Preliminary floor plan/room layout on a large northwest plot

I have now separated the stairwell from the living area. To make the office/guest area accessible with a door in this design, I had to modify the landing stairs a bit. There is still a bit too little space to walk past the sofa in the living room. I also once considered placing the children’s rooms towards the garden (possibly with a balcony) and the parents' area towards the street on the upper floor.

But then one of the children would face northwest/northeast. That wouldn’t be so great either, right? I am open to further suggestions.

Why should one walk around the sofa? I don't quite understand what you find too tight there? I like the design. I would just leave out this tiny utility room on the ground floor; you can't store anything there. Instead, just a closet. Or maybe completely remove this hallway niche and enlarge the kitchen? I think it's good that you planned for a lot of wardrobe space, but I believe it will get cluttered if several people want to get dressed or undressed at the same time.

To make the office/guest area accessible with a door in this draft, I had to redesign the podium staircase a bit.

...which, however, will not make you happy. It is just a lazy compromise so that your office is accessible. In this respect, one should rather change the problem again instead of half-heartedly adjusting THE element that is planned ABOVE ALL ELSE in a house design. Ugly cleaning supplies room gone, and both it and the vacuum cleaner also have space in the wardrobe. And what happened to the feature "plant through the open space"? Although the plant is there, there is no open space, so I would question the basic approach.

Why should one walk around the sofa?

That is just something "left over" from the previous draft.

I think the OP should perhaps just lean back and note down all their wishes instead of trying to press them into the design themselves. Creating their own design only hinders the architect from thinking. The best is a simple list with "Want to have" and "Must not be". Then let the architect do their work.

Why should you walk around the sofa? I don’t understand what you find too tight there?

There is still space behind the sofa. I wanted to place cabinets and/or sideboards there. In my parents’ house, you can also run around the sofa; children really enjoy that. The outer walls of the living room offer southwestern + northwestern garden views. I would like to have many windows and a lot of light there, which means correspondingly less cabinet space.

I like the design. I would just leave out this tiny cleaning closet on the ground floor; you can’t fit anything in there anyway. Instead, just a cabinet. Or maybe completely remove this hallway niche and enlarge the kitchen?

I was worried that otherwise the kitchen might look too wide and narrow? There are few cleaning supplies; cordless vacuum + broom + dustpan can all be hung on the wall and grabbed due to the small dimensions without going inside. There is still space on the floor for a bucket and cloth, cleaning bottles fit on a single shelf.

I think it’s good that you planned a lot of wardrobe space, but I think it will get cluttered if several people want to dress or undress at the same time.

For that, there might still be space for a small bench in the hallway in front. Next to the cleaning closet, I also planned space for a guest wardrobe.

I am still unsure in the master bedroom upstairs; we would like to place a family bed about 2.70m wide and actually I prefer to place a bed against a wall and not against a window front. I still need to consider that further. Because 2.70 + 2x 0.70m walking space makes 4.10m width requirement, which I only have on the outer sides in this design.

...which, however, will not make you happy. It is only a lazy compromise to keep your office accessible. Therefore, one should rather change the evil again instead of half-heartedly adjusting THE element that is planned FIRST AND FOREMOST in a house design.

And the evil is? Location of the office? Location of the staircase? Do you mean the staircase has to be planned first? Its location also depends on which rooms are needed at all and which of them one would like to have on the garden and sunny side, so I considered it a secondary functional element. Faulty thought?

And what about the feature "plant through the air space"? Since the plant is there but no air space, I would question the basic approach.

Plant through the air space was not a must; it doesn't fit so well with a different staircase either. I forgot to delete it on the upper floor. It is now purely a decorative element in a hallway corner of the ground floor.

That just "remained" from the previous design

Since we often sit on the sofa, I find a position good from which one can see both the garden and the dining table. In the current living situation, the positioning is identical and I find that pretty good.