Plan location of house & garage within building window *Pre-planning*

That's exactly why you write your ideas here, to get improvements or new ideas from you.

The pantry is of course truly conceivable from a purely mathematical perspective, and I find the argument of accessing the garden from the utility room quite sensible. You would also get a real window in the room that way. We hadn’t really considered that before.

Regarding the living room, there are simply no pure floor-to-ceiling large window fronts. That’s why it had to be shown that way. (As mentioned, not everything can be perfectly represented with freeware.) The passage or sliding front is planned for the dining room.

@ Yvonne,

the slant in the upper floor is of course not final. But it does roughly show the direction the planner might take regarding the possible room arrangement. We’re curious to see what the planner’s experience will bring.

Regarding your comment about openness on the ground floor, I completely agree with you. That is currently the point where we are still not quite sure. The passage between the living and dining area now shows an opening of about 3m in the sketch. We think: In case there is a visit and many children playing, for example, in the living room and naturally being loud, it would then be possible to separate the section if needed. This would allow us some flexibility. Whether we will finally like it that way, we don’t know yet. That’s why we are currently possibly looking for model houses that might have something like this. Ultimately, this point is not strictly necessary in the preliminary planning. But of course, we are dealing with it.

I have now changed the pantry again and must say, it is quite conceivable and simply more practical. According to the sketch, the utility room and storage room would be about 12m².

In case there is visitors and also many children who, for example, play in the living room and are obviously loud, it would thus be possible to separate the compartment if needed. This would allow for some flexibility. Whether we will ultimately like this, we don't know yet. That’s why we are possibly still looking for model houses that might have something like this.

You probably don’t think so, unless there is an adjacent room like in a Viebrockhaus house as an example connected to the living room. Because actually a living room is not supposed to be a playroom, and I wouldn’t want to compromise a house just for once a year.

Regarding your remark about openness on the ground floor, I fully agree with you. That is currently the point where we are still not quite sure.

Your house examples (interior views) have sightlines that go beyond kitchen, dining and living room. I also question your fondness for that staircase hall, since you would only have the kitchen door as a sightline to the staircase view.

Now we let ourselves be surprised by what the experience of the planners will bring.

It’s a planner of a construction company, not an independent architect. Don’t expect too much.

You probably don’t think so, unless there is an adjoining side room like in a Viebrockhaus house, for example, attached to the living room. Because actually a living room is not supposed to be a playroom, and I wouldn’t compromise a house for just once a year.

Your house examples (interior views) have sightlines that extend beyond the kitchen, dining, and living room. I also question your preference for this staircase, since you only have the kitchen door as a sightline to the stair view.

It’s a planner from a construction company, not an independent architect. Don’t expect too much.

I had to first look into what this Viebrockhaus house was all about. But I think I know what you mean. It’s just that one probably tries to prepare for all eventualities in life, but one must also make compromises (should make compromises). Whether this will be kept completely open (which we would of course prefer) or rather the other option, fortunately, we don’t have to decide yet (in this phase).

What are you trying to tell me regarding the sightlines in the kitchen, dining, and living rooms? *pondering* Referring to the doors in the living and kitchen area, or the long L-shape? We are happy to consider any ideas and possible improvements (optimizations).

As for the staircase, for example, a straight long staircase is not an option for us (we don’t like it visually). Would a staircase without a landing (spiral staircase) change so much? The staircase was placed in the current position to directly eliminate the dark corner between the house and garage with the entrance area, as well as to provide the guest WC with a window. Given the L-shaped arrangement of the kitchen, dining, and living room area, there is not much left afterwards… or is there?

Yes, it is a planner… but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they have fewer ideas or fit better than some architects. I’ll just put that out there. It is understandable that there are and must be differences in the end.

No, I don't mean it that harshly. Without going through all the posts now, I had the feeling that you liked the generosity. See the staircase, see the attached pictures from the inside. In these pictures, there were not just rectangular rooms, but you had views over several corners (lines of sight). However, you no longer have that when you plan rectangular rooms with doors. I want to evaluate one thing against the other; everyone has to know for themselves what they want. But you/you all should check for yourselves what you like about the staircase (more than with others) and what about the attached pictures or preliminary drafts. Because you won't get that from the last plans. The layout is almost irrelevant: a generous open living space in the house usually has the same layout as a standard house from the catalog. The difference is the walls, which you partly leave out in the former, allowing you to look almost straight through the house, which creates interesting lines of sight. The same applies to open spaces. Nevertheless, you write that because of many children, you tend to lean toward one or the other door, and thus also to more walls. Then, however, there are only lines of sight toward the windows and garden—from the staircase, which does not play an insignificant role (also in terms of price), you hardly have anything, only glimpses while passing by. It is not wrong to find one thing great, but not want to live that way. But one should be aware of that beforehand, instead of being disappointed afterward.

Ok now I understand what you’re getting at.

Yes, it is actually the case that one tends to prefer and want the spacious and open. That’s why we are so skeptical about the passage. But aside from that, I have now understood what you mean by the sight lines.

Exaggeratedly put, this would be a really open design for you or in that direction.



You mean that if doors are installed now, the openness would be lost and it would clash with the design we have in mind. I think that with, for example, glass doors from the hallway into the kitchen as well as into the living room, one can still have openness, right? Maybe with glass sliding doors that are only closed when needed (e.g. in the cold season) and of course keep the living and dining area as open as it is. Possibly with the fireplace centrally connected so that it is visible from the kitchen, dining, and living room.

Regards, Andreas

Correctly recognized! And whether you achieve the same openness with glass doors, you have to evaluate for yourself. I say: it’s not the same, but of course it’s fine if someone says: I have to weigh it up and prioritize this and that. That has to come across in a simplified way. One visual example would be, for instance, if you have a flower vase on the kitchen island at the lower left of the plan. You will see it if you... I’ve prepared something here: Just a quick illustration. However, some people can do very little with that, for example very rational or pragmatic people. Others, on the other hand, create great images with the play of spatial depth. The generosity of a room usually begins behind it.