Floor plan new two-story single-family house 200 m²

Maybe it was overlooked that only one car is supposed to park there, not 2 side by side? 4 m width (excluding the outer wall) is still enough for a runway next to the car. I think if the sidewalk is slightly set off with different paving stones, it will surely be good for all parties involved.

I was only assuming one car. I took the liberty today to measure ours here, which is a similar situation as in the plan. Of the 385 cm read in the plan, at least 2 x 10 cm of edge stones on both sides are deducted, as well as probably a splash guard on the house wall, right? An actual separation of the sidewalk would also require a few centimeters, plus a mailbox on the house wall and space to move in front of it.
In short, I think you should present this exactly as it is somewhere in the original condition, because I am convinced that this is not a good idea and that you are misjudging both the real situation and the existing danger or the lack of comfort in the entrance/driveway situation.
We have 6 m including a platform of about 140 cm and one car parked. That is okay, especially because of the platform.
It may be because I have had to see such things quite often professionally after incidents occurred. Driving directly past the front door gives me a feeling like a crosswalk in a blind curve. A car cannot accidentally drive onto a platform either. I am usually less easily startled, but you will always and repeatedly drive past the front door backwards... a horror in my eyes, especially if not only your own children will be running around there.
With 385 cm or even 4 m, really no one could have thought of 2 cars side by side at a single-family home.

Basically the only thing that still needs planning with our requirements is the entrance and the hallway. No wonder we missed the mark with the first attempt and now partly incompatible requirements are affecting these connecting rooms.

That is of course a burden that gives every planner the opportunity to shift responsibility for flaws onto you. From my own experience, I know the absolute desire for a straight staircase even in the middle of the open space. Enchanted by so many beautiful pictures you can see nowadays, this often caused even older applicants like us to get stuck. Ultimately, it was a slight winding staircase, and today we wonder what fascinated us so much about a straight staircase when we look at our angled one now. Of course, one should implement one’s own wishes, but you should always question them repeatedly if they mean a disadvantage for other sensible things.

That’s why we won’t throw overboard any of our many wishes.

There is exactly no house where all wishes of the builders can be implemented reasonably; this misconception stands in the way of truly constructive floor plan development. I really believe that in the end you will come less close to your dream house because every wish brings other consequences. It is not as if you can just line up ideas arbitrarily, and that makes it beautiful—rather the opposite.
You have a very interesting, open attitude to discussion and answer all posts, which I find very pleasant.
Your own, winkingly casual manner appears sympathetic, but I believe it will backfire on you because you are overestimating yourself with it in terms of the weaker construction result.
I have more than one building project behind me and therefore believe that such an attitude is harmful in a house construction project. But you can build several times, as I have experienced myself. With the first house I also scooped money out by the shovel, and for the nice details, I often had to hold back.

That’s why you quickly get attached to a suboptimal design yourself.

That exactly is the art and also the task of an architect, not to allow this romance because it prevents the possible, better result. Your "dream house" can have 30 different floor plans; there is not the one house.
Somewhere you had written roughly that if the large hallway is in the budget, it stays that large. Of course, you can build an "unnecessarily" large hallway if the money is sufficient, but that money will become tight at some point, at least for probably 90% of the builders here. Not that the construction project collapses, but then you stand in the tile store, bathroom fitter, flooring, kitchen, and 35 other topics and will always have to "limit" yourselves (sometimes). I would at least be annoyed that I "treated myself" to "unnecessary hallway size" without need for €3,000/sqm, but now it always pinches at the roller shutters, terrace roofing, controlled residential ventilation, air conditioning, parquet flooring, and much more because I have to reach into the cheaper drawer each time. Therefore, the hint in this regard is justified in my opinion.

Ultimately, we already liked the first draft, and we like the second one even more.

Yes, and the hundredth could be almost perfect if you would allow it.

Before the thread revolves any further around the advantages of competent planning, I would like to go back to the matter and try to improve my skills and the quality of the floor plan.

The question that arises for me is: what do you want from the forum now, if you are standing in your own way and enjoy it very much? Your request, by using the forum:

What makes it particularly good or bad in your eyes? Basically, we already quite like the overall package. I am already looking forward to your opinions and am curious about what you have to say.

But first, I would wait and see what comes regarding the floor plan.

You mention the facade and you convince yourself that it is individually beautiful... And it is neither the building window, nor the development plan, nor the plot's "fault." It is simply not always good to be more convinced of yourself than of others. Be that as it may: This afternoon I quickly straightened the floor plan, meaning the hallway, moved the bathroom with storage room upstairs and thus got pleasant window facades without problems.

Hello everyone, I just spent a few more hours on adjustments and have attached the results.

I find the hallway situation to be convoluted, the door swung open to the right significantly narrows the passage; what is left as the passage width with the door open? If it is to open there at all, I would have it open to the left. There is little daylight there.
The guest toilet would get a shower in my case with at least 4 residents.
The problem of a straight staircase has already been mentioned, now it is not a nicely placed, independent architectural element but simply a staircase that had to be straight without good reason because the client just likes straight staircases. A beautiful staircase works when it’s given the right space and is also crafted and visually of high quality. A staircase is not beautiful just because it is straight. Will it be a folded-structure staircase with a fancy railing or how is it supposed to become beautiful? By the way, it’s not really bright there either.
The door from the hallway to the open-plan room opens outward for precisely this pointless reason, because it’s cramped inside (square meters are wasted in the box corridor for this), usually you only plan this in an emergency and that emergency is created by other “wishes.”
Am I reading correctly that the dining table is 160cm wide? You can do that if you have the idea, space, and use for it, likewise the 225cm length; still, 51 sqm for an open-plan room is sufficient but not generous compared to some other dimensions I see here. Not much space remains for the living room, which looks cramped once the furniture is placed.
The laterally offset window in the bedroom would bother me, the one I look at. That or another window would have to be straight in front of me or centered.

Of the 385 cm read in the plan, at least 2 x 10 cm of curb stones on both sides are deducted, as well as probably a splash guard on the house wall, right? An actual separation of the walkway would also require a few centimeters, plus a mailbox on the house wall and freedom of movement in front of it.

I hadn’t actually considered curbstones and splash guards, but I also didn’t plan for them. Is a splash guard even necessary on clinker bricks? At least I haven’t seen it anywhere before.

In short, I think you should depict this exactly once somewhere in its original condition.

I will stand in the driveway again with a tape measure tomorrow and simulate that.

A car can’t accidentally drive onto a platform either.

That would be an argument for a platform, but on the other hand, that would block the sliding path for the bicycles in the current or a similar layout and also significantly complicate a barrier-free entrance. We don’t necessarily need that, but in case of doubt, it’s probably more important to me than countering a bad feeling that I don’t even have.

In the end, it was a slight winding and today we wonder what fascinated us about a straight staircase back then, when we look at our angled one today.

Today I have gone up and down a staircase with a 90° winding several times, and I find it absolutely horrible every time. And it’s not just that one staircase, I have that in other houses as well.

There is not a single house where all the wishes of the builders can be implemented sensibly; this misconception stands in the way of truly constructive floor plan development.

We are not that absolute either. I got carried away and formulated polemically. Every wish is only “relatively” important. But that’s no reason to strike them from the list; I just adjust the priorities and look at the overall result. The difficulty, of course, is to get out of a local optimum again.

Your own, tongue-in-cheek flippancy comes across as likeable, but I believe it will trip you up because of a rather weaker construction result, since you are overextending yourself with it.

A piece of advice from someone experienced like you would actually be very valuable to me: What would be a better attitude towards this topic? Genuine question. I am exactly as you aptly describe me because that way I can live very well with compromises and, above all, don’t regret later a “what if.” I am sure my family and I would have been happy in the house of the first draft without daily worrying about missed opportunities. Of course, that doesn’t mean I now don’t want to get the best out of it.

If the large hallway fits the budget, then it stays that large. Of course, you can build a “unnecessarily” large hallway if the money suffices, but exactly that money will get tight at some point, at least for about 90% of the builders here. Not that the building project will fail, but then you stand in the tile store, bathroom supplier, flooring, kitchen, and 35 other topics more and will always (sometimes) have to “limit” yourselves. At least I would be annoyed that I “treated” myself to “unnecessary hallway size” without the need for €3,000/m², but now it constantly pinches on roller shutters, patio roofing, controlled residential ventilation, air conditioning, parquet, and much more, because I would have to reach into the cheaper drawer for them.

I’m so relaxed about that because the fittings in the offer already fit. We purposely only calculate 20,000 EUR for the selection. Floors, walls, technology are all already pretty much as we want them. Also, 5 sqm of extra hallway is really not a cost driver. There’s nothing expensive in there. Disclaimer: I say that now, but I’ll keep you updated after the selection.

I find the hallway situation complicated; the door opening to the right greatly narrows the passage; what width remains for the passage when the door is open? If at all there, then I would open the door to the left.

The door from the hallway to the open-plan room opens outward precisely because it’s cramped inside.

The door opens that way because most of the time it can simply remain open without being in the way. Opening it inwards to the left would block the area under the stairs and turn a not particularly bright corner into a dark one.
If you opened it into the open-plan room, you'd have to open it 180° so that it doesn't block a walkway; I'm not sure if I'd prefer that. And that has nothing to do with the size of the room.

With at least 4 residents, I would put a shower in the guest WC.

We both grew up in households where a second shower in the house was not used for over 20 or even 30 years. We have decided for ourselves that it is not necessary.

A staircase that had to be straight without any reason because the builder simply likes straight stairs.

That’s true. However, I am also building a house because I want to build a house. So it basically makes sense to design it according to my wishes. If I wanted to live in a cookie-cutter architect’s masterpiece that doesn’t cater to my needs, I could just rent.

Did I read correctly that the dining table is 160 cm wide?

Yes, you read correctly but I typed it wrong. The table is 90 cm wide. 160 cm is the length in normal use for about 360 days a year. Extended, it’s 225 cm. Of course, the table must also fit into the space on the other 5 days of the year, but that is not how it is usually lived.

In the bedroom, the laterally offset window I look at would bother me. That or another would have to be straight or centered in front of me.

That’s a good point; I am thinking about it. Positioning the bed against the exterior wall and also the access from the south side of the dressing room, as ypg once suggested, are also still under consideration.

Be that as it may:
This afternoon I quickly straightened the floor plan, meaning the hallway, moved the bathroom with storage room upstairs, and thereby got pleasant window façades without any problems.

Hey, thank you so much for your effort. I will review this tomorrow together with my better half and then provide detailed feedback. It might be that the extension now extends westward beyond the development boundary, but if so, only slightly.

The question I have is: what exactly do you want from the forum if you stand in your own way and really like it that way?

You mention the façade and you talk yourself into liking it individually... And it’s not the building envelope, not the development plan, and not the plot that is “to blame.” It’s just not always good to be more convinced of yourself than of others.

Hm... I am unsure what exactly you hope to hear here. Like most who use the forum as “petitioners,” I first read through many threads and saw how discussions usually go here.

My hope for the forum was that it doesn’t suffer the same operational blindness as I do and would ruthlessly point out as many mistakes as possible in the existing design. That has now happened. But I have always recognized those mistakes in myself.

I reject the allegation that I consider myself somehow better, smarter, or more talented than anyone else, especially those people here in the forum who invest their time helping people like me. I find the accusation that I am here only to “collect praise” unjustified. I am very serious about moving forward with a good floor plan/offer/financing/... into commissioning, and that’s why I try to respond to every post and every point. Everything that was feasible and seemed reasonable to me, I have incorporated into the drawings, and I do not reject the more radical approaches outright—I only put them on hold at most.

Regarding the topic: “Let a professional do it,” I did at some point try to steer away from that. A method where I pay someone else to solve a technical-intellectual problem for me I consider boring and ultimately unsatisfying (in the sense of not leading to the goal). Otherwise, I would not go through this process that helps me ultimately let go of the requirements that stand in my way and would be unhappy with every architect’s design because it doesn’t correspond to my initial ideas.

Very fundamentally, I find an open approach to one’s own biases and mistakes pleasant and productive. Then everyone knows where they stand. You can tell I like to argue and also to critique back.

So if you consider writing in this thread a waste of time because I don’t simply adopt all the ideas and opinions you express, of course, you are free to stop.
I would find that very unfortunate because I have already benefited greatly from your comments and am especially grateful that you took the time to draw your own adapted design. Also, I like a forum as a place for bidirectional discussion much more than a one-way transfer of wisdom.