Preliminary floor plan/room layout on a large northwest plot

Does it really not matter whether the wardrobe is in front of or behind the windbreak?

Yes, of course a door in between changes everything!

Is that referring to the open floor plan, which then makes "getting out of each other's way" more difficult?

A house is meant to provide a roof for individuals.
You are planning something that does not exist and should not exist. To exaggerate: a clump of DNA.

Yes, of course a door in between changes everything!

A house is supposed to create a roof for individuals.
You are planning something that does not exist and should not exist. Exaggerated: a lump of DNA.

I can't quite follow you. Why should a wardrobe located behind the vestibule make jackets hang longer at the dining table, while a wardrobe in front of the vestibule or without a vestibule would create order???

What do you want to say with the second sentence and the ones after it, that open floor plans prevent individual development??? There are still plenty of rooms to retreat to, parents to the office/bedroom, children to their rooms or possibly finished basement rooms...

Are there studies showing that children who lived in open living concepts are disproportionately likely to go on rampages?
Please help me follow your thoughts.

I can't quite follow you. Why should a wardrobe located behind the windbreak cause jackets to hang around the dining table longer, while a wardrobe in front of the windbreak or without a windbreak would bring order???

The reason is definitely this one door, which influences quite a bit.

Are there studies showing that children who lived in open living concepts run amok more often than average? Please help me follow your thoughts.

Studies? No idea. But everyone should have a right to privacy. Anyone who does not have it (applies to every kind of person) can cause problems through "a kind of stubbornness." More details could be explained by . Anyone who does not develop properly will cause problems. This applies to your children as well. This "my party is your party too" concept is somewhat unrealistic...

The reason is definitely this one door, which influences quite a bit.

So you mean it psychologically affects the resident, who then thinks, I'm already standing in the living room anyway, so it doesn't matter whether I put my jacket on the right by the wardrobe or on the left by the dining table? Something like that?

If a floor plan is realized in which the wardrobe is only behind the vestibule, the thought occurred to me to visually separate the area there by the flooring. So for example, tiles from the front door to the wardrobe, and parquet behind that, regardless of where the vestibule is located.

But everyone should have a right to privacy. Those who do not have this (applies to every kind of person) can cause problems through "a kind of stubbornness." More details could be explained by . Everyone who does not develop properly will cause problems. This also applies to your children. This "my party is also your party" is somewhat unrealistic...

But do you think lack of privacy arises already from an open plan dining & living area? Or only through the additional open space? Everyone has retreat options in the house and there are also "reserve rooms" with daylight in the basement that can be made ready for this if needed. The family bed is also not supposed to be used until graduation.

: I think it’s excellent to come up with your own ideas and not let conventionality act as a mental barrier. To be successful at this, you need a clear goal. That seems to be missing, and without a goal, you can’t hit the mark.
An indication of this is that you don’t describe with a single word what kind of lifestyle you want for yourself and your family. Especially the children will have different needs over the next 15-20 years in the house and will influence your life in a colorful way. Considering this architecturally during construction means enjoying good quality of life for a long time.

Just one concrete example: Think about your youth and today’s teenagers. If things go well, they have an illustrious circle of friends and meet spontaneously, cheerfully, loudly, thoughtlessly, losing track of time, and blessed with social attention gaps, here and there. That is wonderful and valuable for teenagers. For their parents, it is wonderful and valuable not to have to experience all of that directly. Your house design plans architecturally for conflict-ridden years, because these fundamentally welcome people will have to invade your private space, or they will be banished from the house. The latter would be a displacement of conflict.
Thinking this way leads to architectural requirements that are not considered in your design - and a life with cheerful, sociable teenagers is only one of them. I would solve the desire for an open house and future living situation with additional stairs. For example, an outdoor staircase to a balcony to the children’s rooms and a garden access to the basement. Suddenly, the house looks quite different and more considerations arise.

Another concrete example: When looking at the upper floor, I think: Someone definitely wants a large open space (very cool if well done). The sleeping area, the own bathroom, and the dressing area should also be comfortable (very understandable). And the hallway needs generosity (basically fine). What is planned as space for the children is relatively little by comparison. Don’t get me wrong, children with so much space and their own small bathroom are by no means badly off. My point is that both children together don’t even get a third of the upper floor, even though only the two children will live there and not just sleep. The prioritization seems to have been bent in the design phase.

You have a budget that allows some room for maneuver and only self-imposed time pressure. You have the opportunity to invest in good architecture. A good architect builds you a wonderful shell for your life and not just beautiful walls and a roof.

My impression: You have many wishes and aesthetic ideas that you try to realize in the drawing. I believe right away that can look very good. Unfortunately, in doing so, you forget the essential, namely to consider an idea about everyday life in the house.

You are creating your own time pressure. Better do it really well. Unfortunately, the design is a good way to turn a lot of money into dampened joy of life.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I will take the beautiful design by Katja in post #5 as a basis for new considerations. However, with the difference that we still want to place the entrance on the street side and the garage away from the house on the southwest property boundary. I will adopt the platform stairs as proposed by Katja there, also in the same location and separated from the living area by the hallway. The kitchen on the street side and the living area at the back should also remain as is; I just want to somehow somewhat separate the kitchen from the rest, quasi semi-open. Now with children, you notice that sometimes it can be advantageous to reduce the noise from the kitchen a bit. Whether a large wall should go there or I partition the kitchen a bit by a setback in the building similar to my first design, I don’t know yet. Suggestions and ideas are always very welcome. And then I still have to see that I can get the walls on the upper floor partially congruent with the ground floor; the structural engineer also has a say.