Floor plan, two full floors without basement, 170-180 sqm

Thank you very much for the previous suggestions!

Elevation / Location
North is located in the upper left corner of the sketch. The elevations are visible in green on the ground floor plan. The axis in the middle of the house (street level) is at 1.51. The embankment will not be without.

Addendum to the pantry
We plan to use it as a "hidden" pantry accessed through the kitchen front. This room is primarily intended to be used as a pantry and not as a dirt trap. We mostly want to use the door to the garage to carry groceries via the short route from the car/garage to the pantry and not through the front door. In case of emergency, the passage can also be used if one needs to access the utility room. However, the main entrance to the house remains the front door and not the garage door to the pantry. We have sketched a possible furnishing. The room is naturally only partially usable but is mainly intended to shorten the walk for heavy shopping.



Straight staircase / storage area
The straight staircase with the empty space underneath will be used to install built-in cupboards, so this would be storage space.

Regarding the living/dining area
Does anyone have an idea how to reduce the already green-marked unused areas without significantly reducing the distance in the living room from the sofa to the TV? A sliding door is certainly an idea.
The sunlight & TV is indeed a problem. The current suggestion includes a high and narrow window, but we are not yet convinced of this.

That’s nice if you have encountered an architect at a draughtsman position here. But that doesn’t make it any better to start the distillation process of house planning in third gear or to involve an architect only at this stage. You do your house plan quality a big favor if you develop the house design together with an architect right from the start.

We are grateful for any valuable criticism. As I have already written, this is a draft by an architect. It is also not the "draftsman" of a general contractor so often cited by you. Therefore, I mention this once again, that we have planned with an architect from the beginning (we have not given any specifications regarding room layout, section, shape, etc.).

What do you think about the upper floor? Do you also see potential for changes there?

That is very little storage space in the pantry. Actually so little that the pantry is essentially wasted space because you still have to store things in the kitchen.

The distance between the shelf (green) and the corner to the kitchen door appears to be about 70 - 75 cm by estimation. I consider that too little to squeeze through fully loaded with groceries (shopping bag on the left, shopping bag on the right).

I would make the pantry a proper pantry, or omit it entirely. Half-baked solutions rarely lead to a successful outcome...

Regarding the upper floor:
- Air space unnecessary
- Children's room large
- Chimney pipe poorly planned
- Why don't you extend the left side out to the ledge of the ground floor?

In general again: Please show the [property].
I am only now realizing that the best rooms are planned facing north. Why? Was that an explicit request from you?

Best regards

That is very little storage space in the pantry. Actually so little that the pantry is wasted space because you have to store (partly) in the kitchen anyway.

The distance between the shelf (green) and the corner to the door to the kitchen is estimated to be a neat 70 - 75 cm. I consider that too little to squeeze through fully loaded with shopping (shopping bag on the left, shopping bag on the right).

I would make the pantry a proper pantry or leave it out altogether. Half-baked solutions rarely lead to birth...

Regarding the upper floor: - Air space unnecessary - Children's room big - Chimney pipe poorly planned - Why don't you extend to the left onto the projection of the ground floor?

In general again: Please show the plot. I am only now realizing that the best rooms are planned facing north. Why? Was that an explicit wish of yours?

Best regards

The beautiful view lies to the northeast. The view is very important to us. To the south, on the other hand, it is rather unattractive, as the street is there. So naturally, we have relatively little / almost no direct sun in the living rooms, but you have to pick your poison. Also, the sun exposure from the south is rather weak due to the surroundings.

The projection was once an idea to lengthen the living room a bit. The fireplace is of course also a thing; ideally, it would come further towards the bathroom (then in the corner of the dressing room).

I will try over the weekend to reduce the whole project a bit (keyword green areas) and to redistribute the upper floor, in the process also shortening the children's rooms.

Of course, we will talk to the architect again, but at the moment we also want to collect our own ideas.

Sure, you can do that. From personal experience: You pay the good person good money for them to come up with ideas on how to make your wishes feasible. Just make a list of things that you (still) don’t like and that’s it. He studied this specifically and does it professionally.

Unfortunately, the green numbers on the right side of the plan are not very easy to read. So if you want to raise the ground, won’t the garage driveway become too steep and then have a significant bend towards the street? A few views of that wouldn’t be bad either.

Northeast is a nice view, but a well-usable terrace facing northwest-west would be good for evening comfort in the summer.

A site plan with possibly marked neighboring houses always provides clarity.

The beautiful view lies to the northeast. The view is very important to us. To the south, however, it is rather unattractive; the street is also located there. Naturally, we have relatively little or no direct sunlight in the living areas, but you have to accept that. Also, the solar radiation from the south is rather weak due to the surroundings.

Is there a high-rise building to the south? Such a view is nice, but after two weeks you stop looking at it. The lack of sun in the living rooms, on the other hand, would depress me in the long run. With a site plan, the matter could be better understood.

I will try to reduce the whole project a bit over the weekend (keyword green areas) and reallocate the upper floor, shortening the children's rooms in the process.

Simply compressing an existing floor plan will be difficult. It is usually better to start anew. But that is basically the architect's task, as well as trying to capture the sun. But don't let that stop you. :)
On that occasion, you could also consider whether it is wise to run the washing machine’s wastewater pipes through the common room. Also, I wonder if the technical equipment can or may be located outside the thermal envelope? And the pantry can't stay as it is – that has already been said. Also, the question whether direct access from the garage without an airlock is a good idea. The food regularly smells like rubber tires or, even worse, exhaust fumes if there are still combustion engines.