New single-family house approx. 174 m² floor plan architect

Hello everyone,

after having been able to read along here for a long time, our own project is now becoming more concrete. We have been granted a plot of land and have spoken with various general contractors/subcontractors and an architect.
So far, my wife and I like the architect’s design best. It is still a draft plan, but it already seems very "fitting" to us.

Therefore, I would appreciate your feedback. Which sticking points might we be missing? What could be solved more cleverly?

I hope everything necessary is included. If not, I will gladly provide it later.
Unfortunately, the basement is still the old version; it is now also mirrored, and the light shafts have been slightly changed. But this can be seen on the ground floor plan.

I am very much looking forward to your feedback!

Thank you very much! mini

Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 494 m2; approx. 20.5 m wide street side, 24.2 m deep
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: not specified
Building envelope: 3 meters to street, 4 meters to existing building in the back
Edge development: no
Number of parking spaces: 1.5 per residential unit
Number of floors: max. 2
Roof type: gable roof
Style: classical-modern?
Orientation: ridge facing northwest
Maximum heights/limits: eaves height 6.5 m, ridge height 9.5 m
Other specifications: various, planting obligation, infiltration etc., but basically nothing special nowadays

Requirements from the clients
Style, roof type, building type: classical modern, gable roof

Basement, floors: 2 full floors + basement
Number of people, age: 2 adults mid-30s, 2 children, 2 years
Space requirements on the ground floor: wardrobe, guest WC, utility room, kitchen, living-dining room. Space requirements on the upper floor: 2 children’s rooms, parents’ room, dressing rooms, children’s bathroom, parents’ bathroom
Office: family use + perspective home office maybe every 2 weeks 1 day
Overnight guests per year: few; 3?
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: we see ourselves as modern, but want a classic building form from the outside. So rather open and modern inside and a classic form outside
Open kitchen, kitchen island: kitchen open, with work island
Number of dining seats: usual 4-6, for celebrations at least 12-16 people
Fireplace: no
Music/stereo wall: media wall for TV + books, no stereo
Balcony, roof terrace: balcony for the children
Garage, carport: garage + carport
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: possibly later
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, also reasons why this or that should not be:
- children’s bathroom
- balcony on garage/carport for both children (when they are older for friends etc.)
- utility room next to kitchen on ground floor
- covered entrance
- generous open living and dining area
- open attic

House design
Who did the planning:
- architect

What do you like especially?
Open and spacious, all our wishes could be taken into account. We wanted to keep the basic building as simple as possible and to do without dormers, bay windows, and setbacks.
What do you not like? Why?
Could it possibly be a bit smaller? We do not have to exhaust our budget...
Price estimate according to architect/planner: approx. 600,000
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: -
Preferred heating technology: heat pump with trench collector, possibly supplemented by photovoltaics. Possibly switch to a normal air-water heat pump?

If you have to renounce something, which details/extensions
- Difficult, we actually have nothing here that we would cut

Why has the design turned out as it is now? For example
We have thought a lot about floor plans, looked at many houses online and from friends/family. We wrote down everything we liked and what we did not want. Important to us was a clear design without bay windows, setbacks, or the like.
With this, we went to construction companies and the architect. The result is this plan.

What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
Are there optimizations in the floor plan we have overlooked? Enough windows/light in general?

I like many things about the design, such as the staggered garage-carport-terrace combination or the clear layout of the upper floor. The housework room is a bit tight. The ironing board will probably be set up more often in the living area. The kitchen seems quite small compared to the dining area. With so few overnight guests, I would set up an emergency sleeping place in the basement or pay for a guesthouse and taxi instead of building a room. The space is more effectively usable for "housework" and the kitchen.

I also like the floor plan. Only the living room would be too shallow for me at 3.88. Especially compared to the size of the house. The orientation of the rooms on the upper floor is not optimal in my opinion. If I see it correctly, one children's room is NE/N and one on the west side. Especially the former never sees the sun. I would change that.

Master bathroom directly above the living room? For that reason alone, if the cardinal directions are correct, a "mirroring" of the upper floor would be advisable.

I don't understand the "wandering light shaft".. Edit: … until I had read everything. Sorry

With so few overnight guests, I would set up an emergency sleeping place in the basement or provide a guesthouse and taxi instead of building a room.

Hello hampshire, thank you very much for the feedback! Yes, it probably won't be enough for ironing. But for example, clearing away dirty dishes when visitors are there and preparing/storing.
The office in the basement is also the guest room. Which room would you want to cut out?

Only the living room would be too small in depth at 3.88. Especially compared to the size of the house.

Thanks to you too, Wugler1978! I also worry that it might not seem as spacious later as we imagine. Unfortunately, the house width is already maximally utilized with the plot. Otherwise, we would have to change the garage/carport.
Do you have any idea how this could be solved?

I don’t find the orientation of the rooms on the upper floor optimal. If I am seeing it correctly, one child’s room faces NE/N and the other is on the west side. Especially the first one never sees the sun. I would change that.

The first version was mirrored. But then the garage/carport was on the south and therefore there was too little light in the ground floor. Also, we thought the children could still have light on their own terrace in the evening during summer. With another orientation, the house would, in my opinion, be shaded rather early.
Would you actually prefer the orientation differently?

Thanks! mini