Newly built single-family house with 150 sqm living area, Saarland

I can really only advise young parents in my circle of acquaintances to thoroughly ask how living changes with children. Until the child, I lived quite minimalist... forget about that. A child does not live in the children's room during the first years. They almost always stay in the parents' area – along with all their stuff. Children have piles of clothes that make you dizzy. And piles of toys. We have a low Pax in the living room in a niche, just to have space for craft supplies, play dough, toys, games, party supplies, etc. And another shelf for books and Lego boxes. And even those elegant – we don’t need much space – bedroom dreams can be forgotten with a baby. A co-sleeper, a basket with burp cloths, bottles, pacifiers, baby monitor, nursing pads, etc. need SPACE on the nightstands and next to the bed. Open plan also means how safe all those cupboards in the kitchen and the stairs are for crawling babies and little explorers. The same goes for the wardrobe area. And with children, you live for several years – it’s worth adjusting the planning accordingly and not believing that children live the way you imagine.

I have to say, I really like the floor plan. The straight staircase is definitely a matter of taste, but it certainly looks very cool! If it fits, definitely stick with it! I also think it’s great that you have the office on the upper floor. That might come at the expense of other rooms, but I think having more space on the ground floor is much more valuable. You have a nice large living area.

I can only really advise to extensively question young parents in your circle about how living changes with children. Until the child, I lived quite minimalist... you can forget that. A child does not live and spend the first years in the children's room. They are almost always in the parents' area - along with all their stuff. Children have piles of clothes that make you dizzy. And piles of toys. We have a low PAX in the living room in a niche just to have space for craft supplies, clay, toys, games, party supplies, etc. And another shelf for books and Lego boxes. And those elegant bedroom dreams – we don’t need much space – you can forget with a baby. A bedside crib, a basket with burp cloths, bottles, pacifiers, baby monitor, nursing pads, etc. all need SPACE on the nightstands and next to the bed. Open plan also means how safe I can make all the cabinets in the kitchen and the stairs for crawling babies and little explorers. The same goes for the cloakroom area. And with children, you live like this for several years – it’s worth aligning the planning accordingly and not believing that children live as you imagine.

Should you really align the planning to the children? Maybe you live with them for 20 years, then 30 years without them! And so far, we have not had this space need in the bedroom that you described. Yes, we have a bedside crib, but that’s it. The rest is in the children’s room. And I certainly won’t hoard all the children's stuff in the living room either; I’d rather go to the children’s room and get it from there. And a small temporary corner can always be found in the living room to store something. And “piles of toys” can surely be managed as well. We are now also thinking about what we will do with the children's rooms in 20 years – they certainly won’t be used much. If I could have built a city villa, I might not have invested too much space there either – as you already said, children often spend time elsewhere. So better to focus on your own needs.

Sure - but many of the "we want to build first and then have at most one child" builders come with floor plans and living scenarios that make you, as a parent, just nod and grin. If you plan with 50 cm on either side of the bed because "you only sleep there" - then it gets tight with a tiny resident. I also never thought I would be one of those parents who absolutely can't get their child out of their own bed. I laughed at and secretly despised all the parents who complained about their child in bed. Would never happen to me. ha.

Of course – but many of the "we want to build first and then have at most one child" builders come up with floor plans and living scenarios that make parents just nod and grin.
If you plan with 50 cm on the right and left of the bed because "you only sleep there" – then it gets tight with a mini resident. I never thought I’d be one of those parents who absolutely can’t get their child out of the parental bed. I laughed at and slightly despised all the parents who complained about the child in bed. That would never happen to me. ha.

Alright, then you just make 70 cm next to the bed – we don’t have more than that either. And that’s enough space to get in and out. And the crib fits perfectly there as well. I don’t see a problem, you don’t have to fit an armchair next to the bed, after all, you really only sleep there. Of course, more is always better, but then you have to save somewhere else, which would be pointless to me.

Hi everyone, even though I only skimmed through the 14 pages now, a few of my experiences. We also only built last year. Therefore, our planning phase is still fresh in my memory. Our room wishes were similar: 3 children's rooms, open living-dining area, office on the ground floor.

- This is YOUR house and you have to live in it. Not everything that is advised for or against you here has to suit your lifestyle or concern you. For example, in our 10 sqm bathroom, the T-shape (toilet, shower, sink arranged in a T) was advised against. We did it anyway and it simply turned out great (for us).

- 2.5m child’s room width is not generous but sufficient. We also have one with this width and it works wonderfully. You just have to make sure the wardrobes are not too deep and arrange the clothes accordingly.

- Straight staircase is cool, but takes up a lot of space and causes many compromises that would not be necessary with another staircase design.

- Your staircase starts where everyone who comes in through the front door passes by the cloakroom. This area is always dirty/crumbly and you constantly run through it in socks or slippers. Our bathroom door is also in the vestibule, so you can believe me on that. But that was a compromise we were aware of beforehand and our floor plan met all other requirements. I just wanted to mention it.

- You can also give the children's room more width from the office. We have a 7 sqm office and manage well with it, and could design the living room better as a result. A desk and a wardrobe. Done. It does what it’s supposed to.

--> Subjectively to improve, according to others’ opinions, there is always something. Even with us, many would certainly find 20 spots here they would do differently, but I would build it the same way again. The fact is: You have to live in it. So only your wishes matter and if you know the compromises and want to accept them, then that is also okay. But you then also have to communicate where no more changes will be made :)