Single-family house, 1.5 stories, 155 sqm

I have my doubts about the house in the east. The plot is quite narrow. The garage would then be in front of the house to the south, right? Then it would block the light from the house there. If you move the house towards the west, the garden becomes long and narrow. It’s best to just make a sketch with rectangles and move them around on the plot.

For the sake of completeness and because asked again - here is the planner's draft, which we did not like that much. This is probably a standard draft from this general contractor. However, it has only 134 sqm, volume of 730 cbm. So theoretically it might still be possible to enlarge it a bit if that does not completely change the statics.

KN 1.5m, DN 38°

What we liked:
- spacious SPK option under the stairs
- separate accessible utility room on the upper floor, separated from the children's rooms by a hallway (noise)

What we did not like:
- dirty corridor is crossed when entering the shower room downstairs
- L-shape of the living area only hinted at
- living area very narrow (approx. 3.2 m)
- house technology in the south, guest room in the north
- little wardrobe space, but maybe the technical room can be used for this
- narrow children's rooms that are not easy to arrange
- one children's room in the north, bathroom in the south
- lot of hallway space on the upper floor in the south

Maybe the mentioned dislikes can be mostly resolved through slight modifications?

Do you also have 8/16 gravel? Light like from or in the usual "mixed gray"? Is gravel considered a sealed surface in this grain size if, as you described, it is permeable?

We have anthracite, which looks dry mouse gray. When I see Arauki's, I would estimate 2-3 times as large. For us, the surface was not counted as sealed.

It is planned with a central gable and the roof pulled further down to the northeast at the back, since a lower knee wall of 1.4 m in the utility room would also provide great added storage space. At the same time, a larger roof overhang toward the street direction below would offer a possibility to cover the entrance area, or at least that is the idea.

Yes, that’s how I thought it. You have good considerations. At least I like them (except for the one from the initial post). But I have often wondered what the thick walls mean... Not least the built-in position of the freezer room repeatedly. But that might be different for you? I can hardly believe it. I would now also suggest positioning the house in the middle, sunny, but also with access or view to the north, that is, the long main side of the open space facing southwest.

Maybe the mentioned points of dislike can mostly be resolved through slight changes?

I still see potential there, but the main question in my opinion would be whether a terrace on the west side without the protection of the house facing the street doesn’t have the same problem as the south terrace? You feel "less private". Although this can be solved with hedges, that was an important argument against it, or is it no longer one now?

That really looks good! Thanks for the inspiration with the gravel, that's a good option even for shorter driveways.

In my opinion, it's about finding ideas on how to design rather secondary areas (car parking space, driveway, fencing, etc.) attractively with low costs, so that you don't have to scrimp unnecessarily in the "important" areas of the house. Unfortunately, the willingness to show pictures of implemented ideas has decreased here, but maybe that will increase again.

Is gravel with a certain grain size considered a sealed surface if, as you describe, it is permeable?

That is a question you need to clarify with the building authority and the lower water authority.
While our architect, the building officials from the district, and I considered the area as unsealed, the head of the municipality’s lower water authority thought otherwise and ordered the retention basin to be enlarged. When we were building, I found that somewhat bothersome, but I must now admit that it was appropriate given the situation, since our gravel-paved area is not level and cannot absorb enough water when it rains; surface water has to go somewhere.

Since pictures were requested, I can provide part of our frost protection driveway – but it does take up a bit more space than desired in this specific case. Perhaps the color and edging with graywacke stones will inspire. You can also see that tire tracks form. The slope of our driveway is actually no longer suitable for this material (rounded gravel would be impossible). Occasionally (less than once a year), we redistribute a few wheelbarrow loads from the bottom to the top. Wherever it is driven on, nothing grows. Or, if you don’t want that, you can pull the plants or just appreciate it aesthetically.