Layout Floor plan Multipurpose room Kitchen Living Dining

So, I already put in a "puzzling" shift this morning and can already say the following:

#40 with 3D images from Yvonne: the images really helped me and calmed me down. In my imagination, it was always like you had to squeeze yourself between the island and the sofa to walk through the room. In the architect's sales plan, there is only about 40cm of space, but visually it looks okay to the layman. Now I see that it actually doesn’t look as cramped as I imagined it in my head. There remains a "youthful" touch in the room because everything really is together in one room. That’s also how it is with students.

TV and wall:
I find a floor-to-ceiling wall too dominant. Especially because I actually don’t need it. It’s there for watching TV. Real TV lovers who will live in this apartment someday can then use one of the other, few walls and just have to move their sofa to the center of the room. The sales architect had also planned it that way. Conclusion: large wall in the room is out, a small wall that limits the island is not. But that then as low as possible (possibly around 125 cm high?)

"the L":
I really like the L, even if the foot of the L is quite short. The L makes the wall more homely (or more kitchen-like) and then takes the kitchen-like feel away from the central island. I will think about the L with practical kitchen dimensions and sketch it on paper. I estimate for the best case 3x 60 base units, 100 cm work surface, and 180 cm cooking and sink area (but it can also be smaller).

Sofa placement:
In #40 the sofa stands roughly in the middle against the wall. I notice that I prefer to sit "in the corner". I live alone and don’t have to keep an eye on anyone. When I read on the sofa, I also snuggle into the corner of the sofa. Therefore, I would rather move the sofa upwards on the plan. Even if it costs me a spot for a cabinet.

Wall stump at the entrance at the bottom of the plan:
How deep should the wall stump best be? As deep as the furniture or with some centimeters “seam allowance”?

Storage planning:
I have meanwhile reduced a lot of stuff (earned almost 400 euros at the flea market). At the beginning, I was still caught up in the rush of luxury and wanted optimal storage. That is different now because I realized that I don’t want the kitchen to be too dominant. My sister has a family with 3 children and has a ceiling-high 60 cm pantry cabinet plus two 50 cm cabinets at 100 cm height with drawers. Enough space for dishes and supplies. Pans and cutlery are then divided under the stove. Anyway, her kitchen is about the size of my planned one. So, for me as one person, a smaller size definitely also works. Stacking dishes is quite possible. An occasional reality check can really be helpful. Besides, I have to manage finances much more carefully since I decided to become a real estate shark. I will keep and rent out my current condominium. Originally, I wanted to sell and use the proceeds as equity for the new apartment.

So far, that’s it. Briefly summarized:
- no ceiling height wall
- TV space unimportant
- wall stump remains
- continue thinking about L kitchen
- general relief that it somehow is doable in the room

Many greetings. When I have made further progress here, you will see it.

Many thanks for all the input! You’re great! If I can summon enough patience, I will also get to grips with the computer program. I’m at war with technology...

So, I just had a respectable meltdown with homebyme. After an hour of fiddling, I have zero results, not a single wall has appeared. Not even the uploaded floor plan. Now I guess I'll stick with paper and pencil. Grmmpff

Paper and pencil are perfectly fine. I use them too - nevertheless, you sometimes need concrete numbers when it comes to details. My sketches with a soft Ikea pencil often offer fewer possibilities than working with a program that can measure to 10cm accuracy.

Regarding the wall stub: at least as long as a sideboard is deep or, in the hallway, a wall-to-wall console needed to store shoes and scarves.

About my ceiling-high wall: the TV option was actually less of a plan here or when drawing than storing some small items in the kitchen, which always accumulate in the kitchen but you want to look up less from the sofa or rest phase. Small items would be, for example, mobile phone, knife, small appliance, medication, fruit, notes, pen, ... well, all those things that are somehow centrally placed, even though other options exist. Such a wall offers space for narrow shelves...
Moreover, such a wall gives a room like this one structure. The energy can gladly also settle in the kitchen and opposite a stove it offers Feng Shui protection behind the cook’s back.
Basically, the furniture in a room should be balanced in height... if everything is only at table height (approx. 50cm - 90cm), the upper half of the room can appear very bare and thus uninviting. I had previously painted the sofa wall, but then thought you (man) might find that too much color.

Regards, Yvonne

Color is always welcome. But I am also a woman (sorry for the confusion caused by a male nickname).

I really like the idea of the structure! That's originally why I came up with my little wall. Your idea of the wall does seem quite central and massive. The idea itself, as you explain it now, is understandable.

I also think Feng Shui is a meaningful concept. I don't know the details, but I definitely don't find it absurd to pay attention to energy flows.

Do you know what could possibly also be a problem with a wall (no matter how designed) on the back of the island? I fear the whole structure might extend too far into the room toward the middle. My own designs pleased me more the narrower the island was. Here in the forum, at the very beginning of my planning, we set the island width to 100, which would mean an overall kitchen width of at least 250 (60 row, 90 aisle between row and island, and 100 island). That is the smaller half of the room and I find that borderline. I like an 80 island better. But if then there is also a wall with narrow shelves, it becomes even wider? Or does such a wall actually cancel out the illusion of the wide kitchen because it doesn't look kitchen-like? Hm.

At the moment I tend to the kitchen on the left side of the plan (no neighbor's view of the sofa and no extended cables) with a narrow island and a half-high wall (which could possibly be equipped with knick-knacks or inward-facing shelves. Basically using the backside of the island as a base for shelf niches that have their back wall within the island and end with the wall there. (I fear no one will understand this, but I can't describe it differently right now. I am still looking for a photo).

You mean the side of the wall where the countertop is? Like in my place?

And you mean now: the kitchen on the right side of the plan?
I think that doesn't make much difference in the planning, so it would also work if you prefer it with the sofa that way.
By the way, my drawing is currently based on a 90 cm island, but I would probably make it more like 80. That is more than enough. Yesterday, before drawing, I was thinking about one meter by one meter, but that doesn't fit the proportions at all.

Regards, Yvonne

Quick interim report: I have been experimenting with the L-kitchen. An L doesn’t work so well; it creates a dilemma for me. I roughly calculated like this: 3x60 HS (dishwasher, BO, calcium silicate) + 80 cooking area + 80 workspace + 60 storage and machine space = 400. A bit can still be trimmed off to make it shorter. But that would already be the total kitchen length useful for practical working. If I place the kitchen on the right, I don’t want it to be longer than 325 along the wall. Otherwise, the movement area around the dining table gets too small (and a piece of wall disappears for placing things).

If I bend the L at both ends to keep the length, you look awkwardly into the open U. It’s possible, but looks silly. However, it creates extra space in the middle since no island is needed anymore.

The kitchen on the left is basically the same. Hmm, I’m still thinking about what I like better. I’m tending towards the island (as narrow as possible) with or without a wall in front and the kitchen on the right.

Also, I notice that I am drawn towards a kind of "companion" at the entrance. Somehow I like it better if on paper I place one cabinet crosswise (kind of like a mini-wall) so that you don’t suddenly stand right in front of the whole room when you come in. I think, for this purpose, a decent houseplant is also okay.

So, I used the computer again, this time the more modern of the two. It worked, I can now present the preliminary best-of version. However, the furniture is approximate, you can’t change the dimensions everywhere. I furnished conservatively and in doubt chose a larger piece of furniture (except for my small furniture, because that wasn’t possible). So, the island is 200x90, the line is 340 (could possibly be smaller). In any case, you can still move in the room. That was my biggest worry. The kitchen furniture here is also just thrown in and doesn’t say much about the later plans (cooking area is missing, division is rubbish).

If I can now make the sofa zone more recognizable as a zone, then I am satisfied. Maybe I’ll take my platform with me. Right now my sofa stands only about 150cm away from the dining table (I’m looking at the head side of the table). I once made a 20cm high platform so that my current "living room" is separated from the rest. I like it, even if it’s terribly old school. I’m curious what you think or if there are any more ideas. From tomorrow on, I’ll be on vacation for a few days and will leave the computer at home.

Greetings to you, from vacation-ready Bertram