Single-family house floor plan approx. 180m2 - Please provide feedback

We want to build a two-story structure on the property (old commercial building of my grandparents) in Austria on an old garage (the base slab is there and is statically buildable).
The footprint is 11.08 x 8.22 m.
Since a hall adjoins on two sides, no windows on the ground floor are possible on those two sides (north and east) (except for an elevated window opening above the dining table). The wall facing south borders my grandparents’ garden. Therefore, I don’t want any windows here either, to avoid looking into a “foreign” garden. Except at the entrance, where I would add a slanting wall, and the window looks into a small light well.

From a structural perspective, the floor slab was checked by a master builder and is fine. Since it used to be a farm building, tractors etc. could also drive on it.

You can access the already built hall through the utility room. Everything involving technology will be placed in the hall.

I am missing just about everything here: photos, drawings of the described buildings — basically what an outsider can’t infer. So, in my imagination it remains pretty dim, even the flashlight of the parking attendant is broken. The building is supposed to be on a garage but also on the floor slab of a farm building that is meant to withstand being driven on by tractors. Aha (with thirteen question marks).

Since the living room is drawn as it is, you might perhaps not want to sit there after all, so it should be adapted to reality.

Realities in one reality, previously an emoticon could have stood here.

Here I have hopefully drawn it a bit more clearly.

I can manage quite well with your drawing and find the project very exciting and believe I can see that you have an idea of how you want to live. That is rare (says a newcomer who moved around the forum for a few years some time ago). I like that.

We have the best experience with a masonry heater. The space requirement is considerable, the warmth irresistibly pleasant. I would do it that way again and again. Our stove builder used an Austrian insert (Ortner). The placement is crucial for efficiency. It is enough to know and consider this without becoming completely uncompromising.

The living room area is potentially dark. There is a wonderful type of daylight simulation with so-called artificial daylight windows. These work on walls and ceilings. This exceptional LED technology can be worth gold for you.

Not only lighting-wise, but also acoustically the floor plan is a challenge. With materials and technology you can manage to prevent echo and unpleasant reverberation – but it will not be a quiet house. If you are sensitive to noise (which would surprise me) the plan is not for you. Since children do not always come after the parents, I would prepare the children's rooms so that they can provide a certain sound protection for the growing ones. I am thinking of a door system that allows the exchange of the door leaf for an acoustically optimized variant if needed. Also, do not save on the walls to the children's rooms. Consider the bedroom acoustically at the same time. Good materials can be found in conference room technology. We are very satisfied with a full-surface Ligno-Trend ceiling in our open floor plan.

The entrance is large. Usually, I do not like that very much. In an open concept like you have drawn, space at the entrance in this style is consistent in my view if you want a "lively" use of the openness. Then you especially need space for "outdoor stuff" with children and a dog that you can throw onto a bench without narrowing the passage.

I strongly recommend an architect who can also think outside the box for this exciting project.

Absolutely!

In this respect, I would also consider a "regular" exit to the garden and perhaps execute those large panes as fixed glass.

I would go exactly in the opposite direction and consider folding glass walls. We have enjoyed them for 6 years now.

What if the child wants the nice room with the view? The question is not fair because it is currently hypothetical. But I find this "non-waiver" already very telling in terms of priorities.

I find that this architecture does not allow any compelling conclusions about a "parents first" priority. The office is a kind of second living space. The children grow up with the parents’ work, can stay in the same room, do their schoolwork there, paint or play. This can offer many advantages and also joint use. This way of living would not require any "sacrifice."