House Pictures Chat Corner - Show off your house pictures!

A funny thought. What makes the space usage on the property "efficient"?
What is "practical" from your point of view – just "easy to maintain" or more than that?
What is the actual purpose of the land around the house, against which efficiency and practicality can be measured? (In principle, lots with single-family houses are an inefficient use of space.)

That depends on the eye of the beholder and personal priorities. That’s why I only expressed my personal opinion.
I primarily need the space in front of my front door and street for parking and later for charging my car, short distances for my shopping, etc.....
The private area where I can relax may be a bit more generous so I can unfold without everyone watching over my shoulder.
My building project is certainly not an example of efficiency in the economic sense.

I also don't have a spice rack at the stove (where it gets greasy if you cook a lot), but a drawer next to the stove. A hundred times better!

As long as the drawer doesn’t get "greasy", which then gets cleaned less often, "because nobody sees it anyway" :)

I also don’t like having the toaster out in the open – at our place it’s in the pantry, which is right next to the kitchen.

We need it several times a day. Always taking it out of the pantry or drawer and putting it back? Do you do the same with the coffee machine? Interesting how opinions differ :)

I hate kitchens with countertops full of clutter. Everyone handles that differently.

Exactly...

So this isn’t the final state (do you ever reach it at all?).

It definitely depends on what plans you have and how important it is to you. Friends of ours redo their garden every year. Of course not every tree and bush...

What makes the use of space on the site "efficient"?

Short practical routes and processes ensure efficiency, among other things. For this, to us, garages or the carport adjacent to the residential building and the storage rooms "on the way" belong. However, in my opinion, everyone must find the (golden) middle ground for themselves.

My wife would be bothered in the kitchen that, among other things, there is no spice rack by the stove. Where is the toaster in the kitchen, the coffee machine ... place for a dish towel? I also don’t see any sockets near the countertop (or are they recessed?) – only in the bathroom do I see some :)

That’s all in the pantry :)
(You can see a door next to the stairs that leads out from the kitchen)

You have to distinguish between people who want to live more minimalistically and focus on things entirely different than spice racks or clutter next to the stove that distracts (although I don’t understand this now, since with a new kitchen the spice drawer doesn’t have to be invented). Here you can also see built-in cabinets that hide some practical things for everyday use.
Hobbies and playtime take place in the basement. Sooner or later, everyday items won’t be put away so often anymore because it steals time. Then one or the other kitschy item will also make its way in.
I (unfortunately) consciously decided against direct access to a pantry and only have a utility room around the corner. If I had one, toaster and such would be ready to use in there so the kitchen would be more or less clean. But I don’t really like it overly cleaned like that either. A great kettle or fancy towels in the bathroom are nice decorations that make the place inviting.
I have even photographed properties that were already inhabited, and before that I said: depersonalize before I came along with selected decorations. Basically, this means "clearing all surfaces of clutter. That applies also to walls." Of course, you can’t do this with every client, but not only a stuffed bedside table drawer sometimes tells a story. And we’re back to the spices ;)

The photo shoot usually takes place before moving in – then a home stager comes with their red armchair, which only serves so that others can orient themselves in the photos where one room flows into another. It’s not about inviting people into the house, but about the architecture itself. That’s where the architect presents their work.

Our toaster is ready to use in the pantry, the coffee machine can stay outside and will eventually be replaced by a stylish coffee maker, which hopefully will be so nice that it can and may stay outside.

A lot of stuff on the countertop means there is a lot of stuff that I always have to put away when I wipe and that gathers dust. So I try to reduce that. Our kitchen is not as clean as in Matthias's photos (which were taken BEFORE moving in), and I think it isn’t that clean at Matthias's anymore either.

We have the Kitchen Aid out, a large plate with fruit, knife blocks (2, because we are both knife enthusiasts – with plastic inserts where you can put the knives anywhere; a block where I would always have to put the knives into a pre-made slot would drive me crazy), salt and pepper mills, Vulcanus knife sharpener, coffee machine (still the cheap one from Aldi), sugar for coffee, syrup for coffee (unfortunately bottles are too tall to disappear in the drawers by the coffee machine). I would like to replace the knife blocks with magnetic strips on the wall, but my husband doesn’t like them. I hope I can convince him, because they are even more practical. Currently, there is still a pot with basil (seasonal – otherwise it lives in the garden). But otherwise, I make sure that not too much stuff is left around.

My experience: on the countertop where nothing is standing, it gets wiped again and again – where our knife blocks and the sharpener stand or the coffee machine is, dust always collects in the corners behind them. You don’t wipe there as often. So it’s better to have nothing standing around and to be able to wipe easily.

Our toaster is ready for use in the pantry, the coffee machine is allowed to stay outside and will eventually be replaced by a stylish KVA, which hopefully will be so pretty that it can and is allowed to stay outside.

At some point, the trend will tend towards a kind of "kitchen auxiliary room" or second kitchen plus pantry. At least in new buildings, pantries should be planned more generously to accommodate the "unwanted" appliances that have been banished from the kitchen (toaster, kettle, coffee machine, ...).
During the week, we have breakfast in the kitchen at the counter and are happy to have the toaster there. Otherwise, an efficiency consideration of the paths is necessary. For that, in our case, the microwave is in the pantry (and another one in the garage). There is also a second cooktop with oven in the garage :):)

Lots of stuff on the countertop means there is lots of stuff I always have to put away when I mop and that collects dust. So I try to reduce that.

A good step towards increasing efficiency!

... because we are both knife enthusiasts ...

:) :)

... photos by Matthias (which were taken BEFORE moving in) and I think it’s not like that with Matthias anymore either. ...

He already mentioned the toys.