Single-family house planning: help, tips, suggestions, criticism welcome

That would also be an option if you slightly build over the garage. Although I'm not sure if I would like that... You have to get it drawn up (or have it drawn). You're of course right about the sloping ceilings, that makes the rooms smaller. The house is slightly tilted, see the first post. I like the idea of the exposed concrete wall. I’ll keep that in mind. I’m a fan of exposed concrete anyway. I’ve also thought about making the ceilings exposed concrete or the floor exposed screed. You could create a new topic and show your design there.

We are slowly getting closer to the final floor plan. After some drafts, which partly went in a different direction, it is probably going this way:











Some details still need to be planned/adjusted, of course. What is also missing is the fireplace. It will probably be placed on the back exterior wall so that it can be seen from the sofa, the dining table, and the kitchen. Additionally, you will look at it directly when coming down from the upper floor.

And a few more pieces of information:

[*]Basement with black tank
[*]Exterior walls (ground floor + upper floor): 36.5 cm Liaplan Ultra 08, U-value=0.205
[*]24 cm insulation in the attic (rafters and collar beams)

[*]Ground floor height increased to 2.76 m (clear raw)
[*]12 cm XPS insulation below the floor slab

[*]Plastic windows, triple glazing, U-value=0.5

[*]Bricks: Braas Tegalit, Protegon matt
[*]Controlled residential ventilation by Zehnder

[*]KFW 55 standard

[*]Air-to-water heat pump with 300 l hot water storage tank
[*]Small lifting station in the basement

[*]Windows/doors on the ground floor with RC 2 N (burglary protection)
[*]Doors on the ground floor room-high with transom window
[*]All interior doors 1.01 m wide

[*]6,000 l cistern
[*]Construction supervision by DEKRA expert

I like it so far, especially the garage with the covered entrance area, I think it's great. I'm not a fan of open kitchens, but that's a matter of taste. However, I would definitely add a wall between the kitchen/living area and the hallway/stairwell. Otherwise, there would be too much heat, odor, and noise exchange for me. I think the narrow (basement) windows in the living area are also a matter of taste. I thought we were strange because we don't like floor-to-ceiling windows, but then everything is fine.

Thank you for the feedback. The windows(sizes) are a point that is still being discussed. They could end up being larger in the end. We'll see. You are right about the open kitchen. That's always the balancing act you have to make there. In our current apartment everything is also open. The smell of food does spread through the apartment, but so far we prefer it that way to a separate/closed kitchen. I think a (glass) wall could also be installed later on if it turns out to be too much of a bother.

In principle, I like it, but the hallway and the storage room would be a no-go for me: both definitely too narrow. How wide is the hallway supposed to be? I would shorten the storage room to the bare minimum (2 meters?) and offer more space at the front to all visitors and residents. Didn't we already have this topic?

Regards