Opinions, suggestions, and improvement proposals for planning

Hello everyone,

we have a plot of 1,560 sqm and are planning to build our new home on it. We have already had initial discussions with the architect of our choice and are focusing on a design which is attached. Since we have never built a house before, we are of course still very inexperienced and would like to receive some suggestions, well-intentioned criticism, etc. on our design that can help us with further planning.

I hope everything can be "recognized" from the plan.

On the ground floor (which, due to the slight slope, is about 2/3 underground at the "back" (upper side edge)) there are guest rooms, a toilet, a cloakroom, kitchen, pantry, dining room, living room, and fitness room.

On the upper floor three children's rooms, bedroom, dressing room, master bathroom and children's bathroom.

On the second upper floor an office.

The basement is not yet planned in detail because we do not yet know exactly which rooms we will need there.

Many thanks in advance for your opinion!

Unfortunately, you can't see much because everything is so small and there are no measurements, but I'll give it a try,

- I somehow find the entrance - hm - uncomfortable, awkward, not inviting
- The first thing that strikes me about the children's rooms are the niches with cabinets in front of the rooms. What is that supposed to be? What purpose do these niches serve? I hope they're not meant to replace something like a dressing room. Where is the kids' privacy then? I wouldn't want to get dressed in the hallway where everyone walks by. Also, I find the children's rooms quite narrow (I guess about 2.5-2.8m) and because of the large windows (floor-to-ceiling?), there is hardly any space for furniture.
- Your hallway/wardrobe looks more like a storage room. Why all the cabinets? You have enough storage space in the basement.
- The kitchen is very impractical - where is it anyway? Just the small kitchen unit? Do you really want to always squeeze past the kitchen island to get to the dining table? That will be very tight. As a guest, I wouldn’t find it inviting either if I first have to pass through the kitchen and the pantry. Where do you store all your kitchen stuff like dishes, glasses, coffee machine, toaster - all on the kitchen block - then it quickly looks untidy and therefore uncomfortable again.
- The staircase from the ground floor to the upper floor is also very narrow. Why is there only about 1 meter of space in front of the stairs?
- I don't like the dressing room either. Again, you have to pass by dozens of cabinets first to get to the actual destination - the bed.
You planned a big house, but unfortunately everything feels very tight and cluttered and impractical in many ways. You have such a beautiful plot, you could plan something nicer/better. I would start from scratch again.

The upper floor reminds me of a wagon from the DB ...

Hello,

so here first some "better" recognizable plans with dimensions.

How big are the individual rooms? We can't do much with just the external dimensions.

I would move the fitness room to the basement and add the space to the cramped living room.

Our house is only just under 9m by 12.50m, but somehow it is or feels bigger, even though we have 3 children's rooms and 2 bathrooms and a large hallway upstairs. Same on the ground floor – and we don't have a basement.

Do you have any exterior views?

Unfortunately, you can’t see much because everything is so small and there are no dimensions included, but I’ll give it a try,

Hello – thanks already for your remarks – I have also uploaded “better” views. I didn’t want to overwhelm anyone with too many pictures.

- I find the entrance somehow – hmm – uncomfortable, unusual, not inviting

In what way – because it is so narrow or why? The passage width is currently 2m – but it should be extended to 2.5m so that the effect of the long corridor disappears, and a floor-to-ceiling large window is planned at the back.

Regarding the children’s rooms, the niches with cabinets in front of the rooms catch my eye first. What is that supposed to be? What purpose do these niches serve?

I honestly did not quite understand this change either – it was added since the last meeting. I want to increase the depth of the entire house by about 1m anyway, so that the space taken from the children’s rooms will be added back.

I hope they’re not supposed to replace something like a dressing room. Where is the privacy for the kids? I wouldn’t want to get dressed in the hallway where everyone walks by.

I fully agree with you – as I said, I actually didn’t plan this change in the layout. It was only now incorporated in the 1:100 plan by the architect or his draftsman(?).

I also find the children’s rooms quite narrow (estimate about 2.5-2.8m) and because of the large windows (floor-to-ceiling?) there is hardly any space left for furniture.

At the moment, the children’s rooms are 3m wide and about 4.7m long.

- Your hallway/wardrobe looks more like a storage room. Why all the cabinets? You have enough storage space in the basement.

Wardrobe cabinets – shoe cabinets – everything for wife and child!

- The kitchen is very impractical – where is it actually? Only the small kitchen block? Do you really want to always squeeze past the kitchen island to get to the dining table? That will be very tight. I wouldn’t find it inviting as a guest to first have to go through the kitchen and past the pantry. Where do you store all your kitchen things like dishes, glasses, coffee machine, toaster – all on the kitchen block – then it quickly looks messy and therefore uncomfortable again.

The kitchen block is 3x1.2m – actually quite large. But I am also not satisfied with the width of the cabinet row – here we definitely want 3m – so that 5 cabinet widths fit. To the right and left of the island there would actually be about 1.2m space – but I agree with you – that it probably is not typical to go through the kitchen to the dining area.

- The staircase from ground floor to upper floor is also very narrow. Why is there only about 1 meter of space in front of the stairs?

What do you mean by “in front” of the stairs?

I don’t like the dressing room either. Again, you have to pass by tons of cabinets first to get to the actual destination – the bed.

Yes, one could move the passage “upwards.”

You planned a big house, but unfortunately everything feels totally cramped and cluttered and very impractical in many ways. You have such a beautiful plot, you could plan something nicer/better. I would start again from scratch.

So without basement and attic we are at about 270 sqm – is that still cramped?