Opinions and help on floor plans

Hello!

After reconsidering our room program, we have received the first drafts. I would like to post them here because we are partly satisfied and there are a few points we do not like so much yet.
Maybe you have tips and suggestions.

So we already like the ground floor very much, for the upper floor we have several variants, we are not 100% satisfied yet.

Some basic data:

- There are no restrictions regarding the development plan.
- Plot size: approx. 1800 m2
- Slope: towards southeast
- Number of floors: 2 full floors, 1 basement floor
- Roof type: gable roof

- Number of people, age: currently 2 adults (27 and 28), two children planned
- Room requirements basement: technical room, storage, office, utility room,
- Room requirements ground floor: cloakroom, entrance area, living room, dining room, kitchen, pantry, office/guest room, WC
- Room requirements upper floor: 2 children's rooms, children's bathroom, bedroom, wardrobe room, bathroom, reading area with shelves and access to the terrace

Office: family use or home office: planned later for each person to have office space so that everyone has their own home office

House draft
As mentioned, we received the house draft from an architect and are partly satisfied, we already like the ground floor very much, only with the upper floor we unfortunately have problems.
We received three variants here. In the first one, I really like the wardrobe room, but somehow it looks restless.
We actually don't like the second one so much. The third one is nicely structured, but the rooms are very long. What we like about this is that the reading room in front of the terrace is very spacious and the children would also have space to here.

Of course there is access to the terrace on the upper floor, from the reading room and possibly from the bedroom. The staircase is not drawn in yet. And for the doors on the east and west sides we are still considering whether there will be a balcony or only a French balcony.

In the site plan you can see that we have to build between the yellow and red line, anywhere. The plan is oriented to the north (top north, bottom south). The dimensions of the plot are approx. 55x32 m
Access is therefore from NNW. The garage will come separately as part of the outdoor facilities.

We look forward to opinions, suggestions and criticism. Maybe you have a few ideas.
I hope I have given you all the information you need. =)

Best regards and thanks in advance.

Maybe it’s just me, but I find your plans extremely hard to read due to the different line weights. Apart from that, views would be interesting. What immediately strikes me... The WC on the ground floor is way too small. For a house of this size, one should consider a bathroom with a shower, or where are any guests supposed to shower? The storage room is inaccessible due to lack of a door. The entrance hallway feels unwelcoming and is quite dark and further convoluted due to the recess or the recessed roof. The path with groceries to the kitchen/pantry is long. I hope you are not really satisfied with the ground floor.. Since you will now have offices everywhere, I don’t understand what the reading room is for. Firstly, it’s not a room, but the hallway. Secondly, once there are children, you’ll hardly be able to sit there quietly to read. You can do that in your various offices. The space could be used more sensibly. The children's bathroom on the upper floor will definitely please a child; it can always keep score sheets when someone uses the bathroom... it practically couldn’t be any closer. As it looks right now, the budget doesn’t seem to be your problem. I assume you have had some kind of cost estimate made for the place?

So I find the design with the huge closet space and bathroom disadvantageous. The children are supposed to use the mini-shower and knock on the parents' door if they want to get into the tub? And the bedroom is also quite small.

Reading will probably not work in the "reading room," as already noted by marv45. Considering the very generous upper floor layout, the hallway on the ground floor is quite narrow. If there is so much space available, I would plan a lot of space in the entrance area for everything children tend to bring along. The office on the ground floor is also quite large. Maybe some space can be sacrificed there. The storage room on the ground floor also seems to have no access. If it is really planned to use the office as a guest room, a shower in the guest WC might make sense; that also makes sense for dirty children.

The "sunken" living room hinders future renovations and will not be cheap, just like the non-continuous exterior walls at the living room/terrace. Do you have an idea how much your villa will cost?

Child 1 practically always has about 2 sqm less in all three variants (entrance area) If the children are about 10 years old, then a shower bathroom would be sufficient. If the children are just in the first years of life (I read in Planung), then the family bathroom would definitely be "too far away" from the children -> accessible bathtub for children (toddlers have different needs than adolescents/adults) Walls in the living room not visible... could be a hall effect -> no feeling of retreat, no coziness. Bathroom for guests I see the same way: no shower, very small (reminds of a row house toilet)

If the children are about 10 and older, then a shower bath would be sufficient.

Oh, even children over 10 like to take a bath. Especially during puberty, they often develop a need for cosmetics and wellness.

In my opinion, all the designs are too inefficient. In some places (entrance, shower bath, compared to bedroom and children's room) it feels cramped, and at the same time there is a huge airspace, study, pantry, and storage room. I would try a rather almost square floor plan, a more spacious entrance area possibly with a small gallery, spacious rooms, and not too cramped bathrooms.

The entrance area is too small. People without children very often underestimate the space requirements in a hallway for children. Stroller, baby car seat, jacket, vest, sleeveless vest, possibly rainwear, kindergarten bag, music bag, sports bag, cap, hats, scarves, shoes, etc. etc. – and all that just for 1 child.
I find these steps in the living room area very stylish, but with regard to children (and possibly age) very, very impractical and greatly increase the risk of accidents. At the same time, it severely limits your furniture arrangement. For example, during celebrations, you cannot extend the table as you like.
The WC is too small. Also consider here that children who are just starting to be toilet trained sometimes need help during their toilet visits and then you are two people in the room. Or the children like to follow their mother to the WC.
Is the hallway and living room area designed as an open plan? If yes, good luck eating with the noises and smells coming from the WC.

The kitchen would also be too small for us. When I cook, my children often stand directly beside me watching and wanting to help.

The large reading area in the upper hallway is also wasted space. At the latest when there are children, you don’t get to read anymore anyway. Better to reserve a corner in the bedroom or living room for that.
The small bathroom for children is also very inconveniently located. If you do not put a bathtub in the children's bathroom, at least make the parents’ bathroom accessible from the hallway for everyone (we do it that way, too).

The terrace on the upper floor as well. In single-family houses, it is usually not used – at most for airing out bedding and for that, the space and money would be too precious for me.

Are no windows planned in the WC and staircase area? If so, the WC will have the feel of a rental apartment and the staircase will be dark.