Terraces: How many and where?

I have another concern, as we want to discuss soon with the excavation contractor where he can/should prepare the ground for terraces.

Your opinion is desired regarding aesthetics and practical suitability concerning the number and shape of our terrace/s.

First of all, I have thought of 3 terraces: main terrace at the back in the garden (Terrace 1), small terrace to quickly have a tea or sparkling wine outside from the kitchen (Terrace 3), and another small terrace near our technical/laundry room (Terrace 2) to put out a drying rack, empty a bucket of water, or just stand there and "gucken" (Swabian for watching or looking).

Regarding the shape/s, I am uncertain. I like round, semi-round, organic shapes but do not know if that fits a square house (9.40m x 9.40m). Furthermore, I like "paving circles," of which I want to place some on the terraces/carport. I do not know if paving circles look better in round terraces than in square ones. Or if then it is too much "round." If you have successful photos, please show them to me.

Here, too, I want to take the opportunity to wish you all and your families a Happy New Year, with many happy hours, inside ;-) and outside the forum. Please let us all continue to come together so nicely and helpfully.

--> And whoever has contact with Hampshire, please try by all available means to convince him to return. We miss him very much.

One more note about my drawings in the photos. I could not draw semi-round shapes, so I partly chose the shape "oval/round." I hope my questions are still understandable.

I like round, semi-circular, organic shapes, but I don't know if that fits with a square house (9.40m x 9.40m).

Why shouldn't that fit? Nature is organic and most gardens and parks are designed organically (unless they are planned layouts with different stylistic elements or styles). Your terrace 2 is about 70cm deep, as intended? Where should laundry be dried there? That is a corridor, nothing more. Since a border is probably also planned, I would do it something like this. Red is a rotary clothesline (I assume that something like that is planned for you). I would empty water buckets on the lawn or in beds. Brown are beds for perennials and shrubs, green then the paving. The actual terrace is dominated by furniture, so you have to decide for yourself where you want to look from inside, or whether you want to look at a tree, perennials, or furniture. If you want to make it semi-circular and symmetrical like that, then just do it.

Why shouldn't that fit? Nature is organic and most gardens and parks are designed organically (unless they are planned facilities with other design elements or styles) Your terrace 2 is at a depth of about 70cm, as you mean? Where should laundry be dried there? That is a corridor, nothing more. Since a border is probably planned as well, I would do it more or less like that. Red is a rotary clothes dryer (I assume that something like that is planned with you). I would empty water buckets on the lawn or in flower beds. Brown are beds for perennials and shrubs, green then the paving. The actual terrace is dominated by furniture, you have to know yourself where you want to look from inside or whether you want to look at a tree, perennials or the furniture. If you want to do it semi-circular and symmetrical like that, then just do it that way.

Oh, you have sketched that nicely. That's how we'll do it. Except for the rotary clothes dryer, which I always find too dominant... not every neighbor has to see my laundry. ;-)

Is it really intended to have 80 cm between the house and garage/storage room?

The window/door of the utility room: I would like to point out that this will be the spot where an uninvited visitor can take all the time in the world to enter undisturbed and unseen...

Overall, the passage is not optimal (can you even get through there while pushing a bike without removing the handlebars?). Therefore, I would rather design the storage room at the garage as an open bicycle port, then roof the passage with something translucent and install a proper gate or similar towards the street.

This narrow gap between the utility room and the storage room also caught my attention. I would never do it that way.

If it is to stay like this, then you can pave from the corner of the house to the end of the storage room completely, because grass will never grow there.

Is it really intended to have 80 cm between the house and garage/storage room?

Regarding the window/door of the utility room: I would like to point out that this will be the spot where an uninvited visitor can take all the time in the world to enter undisturbed and unseen….

Overall, the corridor is not optimal (can you even get through there with a bike by pushing it without removing the handlebars?). I would therefore rather design the storage room at the garage as an open bicycle shelter, then cover the corridor with a translucent roof and put a proper gate or something like that facing the street.

I still hope that my husband will give up the storage room at that spot and we will only have a nice, airy parking space for the car, with circular paving, ;-) or that the storage room will only be 1.5 m wide instead of 3 m. I just must not decide alone.

I don’t want a gate. For now, I want to keep everything open all around. We had that at our last house and I thought it was great.