Hanging house in the Southwest Palatinate - Our House Construction 2.0

Things are moving forward.
The last picture will be the large window in the hallway. It will probably be done as a panoramic window.
I think we need to find a good window cleaner; we already have 2 large panoramic windows.

Otherwise, things are progressing well. I took a look, we’re getting a front door from Groke and I find all of them ugly.
I need to think of something for that.
Otherwise, we’ve heard the price for the parquet. The surcharge for us (final price) would be €13 per square meter. At the beginning of the year, it was like €4 or so, I believe. But never mind, we will probably take the parquet.
Now we have to decide whether to lay it in the office as well or rather tiles. We tend to choose parquet + the recommended chair wheels.

Slowly, we also have to think about facade colors. Huge topic. I love brick houses and can only reluctantly warm up to plaster facades. And then also choosing a color. It will probably be relatively neutral.
We asked our 3-year-old and he immediately argued for “white! White, Mom! White!” He even repeated it in English, which says something. But I doubt he understood anything from the question except "color". ;)

I really envy you for your view - so beautiful!

This year we vacationed in the Südwestpfalz (Bundenthal) and we really liked it there (a bike paradise, you can wear yourself out on the bike, but cool!).
The proximity to [Elsaß] is of course also appealing and there are castles everywhere. So I think on every hill there is either a quirky rock or a castle ruin :-)

I really envy you for your view - so beautiful!
Also, the proximity to Alsace is naturally appealing and there are castles everywhere. So I believe on all the hills there’s either a quirky rock formation or a castle ruin :)

Here everything really is full of castles, I can’t deny it. My husband likes that a lot too. :)
Our current status - since Wednesday we have a roof truss. :)

We did the site inspection yesterday and even our window supplier was impressed. We said about the large panoramic window “this is a highlight because of the view,” and he said “the house has many highlights.” ♥
For that reason, we also decided against satinato in many places because he also said "that would be a crime considering the morning view." I’m generally not a big fan of satinato anyway.

We currently have several decisions ahead of us where we would appreciate your input.

First, the windows: Our contract includes plastic windows, white on the inside and anthracite on the outside. Yesterday during the inspection, our contractor said that the anthracite exterior color would cost extra, and if we wanted the exterior also white it would be cheaper/we would get a credit.
We also looked into windows with muntins. These are relatively affordable this time (compared to our first general contractor). Per panel, we’d have to budget about 7-10€, for the whole house he roughly estimated around 1000€. I can live with that. If we make the frames white on the outside as well, it might almost even break even without extra costs.
I’m a big fan of the country house look, but this time we are getting a plaster facade and no clinker brick anymore. Would you still say muntin windows can look good? I find them so beautiful. :eek:
The window supplier also said that if he were to use muntins, he would use them everywhere. But we have this window here, for example:

It is directly opposite the front door, in the upper hallway - and for us personally of course a highlight with the nice view of nature and the forest. I don’t know if that would still look so great with muntins?
The same applies to our 3-meter fixed glass kitchen window front. Would something like that also look good with muntins? How could we arrange them? Does anyone have example pictures for us? I can hardly imagine that with a plaster facade (but also from the inside).
Up north we had a Frisian house with rather small windows, there the muntin windows looked obviously cute and cozy.

Furthermore, we face the question: regular sliding door VS lift-and-slide system. The latter would come with a hefty extra cost of nearly 2k€.
The window supplier is completely in favor, says it has advantages, is floor-level and can also be completely closed, while a regular sliding door always leaves a gap open. I can’t quite imagine that, we will check it out next week in his showroom. The contractor advises against the lift-and-slide system because he says the surcharge is hefty for basically "hardly any more functionality," and also says that without the threshold people tend to step on the system, so pebbles/sand can get in, which can make the system stiff or, in a worst case, damage it. With the regular sliding door where you have to step over it, you generally don’t step on the sash, so it would be less maintenance in that respect.
What is your opinion on this?

And last but not least: downstairs in the guest WC with shower we have a floor-to-ceiling window. Visually a highlight, and we will also make a door out of it - super practical for example to put a dirty child directly into the shower without detours in summer. :D
We are undecided whether satinato or clear glass. We would - since there is a shower and toilet - always have a blind or similar in front anyway. But at least in the upper part you could leave it open and still have a nice view outside.
On the other hand, clear glass carries the risk that when you’re on the toilet guests walking in the garden could look in. So, I don’t know if anyone does that (?), probably not. But yes, that’s the only window we are currently unsure about.

Muntins in windows always obstruct the view outside. I would never do that with windows where I want to have a view. And I only don’t like it on some windows. I wouldn’t use satinato glass either. I’d rather have a pleated blind in front or a film on it. With satinato, the whole window is opaque and you can’t look outside.

I don’t know if it would still look so good with muntins?
The same applies to our 3-meter fixed-glass kitchen window front. Would something like that also look good with muntins? How could we arrange them? Does anyone have example pictures for us? I can hardly imagine that with a plaster facade (but also from the inside).

Does the general contractor have the planning as a 3D model to view? If yes, maybe he could insert the muntins for you and you could first take a look at it on the screen? Of course, the effort would have to be reimbursed. Some decisions are worth the money.

normal sliding door VS lift-and-slide system...
What is your opinion on that?

We don’t have any sliding doors directly on the house. But we do have such a floor track at the terrace doors. And yes, you really have to pay attention to cleanliness there. On the other hand, it’s done with a quick vacuum once. With 5 kids and regular mud fights, I might rethink that, but you can also train them to maybe use another entrance. So I would decide on the prettier variant.

And finally: Downstairs in the guest WC with shower, we have a floor-to-ceiling window. Visually a highlight, plus we will make a door out of it – super practical for, e.g., putting a dirty child straight into the shower in summer without detours. :D
We are undecided whether satin or clear glass. Since there is a shower and WC there, we would always have a pleated blind or something similar in front anyway. But at least you could leave the upper part open and still have a nice view outside.
On the other hand, clear glass carries the risk that when someone is on the toilet, guests walking around in the garden could peek in. So, I don’t know if anyone does that (?), probably not. But yes, that’s the only window we are currently undecided about.

I find that more tricky. We also wanted satin glass in the guest WC. The general contractor simply forgot. I now have two curtains in front of it, and you really can’t see anything from outside. Still, you don’t feel as relaxed inside as in the other bathroom where you can’t be seen. The next windows will definitely be heavily patterned.

Does the general contractor have the planning as a 3D model for viewing? If yes, maybe he could insert the muntins for you and you could first look at it on the screen? Of course, effort has to be compensated. Some decisions are worth the money.

My general contractor doesn’t even have a smartphone, I think a 3D view would really be beyond his capabilities. :D But I made a provisional 3D view myself in Sweet Home 3D, I could put in mullioned windows there, thanks for the idea! :)