Floor plan semi-detached house (7x10) - Your know-how is needed

Yes, Munich is expensive, but that's exactly why I would try to get the maximum out of a house that ultimately costs me almost a million. Here, it was simply "nicely" drawn. Could it be that the planner had no more motivation and just wanted to finally have you "done"? If I remember correctly, you are building with a developer, and for the planning, only a certain number of planning hours are scheduled; otherwise, the business case doesn't add up anymore. You are currently exceeding the BC. Of course, they don't like that...

Still, be stubborn and try to get improvements in.

I would also plan the attic floor much more freely. The toilet doesn't have to stand alone, but that fits well in the planned bathroom; everything else can be part of the bedroom/wellness area. Look around online; there are many, very clever ideas. A bathtub in the bedroom is trendy right now! And a shower is surely also possible. Be creative there, and you will find far better solutions than a dwarf shower crammed under the 2m line.

You can leave the upper floor as it is. How often do your children bathe? Maybe just a shower bathroom here?

Ground floor: I don't find the kitchen practical like this; more can be made out of it. Go to a good kitchen planner BEFORE the plans are final, especially before the connections are planned. Right now, there are long distances and a slalom course. I would consider planning only one kitchen unit on the wall to the garage and a long, rather narrow kitchen island in the middle. That should be more ergonomic and give you more options. This tiny counter currently planned at the top of the plan is somehow always just in the way and, I would bet my head on it, is mainly used to quickly put some things down. I would rather put a cabinet/display case there that offers space for dishes (e.g., for the "good" porcelain, glasses used only for special occasions, etc.). Or leave it free.

The bay window won't bring you much like this; it is too narrow. It doesn't look right here because the planner drew joke (tiny) furniture (I told you: he just wanted to finish). Make scale furniture out of paper and try to furnish the bay window. I dare say that it won't work with a normal table like that. Even a relatively narrow table is 90 cm; a chair must be calculated with 60 cm (including backrest) depth. That’s already 210 cm, and the chair stands at the table. You still have 45 cm free space behind on each side. A somewhat stocky person will have difficulty getting up there... So it will be tight. You can use the bay window as a light space and put large plants in it. Is that worth the extra cost? I would probably rather afford a nice, large sliding door instead of the bay window and use the terrace for the summer living space expansion. Overall, it also brings you little added space, because you already have space for a dining table in the actual house: a dining table fits well in front of the sofa lengthwise.

The stove is suboptimal in that spot. There are also clever, unusual solutions. I would place the stove more centrally in the living/kitchen area. Why not free-standing? There are quite funny solutions, and you could see it from the dining area, the living area, and the kitchen. The chimney would then run through one of the children's rooms or through the hallway on the upper floor. And the living corner can be fully used. I also find the current furnishing suboptimal in terms of an open living concept. The couch should be more open into the room and not with its back. If the stove is gone, the TV could go there, and the couch into the cozy niche that then arises (the TV could also be placed a bit more in the room so you can watch it from the dining table; among the gentlemen of the house, watching during EM/washing machine times would be quite popular!)

So overall, it is already quite successful, but with a few cool ideas, you can get much more out of it!

... maybe another suggestion ... You are building with a basement. With the currently planned staircase, using the basement as storage space, for example for garden furniture in winter or such, is really a hassle.

I would actually consider designing the ground floor analogously to my plan:

And then planning an outside basement entrance next to the garage at the top right of the plan. I could also imagine that especially a "children's entrance" would rather go through the basement because there is a bit more space to keep everything children need immediately at hand and then use the hallway on the ground floor more as a guest hallway. Unfortunately, in my plan, it is only 156 cm wide.

To my taste, this would be the nicer room concept because the open space in the living/dining/kitchen area is created where it can be used sensibly, namely around the fireplace.

A basement outside staircase with a proper small roof should not be more expensive than the bay window and might cause fewer problems with approval.

First of all, many thanks again for your feedback and your brainpower. I wouldn't call it planning on our side. More like drafting. There were no ideas or suggestions at all, just the graphical implementation. We don't have a specific hourly budget, etc., but of course they want to finish at some point. I have the impression that the construction company hates us anyway. We stress quite a bit and don't just sign immediately, etc. Sometimes I feel like they think we are stupid. Then the answer always comes back "we have such high demands." Well, whatever.

Our planner actually recommended not to put any shower in the attic at all, but only to have a toilet upstairs. But we didn't want that. To be honest: I don't like open or freestanding showers or bathtubs. We will probably have to do without the shower after all. Do you think a small, shortened bathtub would work?

Regarding the furniture layout with the table, I honestly didn’t give it much thought. I marked out the bay window and found it sufficient... let's say, bigger is of course better, but financially, as mentioned, it’s not possible. So honestly, I don't know what we should do.

We spent over 10 hours with a kitchen consultant who was really good. Afterwards, we changed the door in the kitchen. The stove will be placed opposite the oven. But the kitchen planning wasn't easy either, but we are satisfied with it.

Oh yes, we will have 2 terraces. One by the large sliding lift door and then between the bay window and the terrace.

Well, I actually think an outdoor staircase to the basement is really good. If it were feasible, I would do it immediately.

Ah, you see. I am really very emotionless. Paying almost a million € for this 0815 doghouse and get nothing for it!

In short: You won’t be happy with it, and definitely not for that much money. I mean that seriously. We looked at a small single-family house from the developer, reserved it a year ago, and scrutinized the plans, but we were never really enthusiastic, and our gut feeling always said that it wasn’t right. Now we have a plot of land and are looking forward to planning with an independent architect to design our individual house.

Before I would spend so much money on such a place, I would rather move further out or buy a ground-floor apartment. To spend almost a million and skip basic things like a shower? I completely lack the logic there. Could it be that you want to buy because you think you won’t find anything else? That the house-building company doesn’t like you doesn’t matter at all, we also withdrew the reservation (sales of the property through our house bank). I gave them my reasons and signed the financing of the plot with them; ironically, the interest rates were lower than with Interhyp and Commerzbank – no one was upset here…

So please think it over again, honestly meant…

And if you absolutely want it, then only under plans that meet your procedures and wishes! The square meter number isn’t that small, but the layout is hardly usable. The reasons have been given in detail.

Please don’t take offense.

Don't worry, I don't feel offended I just believe that very few here have any idea what kind of houses are being built here in Munich... Some houses with a width of 4.5m are being built here. And families know what they are getting into. So do we. And yes, we are looking forward to our house and that's why we are not backing out. Even if we possibly don't have a second shower bathroom. The world won't end because of that either