Floor plan single-family house 141 sqm - obvious weaknesses?

Hello everyone,

attached is a first preliminary draft of a single-family house that we received after an initial planning meeting with a construction company. After our "approval," we will receive the detailed offer.
North is at the top. Entrance in the east.

Within our possibilities and various compromises (it would have been nice: separating the living room with a sliding door, larger storage room, bathroom slightly bigger so that a built-in wardrobe fits) we are, for now, quite satisfied.

We have already indicated that the window in the stairwell should be enlarged from 2 meters to 3 meters upwards, that the front door should have the hinge on the other side, the window in the storage room is under discussion, the toilet on the upper floor possibly not optimally placed, etc...

We would appreciate constructive criticism. Thank you very much!

Residents: 2 adults, 2 children (1 and 10 years)
Development plan/restrictions: 2 stories, gable or hip roof 22-28%
Plot size: 722 sqm
Slope: No
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of stories: 2
Roof type: hip roof 22%
Style: townhouse?!?
Terrace orientation to the south, entrance in the east

Requirements of the builders
Style, roof shape, building type
Basement, basement levels, 2 full stories
Number of persons, age
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor, approx. 65-70 sqm each
Office: none (nice to have, not a must-have)
Overnight guests per year: 3-4

Number of dining seats: 6-8
Fireplace: YES (small)

Garage, carport: 1 single garage with extension for equipment/bikes

House design
From whom is the planning
- planner from a construction company

What do you like especially? Lots of space in the dining-living area, dressing room,
What do you not like? Size of the hallway downstairs (too big?), storage too small, bathroom layout, bedroom somewhat too large)
Price estimate according to architect/planner: approx. 320,000 - 340,000 turnkey without floor coverings
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: 380,000,--
Preferred heating technology: pellets/air heat pump (no gas on the property!)

If you have to give up, which details/extensions
- can you do without: basically nothing anymore
- cannot do without:

Below the bathtub, is that a laundry chute to the basement? If so, how is it on the ground floor? Wouldn't there be problems in the living room? Or is it supposed to be a chimney flue, only that no fireplace is drawn on the ground floor?

Can't you place the tub in front of the window and thus get more space for the toilet (and also space for a cupboard)?

What I don't understand is the dressing room, why it is accessible from the hallway and not from the bedroom.

Hello!

Next to the bathtub is a laundry chute, yes. It leads through the entrance area (closet) directly to the basement. It is also depicted that way.
A double-flue fireplace is shown in the living room and upstairs in the dressing room.

The dressing room is as we desired.
In the basic design, it was assigned as an enclosed room to the bedroom. We deliberately enlarged it a bit and designed it as a separate room. With 2 doors (through the bedroom and the hallway), we would have lost too much closet space.

I just noticed that the images "OG" and "Keller" have unfortunately each been rotated by 90 degrees. Bathroom/Child 1 is north.

Hello,

I really like the plan.

I would still think about the following points:

On the ground floor:

Is the kitchen layout planned as shown? If yes, I would reconsider the position of the cooktop. The drawn peninsula is not deep enough to reliably catch (grease) splashes - thus, the counter area and also the chairs / bar stools would be at immediate risk of splashing. Also, a conventional (non-retractable) hood would block your view axis from kitchen to living area, since it would hang right in the middle.

Our peninsula has therefore become a preparation island (with a counter around the corner) - the cooktop along with a recirculation hood is on the outer wall next to it.

Do you really need the doors between the hallway and kitchen as well as between the hallway and living room?

In my parents’ house, these were actually almost always open and therefore in the way. In our house, we omitted them entirely and have not missed them so far.

Position of the TV. If it actually goes there, you will need good shading if you don’t want to watch TV only at night – otherwise the sun will shine directly on the screen.

I don’t find the hallway too big - a spacious hallway is worth its weight in gold, especially if you are already four.

On the upper floor:

The separate dressing room is certainly a matter of taste - if that’s your wish, then do it that way. I would solve it differently though: I would completely remove the wall between bedroom and dressing room and instead have a floor-to-ceiling built-in wardrobe (possibly accessible from both sides) installed as a room divider. A door could then be integrated in the middle of this wardrobe to access the dressing room. The door between the hallway and dressing room could then be omitted and that wall could also become closet space.

I would arrange the bathroom differently as well. I would place the shower directly behind the door (where the WC is currently planned) and position the access to the shower not on the end wall but along the “long” wall. This should create additional splash protection (due to the entrance being rotated 90°). I would place the WC (protected from view) in the niche behind. I would put the sinks on the wall next to the stairwell and position the bathtub diagonally in the opposite corner.

Best regards,

Dirk

Is the kitchen layout intended as drawn? If yes, I would reconsider the position of the cooktop. The drawn peninsula is not deep enough to reliably catch (grease) splashes – thus, the counter area and also the chairs/bar stools would be acutely at risk of splashing. Also, a conventional (non-retractable) hood would obstruct the line of sight from the kitchen to the living area, as it would hang right in the middle. Dirk

Hello, thanks for the detailed response. No, the kitchen is not fixed yet. Basically, the sink and also the stools are supposed to go there (we will install a beam there, which we think will make it a bit cozier). However, we have already discussed that the cooktop will definitely not stay there but will rather move towards the window on the left. The area where the cooktop is currently drawn will be a work surface.