Floor plan single-family house, approx. 200 sqm without basement - assessment

I once read that it is not advantageous if the bathroom is located directly next to the living room? I had also read that here in the forum.

The wastewater pipes from above should not run directly through living areas, yes. And a wastewater pipe on the wall where one sleeps can also be disturbing. Everything fits quite well here. The pipes can be laid easily on the exterior wall between two wet rooms... on the east side there is also the (second) outdoor water tap.

But I have to build single-story. That is only fulfilled if the top floor is max. 2/3 of the bottom floor (living area, not usable area).

An architect would create your party room as usable space... Then you roughly don’t need a bay window at all with a 45-degree roof and 1 meter knee wall... but that would be a small calculation task for the architect and possibly a saving if necessary (bay window).

Back then I also always expressed the wish that I could go directly from the hallway into every room (including the kitchen), without having to go through the living room.

And what added value would that have for you? With this design and without deficits, it is not feasible. However, I would move the passage between kitchen/dining forward and change the furnishings. But these are minor things – the framework has to stand.

Good night wishes Yvonne

The party room is officially designated as a utility room anyway. Still, I can't manage with 45 degrees. Then the top remains too large. It has to be 30 degrees. I asked the architect again whether 35 would still be acceptable. The problem is then the too large attic space, which would then be counted as a floor again.

One more question about the new stairs in the garage. You put a door under the stairs to the WC. Is that allowed there because it's just a garage and a small WC anyway, or would this arrangement also be fine inside the house? Because I always wonder how it looks when there is a door above the stairs. I had that once in a design as well.

One more question about the new staircase in the garage. You put a door under the staircase to the WC. Is that allowed because it’s just a garage and a small WC, or would this setup also be fine inside the house? Because I always wonder how it looks when there’s a door above the staircase. I actually had that once in a design.

Basically, you can do it however you want. Personally, I don’t like doors under staircases. I wouldn’t plan that in the living area. But in the storage room for a guest WC, I don’t find it that dramatic. In the worst case, you just have to widen this second entrance area so that the staircase ends next to the door. But I think that’s a waste of space.

Placing the bathroom between the utility room and the living room actually makes sense in terms of space. I once read that it’s not advantageous if the bathroom is directly next to the living room? I also read that here in the forum. What do you think? Is that generally a problem or does it not matter anyway? The shower/toilet flushing isn’t that loud, right?

You also have to consider how often someone is actually alone in the living room who really wants peace and quiet while someone else is bathing or showering.

For me personally, it would bother me much more if I had the bathroom directly next to the bedroom (maybe even en-suite), because my husband often has to leave very early for work and the bathroom noises would annoy me terribly (they already bother me now and the bathroom is about 6-7m away. But I am also very sensitive to noise :-( ).

All right, thank you for your perspective on the topic of the staircase.

Yes, how often the bathroom disturbs in the living room is indeed the question. However, things have already been heavily criticized here that have disturbed far less (in my opinion).

But generally you have no concerns/objections, I wanted to have that as feedback.

So, now one more try.. First of all, an overview of the numbers:


Where I counted the party room as part of the garage areas. Roof now 30°, although this is actually only noticeable in the south.

From your last words I gathered that you have a bit of a heavy heart because you would actually like to have a really big living room.

I can now offer 56 sqm. Of course, this is at the expense of various things. I have now also left the complete separation of ground floor/upper floor aside. I will now list various things with explanations, etc.

[*]House now only 9.3 m deep as standard... with that, maybe one more meter could be moved away from the plank fence and a nice planting could be put there. Only the bay window still extends 2 m further west, but it is still less than 12 m.

[*]West bay window... with a balcony upstairs that can be accessed by everyone and also gives the staircase some light. I can also imagine that the party room balcony is omitted (and thus the special roof sealing there). You can also quickly get from the party room onto the balcony, e.g. a guest who is smoking or something.

[*]Warning, toad... Still only 1 staircase, which reduces the space needed for the garage extension
[*]Pantry integrated into the utility room/wardrobe. Usually, supplies are stored there anyway and I think it’s okay if you have to walk 3 m more from the kitchen.
[*]No WC in either garage or party room. The way down the stairs ends right next to the guest bathroom. Possibly, a WC installation could be foreseen in the party room.
[*]Living room now huge, although with 2 small windows facing east, but in the main position on the couch you are not disturbed by the east view. Plus a nice reading nook, the fireplace central. Large south/west front
[*]Kitchen with work island with seating... only 2 to 3 seats like a bench, which you can slide into from the right and left.
[*]I would not provide any doors in the kitchen/dining passage at all because you don’t see the kitchen from the living area anyway
[*]Large utility room upstairs without sloping ceilings. Here I could also imagine space to store general things like bedding/towel supplies etc. Directly opposite the access to the balcony with south and west sun.
[*]Private rooms upstairs separated by a door.
[*]Large children's rooms, both facing south with 1 large skylight. The fireplace seems a bit strange in one of the children's rooms, but in my opinion, given the room size, you can live well with it or still furnish and use the room well.
[*]The hallway on the ground floor simply does not get smaller, but it now unites all kinds of traffic areas and also offers storage space. Lighting through glass doors to living room/kitchen and through the entrance door in the west.