Hello,
I was unfortunately a bit stressed these past days and am only now getting back to this topic.
Hello Jochen,
that's not a problem at all, it often happens to me at the moment as well, which is why I don't manage to write every evening or day anymore. Still, I'm glad that constructive criticism and especially honest criticism keep coming.
Andreas, in general I notice that at the beginning you had quite precise ideas about individual components of your future house (e.g. stairs, etc.). Without going back through the thread, I would say that these (unfortunately) have mostly disappeared. What remains is a relatively simple floor plan with a recess in the lower wall of the plan.
I write this quite bluntly on purpose to make sure you are aware of it. We also have a basically simple floor plan. But that’s what we wanted.
I think we had somewhat complex ideas at the beginning, if I recall the development of the designs. Of course, the initial thoughts were firmly anchored, but I believe they have now simply been adapted a bit more realistically (feasibility). The L-shape was always desired, as was the staircase and the focus on the view to the southeast, which you still get through the windows. Of course, for example, the staircase with the view to the east has been moved, but this was for a better room layout on the upper floor.
Regarding the current design and the discussion about sight lines: The strong L-shape of the living/dining/kitchen area naturally blocks a lot of views. We placed more value on the views within this area rather than looking from or into the hallway. For that reason, we intentionally kept the leg of the L where our kitchen is a bit shorter and pulled the kitchen island more into the dining area. So from the kitchen island, for example, you can see almost the entire living and dining area.
We also considered softening the L-shape a bit and straightening the dining area with the living area or removing that recess. But since we also wanted to avoid having a purely cubic shape, we would be reluctant to change that. Maybe it really is the case that some compromises have to be made. P.S. we have now also moved away from the large sliding door between the living and dining areas.
What are your experiences with smells from the kitchen spreading into the open areas?
Edit: What I meant to say was: You should think in advance about where you spend your time at home and what you want to do there. Where you want to look and what you want to see...
At the moment, we are receiving a turnkey calculation from construction company 1, which we visited again yesterday, initially non-binding and based on the first rough floor plan that has now been created. It is now simply important for us to see what the bottom line will be or if we need to plan differently.
That’s what I said as well. Specifically, it was about the staircase and, I believe, the unobstructable view to the east.
Now there's a staircase, some staircase – and if it's the dream staircase, hardly anyone will see it.
The initial ideas had openness, which would have allowed views to some highlights in the house.
Yes, I understand what you mean, Yvonne,
the staircase, for example, has now moved to the west to better design the southeast location of the rooms. (I have added the cardinal directions again)
Openness might possibly be achieved, as mentioned above, with sliding doors (which, of course, are not cheap) in summer. In winter, you think a bit more practically and try to keep any cold air from the rooms without a vestibule and therefore close them... or is that unreasonable?
That the design is nothing spectacular is clear and should never necessarily be so. But of course we are always grateful for suggestions for changes and remain open.