She may be the expert, but no one who will never live in the house can ever plan it as thoughtfully, detailed, and lovingly as I can myself.
I think if I walk into any other architect’s office, we’d end up with the same result. He/She can’t read minds or smell what I want and what demands I have. We’d just sit there like "Wall Y please 30 cm to the left," "Wall Z but a bit slanted and not quite as long." It’s easier if I at least pre-draw. That wasn’t even her idea. I insisted and rejected further drafts from her.
That’s why you write down the space requirements for the architect, like “a walk-in closet would be nice,” “two children’s rooms of equal size,” “separated kitchen,” hobby room, privacy screen for the terrace, etc. And then you let the architect do their job. Such faux pas won’t happen to them, like the toilet being directly visible from the bathroom entrance by everyone in the hallway. The professional has studied and can address all needs, whether it’s an elderly couple or a family of four. Later on, you can address wall shifts.
This thread reads like a madhouse! From your loving planning, a house disaster emerges. Specifically because you handle the details lovingly but have no clue. This is not meant to sound harsh, but after countless posts about various planning mistakes, you should take the advice and let the architect plan if you’re paying them anyway. Hands off the planning if life experience is missing. Some people were amused by your questions about your privacy screen, but honestly: you’re putting the cart before the horse and naively think you are the only builder with demands on living. A fence always comes
after the construction — at least it should be prioritized that way. Errors in the house design can’t be remodeled as quickly as a fence, which you can adjust again in the night and wind.
- On 412 sqm, a house with almost 103 sqm fits — roof overhangs are included if they exceed 50 cm. The terrace is included in the 103 sqm, but then you just plan the 8 sqm; later you can expand. You can exceed this by 5-10% if the architect gives a good explanation and the building authorities are in a good mood. Another 50% is usually allowed in the second floor area number for ancillary facilities, paths, and parking spaces. However, this may be an exception in your case that it doesn’t apply.
- If you only have about 65 sqm available for an area, you must do without (most) highlights and nice-to-haves that devour square meters: kitchen island, T in the bathroom, walk-in closet, walk-in shower. There’s hardly any discussion unless you move living spaces into the attic or basement. Squeezing in will not make you happy midterm, and the house will feel too tight. Furnishings should be placed almost exclusively against the walls so you gain free space that would otherwise be cut up. E.g., in the kitchen you could dance without an island, with an island not. E.g., bathroom: slalom paths instead of free space in the bathroom.
- Topic doors: A door opens into the room, meaning: you
enter the room and
don’t step against a wall. You don’t want to immediately spin around your own axis in the room when you want to use or walk through it. Where there is a door, you don’t plan a work or stay area (kitchen). A door can hide a little chaos (storage room, cloakroom).
Kitchen: To stand opposite each other while chopping, you don’t need 120 cm distance; 90… even 80 will do if necessary.
Bathroom: In principle, it doesn’t matter if there is one or two washbasins, the width counts. For a four-person household, though, an alternative should be offered; in this regard, it’s worth considering turning the urinal into a shower. Your boyfriend should not be so selfish.
Toilet directly in front of the door... sorry, you can take a few more steps. How should that work when there are four of you? Do you want to always visit each other on the throne or bang the door against your forehead during the session? A privacy wall serves exactly to shield the view from the entrance.
Bedroom/walk-in closet: What you plan with masking tape, do the same with the 45-50 cm on the sides of the bed. But please so that you have a wall in front of you. The same applies to the walk-in closet. Sit on the virtual bed (chair in front of a wall) and put your arms on your knees... or pretend to have surgery on your foot or knee.
My suggestion in brief:
Swap children’s room 1 with the bedroom/walk-in closet and/or plan the bedroom
with walk-in closet in the basement so that the office or hobby room is upstairs. It’s better anyway if both children’s rooms face west.
Take half of the storage space in the hallway for the bathroom and build a shower in the niche. The remaining niche gets two doors and you already have a built-in closet for the cloakroom: no one wants to see their winter jackets on a stand in summer. And no one wants to clutter up with small furniture: eventually, the fourth shoe cabinet will have been purchased.
Move the living room door, possibly place the sofa on the central wall, TV on the south wall.