Floor plan opinions single-family house 140 sqm 2 full floors

Where? Ok, you now got a free space next to the sink by removing the door for a tall cabinet. (Does your wife already know how lucky she is not to get this feature anymore?) The problem here is actually that quite a few things in a kitchen are kept within reach (knife block, common spices, opened bottles of sparkling water, the new kitchen appliance, and the coffee machine). The counter is less suitable, rather exactly that corner. Then somewhere lies precisely what needs to be chopped, then your board, then the container where it should go, then other ingredients like liquids, seasoning, herbs. That can’t be optimally placed anywhere, even if only for a short time. Then maybe the cookbook or tablet with the recipe... the space between stove and sink, the corner, hardly fits a grown person. And if they stand there, they block the sink and stove at the same time but can’t chop well. And where are the little bowls, glasses, cups, and plates fetched from? Nobody likes to go to the pantry every time for such things. A kitchen shouldn’t be fragmented like this at all. A kitchen should function as such with its storage options for cooking and eating utensils. Without a pantry. And when you have children, you already need enough storage space here for several lunchboxes and containers of all kinds and sizes, measuring cups etc. Your family is currently growing and the household has to grow with it. I do not want to convert you or persuade you to do something differently. Only some clarification is needed here about how much of a kitchen must be readily accessible. And if everything first has to be moved from back to front, then you need countertop space to put these things down in between.

I drew the kitchen today with a tape measure and also measured my current kitchen as an example.

and now I know what you mean! Yes, the kitchen is not big and I am completely unsure for now. Between sufficient and shouldn’t it be a bit bigger.

Actually, I could also completely leave out the pantry and extend the kitchen fully. Then I have a proper work surface and could also make a smaller intermediate countertop between sink and stove.

On the other hand, I find a pantry/storage room set up or extended as a “second” kitchen great. To explain my idea briefly. Dishes, cutlery, spices, glasses, cups belong in the kitchen. On the countertop in the kitchen are the coffee machine and SodaStream. Nothing else.

In the pantry, as in my drawing so far, were 60 cm base cabinets with countertop. There on the countertop stand a mixer, air fryer, and I currently don’t have more. These appliances are brought forward into the kitchen or ideally operated directly in the pantry. Tupperware is also in the pantry as well as baking trays, cake pans, etc.

I’m not a fan of wall cabinets and prefer open shelves above (it’s simply my style). Open shelves would be placed in the kitchen next to the window for glasses and cups.

I’m still not sure about the pantry. Alternatively, two 60 cm base cabinets could be swapped with two 60 cm tall cabinets and thus gain some countertop and some storage space for food and other items. Possibly a second fridge/freezer.

Basically a small second kitchen behind the door where you can also easily put things on the countertop without the actual kitchen looking messy. That’s my thoughts on the kitchen. But I’m still thinking hard about it.

Technical room - door can also open into the hallway. Staircase - under the stairs space for pantry cabinet and vacuum cleaner/mop Office and emergency guest room on the ground floor 200 cm wardrobe space Kitchen with enough space Sofa corner arranged so that you can also look out the windows. The room called "Ankleide" can be used to store the washing machine, upstairs vacuum cleaner/mop etc. But also suitcases, certain seasonal items of the whole family, etc.

I find your design really super interesting and also see the advantages. Our architect said back then that you try to build a “shot.” Ideally, you look from the entrance into the garden. In addition, we were told everywhere and confirmed by friends and acquaintances that the living room sofa to TV distance must be at least 4 m. You can also find recommendations like this everywhere on the internet. For that, you would always have to walk through the kitchen to get to the living room or garden. A somewhat untidy kitchen would immediately catch everyone's eye. Upstairs the floor plan is great. I like it very much. You just pick up things here and there and also listen to friends in new houses. And the points mentioned above were always brought up. Many things eventually contradict each other when you talk to too many people…

and why are you then lacking the willingness to go back to the preliminary design phase

To be honest, I don’t want to spend thousands of euros again. I can see how my floor plan apparently causes problems. And I also read in other threads that the architect planned and the designs have many mistakes and weaknesses.

You just pick up things here and there and also ask friends in the new building. And the above-mentioned points were always mentioned there. Many things eventually contradict each other when you talk to too many people..

Yes, of course. Everyone has a different plot, different needs, different sofas, or gathers different experiences. Working rooms are not discussed at all. People who handle things properly in the kitchen don’t even mention it and don’t have the problem with messy kitchens. Others have sofas that look like the place under and around them belongs to the Hempels; they would probably prefer a separate room where everyone can let themselves go.

I find your design really super interesting and also see the advantages.

There isn’t just one. Mine wouldn’t be it either; for me, the hallway would be too narrow for that. But it is a good example of how easily and comfortably it would work with a different staircase.

There would be open shelves in the kitchen next to the window for glasses and cups.

Where? 60 cm width for two shelves?! Roughly calculate the glass/cup/mug consumption… I’ll stop, you understand the problem anyway.

On the other hand, I find a pantry/storage room set up or extended as a "second" kitchen great.

Second kitchen because the main kitchen doesn’t work, multi-technical room as a dirt airlock because the wardrobe in the hallway doesn’t work. Shower in the toilet because the main bathroom doesn’t work. Washer and dryer in the bathroom because the technical room doesn’t work. You can convince yourself of anything smart.

To be honest, I don’t want to spend thousands of € again. I see how my floor plan apparently causes problems. And I also read in other threads that the architect planned and the designs have many mistakes and weaknesses

I dare to lean out the window and say that almost every (second) general contractor or builder offers a functioning (cost-neutral) design as a standard house. It may be that here and there a wall could be shifted and also the typical design may have a few weaknesses here, there or three, but it would still function better than this one.

The second kitchen is a total mess in everyday life. With one or two young children, you don’t always want to stand shielded next to a kitchen machine, and the main kitchen will look like a kitchen anyway: sometimes tidy, sometimes like a pigsty. The kitchen machines can go into the tall cabinets, enough counter space and a dishwasher that you can load while working in the kitchen and thus put away immediately, is much more practical.

A second kitchen is really only worth it in exceptional cases, for hunters, farmers, or really advanced baking enthusiasts. For normal average life, they are totally useless. Because you also have to keep order there, otherwise you don’t see the chaos and everything just becomes much more tedious. It’s better to keep order directly in the main kitchen.

No one has ever died from the sight of kitchen chaos. It’s really not a big deal. It just looks that way, but is usually cleared up in a few minutes.

Mine wouldn’t be either, the hallway is too narrow for that.

Yes, it is a narrow hallway ... but also without cabinets, etc., so the full width of 120 cm is available. And, the OP has 15 cm more house width in his previous plan, which could easily be invested in the hallway width. And the actual hallway in the initial example isn’t wider either. It may seem a bit wider due to the area under the stairs.

In my example, I would probably add a fixed glass panel toward the living room in the hallway.

The room depth of 358 cm for the living room is actually sufficient for most TVs nowadays. The advantage of the layout is also that you get some light from the windows. In the opening post, a window band over the planned sofa position is planned for the living room. For me, that gives a basement-feeling in the living space. Such a window is also planned over the double bed in the master bedroom .. for me also completely impractical.

Whether you enter such a multipurpose room first through the living room or first through the kitchen ... is somewhat a matter of perspective. But as soon as teenagers live in the house and you want to sit quietly in the evening, the kitchen entrance also has advantages. Teenagers who want to help themselves don’t have to pass the chill sofa ;).

You’d rather want to access the terrace/garden through the kitchen etc. than through the living room. Unfortunately, your floor plan drawing doesn’t have a north arrow and the exact property dimensions and boundaries can’t be seen either. I know somewhere here in the thread you indicated north, but I don’t remember that and don’t want to have to search for it. That’s why it’s always best to have a complete initial post, because that can be found quickly. This is also explicitly pointed out in the pinned thread.

A word about the home office corner in the upper floor. I worked in a home office for 20 years. That would be a spot I wouldn’t have wanted. A seat next to the staircase, possibly not very suitable for video conferences, and very little space for a large monitor and other things.