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

Here now again separated between single-family house and two-family house, hope this contributes to the understanding of the floor plan.

This is clearer, but could still be better.

I only remember the comment from several relatives who say that the house has become too big for them without children and that they have too much work,

Because many have commented on this sentence here. I consider it to be untruthful as it stands. There are quite different truths found in this sentence. "The comment from several..." Which generation complained about that? The parents of 4 children who eventually moved out? The parents of 2 children who eventually moved out? The house remains the same size and does not get bigger; with the empty children's rooms you close the door and hope that the first relationship of the children breaks up so that the child comes back home. The only thing that creates "too much" work are the children themselves. One is glad that Hotel Mama can finally take a vacation. Is it the large living room that is no longer filled with life? One can also move out in old age, but these several relatives do not do that because they would have to part with memories and furniture. And what should they have done differently? Build a mini living room for their family? Forgo children and then have a smaller house? Maybe a house with two crappy apartments where the upstairs apartment is initially set up only as children's rooms and later rented out? Cozy living in a house with a tenant where one starts to grow old? No. There is a lot of theory and idealism in this - very little is actually implemented, I think. By the way, I belong to the generation that would like their parents to live in a smaller apartment (but larger than one level of this design). Unfortunately, they do not want to move out. They say: we have been able to enjoy this beautiful big house for 45 years, so another 5 years will be fine. They do not think about moving out, even less about work. And do you know what? No one addresses the size. The little dust in unused rooms is now handled by the cleaning fairy. One does not do more oneself than one is willing to do. And what no longer works will not be done by the tenant either. I bet hardly anyone gets a tenant from afar where she cleans and takes care of things, he does the gardening and handles the banking services.

With the empty children's rooms, you close the door and hope that their first relationship breaks up so that the child comes back home.

Wow, that wouldn't have occurred to me.
Just closing the door and leaving the children's rooms as a jack-of-all-trades in the environment is experienced by many as a burden—especially since these rooms somehow have to be managed as well.

The only thing that causes "too much" work is the children themselves. You're glad that Hotel Mama can finally take a vacation.

Hotel Mama is one of those and is considered a classic. I can report from personal example and experience that there are definitely more living environments than just this one.

You can also move out in old age, but many relatives don’t do that because they would have to part with memories and furniture. And what else should they have done?

Many people live with their memories in houses that are too big, caught between being overwhelmed and nostalgia.
What they should have done—this is the question those who want to build a house for several stages of life tried to answer.

There is a lot of theory and idealism involved—I think very little is actually implemented.

What you call theory and idealism, I rather associate with attitude in this context. I have a number of role models in our family environment and circle of friends who showed and show that one can look forward into old age, make decisions, and let go of burdens. And yes, there are many people who say, “that can’t be done because…”—not only among older generations.

By the way, I belong to the generation that would like their parents to live in a smaller apartment.

I don’t know whether that’s a generational thing. I have a good friend (also in her mid-to-late 50s like me) who has the same attitude you describe. We talked a lot about it when our parents were still alive, because we had completely different ways of thinking about it. That was a good exchange.

I bet hardly anyone would get a tenant from afar who cleans and cares for them, he would do the gardening and take over the banking services. Hehe.

Actually, that was my parents' model—my father wanted to stay in the house, my mother found it too big. From a guest room and two children's rooms, an apartment was separated off, with a staircase leading to the upper floor. At first, tenants moved in. Later the apartment was structurally reconnected to the house with a door so that the person helping there could be on site more quickly. The banking services were outsourced to a company specialized in reducing complexity from the daily lives of elderly people. When my father died, my mother sold the house within a few months and moved into an "assisted living residence."

Wow, that would never have occurred to me.

Exactly why I’m asking!

Which generation complained there?

These generations do actually exist. Back then, when people thought more “in terms of family”, when life was simpler. But it simply doesn’t apply to everyone. And times have changed. I no longer belong to that group. And neither do you. You say so yourself. Ultimately, I don’t care how someone wants to live here: one likes it big, the other small.. but just because “acquaintances say, relatives groan, friends advise” you should always check whether the hint or advice is actually understandable or just casually said by people who are different from yourself. If I had listened to my grandma’s advice back then, I would now have a huge laundry room in the basement, because she once said that a large room is worth its weight in gold for laundry. Nowadays, I manage very well without a basement and laundry room. My father told me 35 years ago when house hunting that we have to make sure there is a pub in the village. That was just how it was back then: whoever had a tavern around the corner had advantages. The advice comes from a time when there was no Lieferando yet. Location, location, location… many have advised me to pay attention to location. But location has also become subjective and has been dampened in some areas, since delivery services have replaced lively inner cities and home office spots have replaced some train tickets. But it’s also not that advice or statements are worthless, because not everyone is the same. And now we come back again to the “several relatives with their comments that the house has become too big for them.” What does that mean for some in house building? Actually nothing. My husband and I have 132 sqm for two. With a child we had 116 sqm. Yes, we have it comfortable, big, and spacious. And I love it. It would never occur to me to say that it is .too. big. Others, however, can close the doors to “useless rooms” if they want to.

There is no blanket "in old age" Swmother has a large staff of helpers from service providers through acquaintances to young people. Parents as well. At my parents' place, the space requirements are much higher than before with children - moreover, due to crappy care options at my sister's, sometimes more people live in the house than before. She is often there during the holidays, works from home and the children are with grandma or neighbors or with us. Nevertheless, one should ask oneself "do I want disadvantages now for maybe later?" "Do I really want strangers in the house? In the end, someone who hardly pays rent so that you cannot evict them" Keep in mind that maybe children moving in is one thing - you can also find a solution with a meter for that. Extensions, external stairs are seen more often. However, the floor plan should fit the now. The upper floor is very far away from now.

Regarding the enclosed staircase. The "option" for a granny flat should be possible.

This option is already understood by the forum community. However, an enclosed staircase greatly restricts family life. It separates

From my point of view, this is just a normal house, where the staircase is right at the entrance area and not, as is often the case, located in the middle of the single-family house?

Then it’s simply not a house where one can live together within the family. A staircase inside the residential unit is right in the middle. You can be upstairs or downstairs quickly.

A door to the apartment upstairs and downstairs can then be integrated respectively. Before that, it is a single-family home and therefore the access to the staircase can be without a door.

As mentioned above. It is a single-family house with restrictions for roughly the first 20 years.

We want to build a single-family house and have already thought further into the future.

If you know our needs for the future, that would be very convenient, but no one can really specify that.

Stop the nonsense of planning for the far-off future. It only costs money and living quality.

Repeated: I can agree with that.

I don’t imagine the separation of heating and electricity to be that complicated, because I need it anyway whether it’s a single-family house or a two-family house.

A single-family house with a granny flat is legally somewhat different from a two-family house.
What you want would rather be a granny flat; simpler technology is sufficient for that. A two-family house would have to be technically separated to qualify as such, which does not mean you need two heating systems.

But it does not matter what you call the separate unit. It is hardly or no longer understandable nowadays.
"Are you already living or still just existing?" is very present nowadays and describes a home that is more than just a roof over your head.