stairs logical – since besides the dressing room, the utility room/airlock room is brought into the dark depth of the floor plan.

Question about this:

I assume that this stair shape (a) is not only a space-saving variant but also (b) allows good access to the upper rooms through the exit. I had thought, for example, one could place a straight staircase instead. Without putting it on paper, I had suspected that such a narrow staircase would then allow good access to the upper rooms to the left and right, or am I mistaken (because the stairs then end too far north, for example)?

What additionally gives me a headache is a point or idea:

If I assume having 3 children's rooms and a bathroom upstairs and these spread across 16m in width – including walls, that comes to 4m on the south side (16/4). Is it absurd to waste further thoughts on possibly installing a roof window that brings light into the upper floor hallway? Because here another compromise seems to be looming: the hallway upstairs will constantly be in the dark…

PS: to make it clear, I have no ideal conception of the house. Any staircase can basically be nice, a bathroom can also be located inside, and you don’t need a pantry. Many things here boil down to a compromise – thanks for your input from you/all of you!

It was more about the fact that this room measures just under 3.20m in width.

I think mine is 4 meters...

I assume that this staircase shape (a) is not only a space-saving variant but also (b) allows good access to the upper rooms through the exit.

My staircase is a lavishly large staircase. I thought the house could handle it until I dealt with the upper floor. The staircase needs an exact position at the top so that three rooms can be arranged in a row on the south side upstairs. Because: the SW room needs access.

Because here another compromise seems to be looming: the hallway on the upper floor will constantly be in the dark...

That is the lesser evil: either 2 double casement windows above the staircase/hallway or a small open space that directs some southern sun upwards. You have plenty of unused area in the attic anyway; you can open the knee wall into the ground floor as well.