Floor plan of a single-family house with a granny flat

What loud things?

Washing machine and dryer - turn a cozy bathroom into a wet room where dirty laundry piles up.

In short, regards

I always find it insane what is being planned here. Over 360 sqm of floor space (not including the basemented 2nd garage) for 2 real people and 3 not yet existing...

What is this fun supposed to cost?

Well, you can subtract the basement and the granny flat. If you plan for a family, you should take that into account from the start during planning. So far, I have only heard people complain about too little living space (and not about too much).

Well, you can deduct the basement and the granny flat. If you plan to have a family, you should take that into account from the start in the planning. So far, I have only heard people complain about too little living space (and not about too much).

That only comes later, when you have built big for the family and then live again only as two in old age.

Experienced it myself with my parents and with the parents of many acquaintances and friends.
We are now building 185m² and I know that when the not-yet-existing children have left, the place will be too big for us.

Well, you can just subtract the basement and the granny flat.

Why? They are built along with the rest. And if you don’t have the space in the basement, you need it above ground. We are talking about almost 400 sqm!!! Floor area. And as I said, first there are kids, they also live there. I don’t mean you shouldn’t plan for that, but there should be some kind of balance. There is a “parent unit” on the upper floor of 35 sqm. The children's rooms with kids' bathroom together have just about the same amount. The upstairs hallway is certainly a nice idea, but do I really want to have teenagers causing trouble in my stairwell later? If you like that. Don’t get me wrong, but what do you want with such a monstrous area? It has to be cleaned and maintained. But it reduces the usable area in the garden. What allowed floor area ratio do you have? Often in such older plots, a floor area ratio of 0.2 or 0.3 applies.

That only happens once you have built big for the family and then live inside again with just the two of you in old age.

Experienced it myself with my parents and with the parents of many acquaintances and friends.
We are building 185m² now and I know that when the not yet existing children are gone, the house will be too big for us.

Yes, I understand that. Although if it ever comes to that with us in 20 years, I would like to stretch my feet into Lake Constance and settle down there. Well, I’ll still take my husband with me. But the kids won’t have any room in the nice 2-3 room apartment then.

Why? They are built along with it. And if you don’t have the space in the basement, you need it above ground.
We are talking about almost 400 sqm!!! Floor area. And as I said, first of all, children will eventually live there too. I don’t mean to say you shouldn’t plan for that, but there should be some kind of balance.
There is a “parent” room on the upper floor of 35 sqm. The kids’ rooms with a kids’ bathroom together are barely that big. The upstairs hallway is certainly a nice idea, but do I really want to have teenagers making a mess in my stairwell later? If you like that

Don’t get me wrong, but what do you want with that monstrous space? It has to be cleaned and maintained. But that reduces the usable space in the garden.
What is your permitted floor area ratio? Often on older plots, a floor area ratio of 0.2 or 0.3 applies.

So we are currently shifting the upper floor around a bit. It will probably be “only” 32 sqm bedroom with bathroom.

I understand your objection and yes, the house will be big. We had a plan in mind. Honestly, the garden is nice but it was not the main reason for us to buy and build there. We neither have the energy nor the time to maintain a big garden. I can understand why for some it is very important to have living spaces with access to the garden. For us, moving into the basement was never even an option.

We are also aware that we will eventually have to sell this house. Maintaining and cleaning is certainly more comfortable in a three-room apartment. On the other hand, you can already plan accordingly. Each floor is supposed to have a cleaning closet with vacuum cleaner, mop, etc. So you don’t have to drag a vacuum cleaner all over the place. But you have to consider that when furnishing.

I can’t tell you about the floor area ratio. We are orienting ourselves by what is already built.

For me, it was mainly about the floor plan. Is it suitable for children? Were important things forgotten? Did we all have a misconception? Viewed like this, it has already helped us a lot.