Optimize functional ground floor layout within limited space

Yes, that could be done well with the railing. We are also considering whether we would even put out a relatively large dining table for the terrace size. As I said, we haven't sat outside much in the past few years (actually hardly at all, even though we bought really expensive furniture) and two large tables right next to each other could easily be saved. We would like to install a large sliding door with a level threshold, then the interior space could also merge with the terrace and you would then feel quite open. I also think it's good that the living room is not on a different floor. So there are just 3 levels, utility level, sleeping, and living. And we also don't find it bad that there is no toilet in the attic. I think it's good if you are not right in the middle when you have to go to the toilet. And I also don't think it's bad if our friends don't make it to the ground floor and go to the toilet on the first floor. Somewhere I also once read that you shouldn't plan your house for guests or the one party a year. I didn't find that statement stupid. Of course, you don't have to like all that. But you can. Even with children. And it's also a bit a matter of taste. We currently estimate that as a family we might like that. Some might call that sugarcoating. But I can't do anything about that now.

I also once read that you shouldn’t use your house for guests or a party planned once a year.

Who said that here?

That you consider the daily work routines of every household member like that.

Every household member, not every guest. That’s a difference.

There’s nothing I can do about that now.

Not you! … _we_ can’t do anything about your sugarcoating.

Of course, this is not a floor plan for disabled people. But no matter how you look at it, if the garage has to be inside the house and in front there still has to be an entrance area and stairs, then nothing can be built in that building envelope that puts all the important rooms on the ground floor. I don’t really like the variant with cooking/eating on the ground floor and the living room upstairs either. Quickly stirring the chili means running up the stairs once.

I used to spend a long time in car forums. The thought only occurs to me now, but I think it catches on.
In such forums, there are various subforums for small cars, compact, mid-size, upper mid-size, upper class, and luxury class.
That doesn’t exist here. Here, the “I want to buy a Golf Variant, what do I absolutely need?” types discuss directly with the “I wouldn’t even touch anything under a 5 Series with a glove” types...

Of course, it’s annoying if you have to run up stairs just to stir the pot. On the other hand, no one dies from it; humans are “designed” to walk a certain distance per day.

You have to gradually get used to the fact that increasingly small floor plans are being discussed here again, which can’t be perfected...
Simply because the money is not there to build so generously that every little comfort function is fulfilled. Interest rates are rising, prices are rising, for many it’s now a question of “do I build with generous compromises? Or do I not build at all?”...

I would also like the seating function of the 5 Series, which alternately lifts one buttock. Or laser lights. Or even just the separately opening rear window of my former F31, God rest it. But that’s just not possible... and I will survive if I don’t have that for a while, I am quite sure... I firmly believe that...

Joking aside. You guys are having luxury debates here that are increasingly out of touch with the times.

I used to spend a long time in car forums. ...

You are having luxury debates here that are increasingly out of date.

That reminds me of the famous comparison between Microsoft and General Motors (Google). As if you could compare a static building with an estimated lifespan of 100 years to a tin box that can be replaced at any time. :rolleyes: I think it's ok if the OP wants to live like that. Of course, he has to accept that some people have concerns. But what exactly did he want to achieve with this thread now? Just optimize the ground floor? Questions about that have all remained unanswered so far.

You only asked about changes to the ground floor, but I’ll still throw in my suggestion. I would put the living area on the first floor and plan an outdoor staircase down to the garden. This is very common in older houses from the time before the world wars and works well. You can also wonderfully sit on the stairs. On the ground floor, I would plan a kitchenette with a sink and refrigerator. I would plan the upper floor as the sleeping floor and also include a utility room or a small sauna there to use the balcony for a drying rack or a few deck chairs. I find the sleeping floor in the middle extremely unfavorable and it would prevent me from buying the house.

I used to spend a long time in car forums. The thought only occurs to me now, but I think it sticks. In such forums, there are various subforums for small cars, compact, mid-size, upper mid-size, upper, and luxury class. That doesn’t exist here. Here the "I want to buy a Golf Variant, what do I absolutely need?" directly discuss with "I wouldn’t even touch anything below a 5 Series with a glove"...

I don’t think that’s the problem. Nobody argued with Rick about whether you need all that anyway ;) The problem is that cars mainly depend on the budget and houses have to fit into a fixed environment (says the one who bought his car exactly to fit into the double parker ;) ). And that point causes most of the problems here. Normally, you wouldn’t even discuss degrading the ground floor to a basement or dividing living and cooking over two different floors. It’s not the money that’s the problem here but the narrow building window and that half of the ground floor is consumed by car and stairs. And yes, people can walk... usually at least. Age is one thing; it makes a difference whether you have to take the stairs once each in the morning and evening or 10 times a day. Young people can also break a foot or sprain an ankle, and you don’t want to constantly go up and down stairs then. With small children, it’s also quite impractical, not only because of the risk of falling. I wouldn’t deliberately build anything that forces me to constantly run stairs.