Single-family house for 4 people - Opinions

First of all, thank you for your feedback. The wow effect is definitely there in your floor plan because of the large door to the living / dining area. But that's not what we're after, we want it to be simple and practical.

But it's not practical if you have to turn on the light every time because you can't see your jacket at the coat rack due to the darkness. Where is the light supposed to come from at your coat rack? The same goes for the upper floor, a large corridor that lies in darkness. Best regards Sabine

Our table is not bigger, that's why I only had such a small table drawn in.

Then what's the point of a guest room

I don't think having the sofa in front of the patio door is a problem

You could then also do without the door and just have a fixed window.

I had the kitchen adjusted again, in L shape. But it's not so important because a kitchen planner should finalize it anyway.

I would have that planned now so that windows, doors, etc. are coordinated with the kitchen.

An open kitchen must always be tidy.

I also meant that there should be a sliding door there.

Also, the argument that you can use the utility room for storage doesn’t count for me. The kitchen is already huge anyway, and you can hide everything nicely in cabinets if you want.

Ask the people who have a pantry. Water and beer crates, milk, bulky kitchen appliances, recycling bags, etc.

I find it impractical in your floor plan that you have to go through the utility room to get to the kitchen.

Well, if you don’t do laundry in the utility room, I find the opposite is true. You almost always spend time in the open living area and not in the hallway, so this would be the shortest way.

But that’s not what it’s about for us, we want it simple and practical.

That’s completely legitimate. You are building the house for yourselves and not for resale. Still, I would consider whether I would spend so much money on space only to allocate 50% of the ground floor for the main living area = living room + kitchen. The living-dining room will be a fairly dark, boring room – to put it bluntly. At least think about a west-facing window.

That is completely legitimate. You are building the house for yourselves and not for resale. Still, I would consider whether I would spend so much money on space only to allocate 50% of the ground floor for the main living area = living room + kitchen. The living-dining room will be quite a dark, boring room – to put it bluntly. At least think about adding a west-facing window.

I think it's a bit more than 50%, but I also find a guest/work room on the ground floor totally sensible. We currently have 2 free rooms upstairs as well, but it's much more comfortable to be able to do everything on the ground floor. We hardly go upstairs unless we really have to. I also don’t think it will be dark. Maybe boring, but with some skill and decoration you can do quite a bit. What would a non-boring room be for you? We still have a fireplace between the living and dining areas and I have to say, that really makes a big difference. But otherwise, isn’t the living/dining area often arranged like that?

So if you don’t do laundry in the utility room, the opposite is true - in my opinion. You almost always stay in the living area and not in the hallway, so that would be the shortest way

You need something from the utility room several times a day, whether it’s a shopping bag, hammer, or toilet paper. It is always advisable to have a neutral door to the utility room that can also be quickly accessed directly from the hallway. Constantly going through the kitchen (even though you are already standing in the hallway), technical noises in the living area, disturbing the person cooking, i.e., being in the way in a kitchen where the utility room door is even behind the island, is not practical. Everyday items are needed not only from the living area but rather from all rooms, so it is more practical if the utility room door is in the hallway. Otherwise, you reduce the living area or kitchen to a traffic area.

A single-family house where the living room only has windows on one (!) side and one of them is even blocked by the sofa - to me, that's dark and boring. A terraced mid-terrace house would have sufficed just as well. It would be less boring with larger windows on two sides with nice plants in front or a terrace with stylish garden furniture.

You need something from the utility room several times a day, whether it's a shopping bag, hammer, or toilet paper.

I store my shopping basket, for example, near the empties (> pantry), because the bottles go straight into the basket. The toilet paper is in the storage room upstairs, and fortunately, I only need the hammer rarely now. On the other hand, kitchen roll, the water bottle, milk, and the empty bottles and plastic also go straight into the pantry next to the kitchen.

But you can see how differently people think, and everyone should carefully consider what their daily routine is and what makes sense and is important to them. Not for me or anyone else from the forum. @Chris1906: So, don’t get me wrong, these are just suggestions and food for thought from my side!