Newly built city villa with a basement, 137 sqm. Optimization ideas?

We have a relatively narrow plot, which means we cannot keep the floor plan entirely square, but in my opinion, it is absolutely within reasonable limits. Furthermore, we are basically quite satisfied and so far only have minor things that still bother us.

Bebauungsplan/Einschränkungen
Plot: 510sqm
No slope
2 parking spaces
2 floors
Max. roof pitch 30°
No further requirements

Anforderungen der Bauherren
City villa with hipped roof
Basement, 2 floors
Number of people: 4 (2 adults, 2 small children)
130-150sqm space requirement on the ground floor and upper floor
Frequent overnight guests per year
Open architecture, clinker brick
Open kitchen, no cooking island
No fireplace
Max. 1 garage, min. 1 carport
We put value on a guest room as well as a small shower toilet on the ground floor

Hausentwurf
Architect
Estimate for the pure house 350 thousand euros.
Preferred heating technology: gas heating (possibly ground-source heat pump if price/performance is right)

Regarding the design:
Basically, everything is good and meets our ideas. Only the fireplace (mistakenly included) still needs to be removed.
What we personally still want to change:
The front door is not visually 100% centered, since a glass element is drawn on the right side.
This is certainly justified by the fact that otherwise the guest room would have to be made smaller to also install a glass element on the left. A solution still needs to be found.
Ground floor bathroom redesign to a walk-in shower with an opening towards the window / possibly door opening outwards, which offers more space!
Upper floor bathroom redesign with a proper corner bathtub and also a walk-in shower with the opening towards the window.
Split the very large basement room proportionally 70/30.
Furthermore, we are considering a heating connection in the large basement room to possibly use it as a living/recreation basement.

Of course, we are curious to see what comments the forum community still has.

I find it quite nice. Repurposing the basement usually involves considerable effort, which is often underestimated. Ceiling heights, floors, electricity, walls, heating – everything requires living space quality, which is much more expensive. Without a proper light well, it will just be a dark cave, at best suitable for a home theater. I would think carefully again about the remaining budget and exactly what you envision. As just a storage room, however, the huge space is indeed a bit wasted.

Otherwise, a suggestion for the other points:



I had to move the window in the guest room – that’s strange – was it ever symmetrical at all? Have the architect’s dimensions printed out.
I would do the shower in the corner (I consider a walk-in shower here to be completely oversized). Search for "shower – corner entry" or, best, a quarter circle – it always looks very harmonious. It can still be floor-level.

I would reinforce the wall between the bedroom and children’s room, otherwise leave everything as is.

Thank you Indeed, the window next to the entrance was also a bit asymmetrical. For the shower, I hoped to avoid movable parts, as unsightly black dirt quickly accumulates there (Five years ago, we installed a new quarter-circle shower enclosure in our apartment; you wouldn’t believe how it looks at the joints and hinge, despite re-siliconing it twice). :-( Upstairs on the upper floor, I just thought that we could also place the door of the lower children's room directly against the wall, simply to have more usable space and no dead space behind the door.

As for the basement: It’s not supposed to become a living space basement. That would really blow the budget. We have quite a lot of "stuff" accumulated, and in my dreams, one could use a room for private fitness training. You don’t need much in the way of nice aesthetics for that, and the wiring can be done afterward and surface-mounted. That has its own charm too.

Upstairs in the attic, I just thought that we could also set the door of the lower children's room directly up to the wall, simply to have more space and not dead space behind the door.

Oh no, the wardrobe stands behind there. The door is deliberately placed like that.

As for the basement: it is not supposed to become a living space basement. That would really blow the costs. We have quite a lot of "stuff" accumulated and in my dreams, one could use a room for private fitness sports. You don’t need much nice aesthetics there and the pipes can be done later and surface-mounted. That has its own charm.

I think fitness is a great idea. But then lay the empty conduits for the sauna and shower as well, in case sudden wealth comes along.

Oh no, the cupboard is behind there. The door is deliberately positioned that way.

Exactly, it hadn't occurred to me at all. Maybe we should just leave it like that.

I think fitness is a great idea. But then lay the empty conduits for the sauna and shower as well, in case sudden wealth hits.

I haven't given up hope on the Eurojackpot yet, but as a civil servant, you won’t achieve sudden wealth anytime soon. Secured poverty, basically. And I would never put a sauna in the house, then you can't really relax... I already have shower number 2 on the ground floor. By the way, I just realized we misunderstood each other a bit, the door in the ground floor bathroom should only be mirrored. I tried my hand at it as an amateur. The next construction site will probably be the arrangement of the kitchen appliances :-O

I would put the children's rooms in the south. The rooms could share the width of the house, then the parents' bedroom in the east.

da sich dort schnell unansehnlicher schwarzer Dreck festsetzt (Wir haben in unserer Wohnung vor 5 Jahren eine neue Viertelkreis-Duschkabine verbaut, man glaubt nicht wie sie, trotz 2 mal neu Silikonabgedichtet, an den Übergängen und dem Scharnier aussieht). :-(

Tip: wipe dry after use

Wir haben halt relativ viel "Klamotten" angesammelt

Yes, but you don't move with clothes that have accumulated. You get rid of them.