I have to be honest: I think it is the wrong approach to focus so intensively on only one room, where apparently for you it’s about a few centimeters, while the rest is neglected.
Now you have fine-tuned every cm of the open-plan living area and bedroom,
and what about the rest of the house?
I mean: you keep to a rectangular room as if it were the Berlin City Hall.
Have you ever thought about why the utility room is so huge? Storage space is nice and all, but a utility room of this size just seems excessive. The usefulness doesn’t increase with sqm, since the wall surfaces don’t grow congruently. It’s the same with the dressing room: it looks like a leftover piece, just shoved in some cupboards and labeled dressing room.
Bedroom: we also only have a 160 cm bed, but no kids could come cuddle. I don’t know any parents who wouldn’t want more than their 2 meters...
Kitchen: the door opens and it’s in the way to the kitchen. When I want to go out from the kitchen to the terrace, the island is in the way.
Stairs: dark. The open space above doesn’t matter. The stairs remain dark.
And what I often notice when laypeople design their little houses: guest toilet without a window, wardrobe “closet/niche” but with a window next to it. It’s obvious to switch these two positions.
Bathroom: I don’t know what kind of front garden or street is there, but maybe the window should be planned on the other side.
Open space above: do you have so much space upstairs that you simply plan a 6 meter high entrance hall here, which then ends with a small room door to the open living area? How wide is the hallway? 2 meters? Do you have any idea how that looks? Or is there a shallow pitched roof upstairs?
Hi ypg,
Thanks for the feedback.
I did say we haven’t finished planning yet.
Regarding your points:
Utility room: it is definitely not too big! The L-shape around the stairs also makes wall space very usable. So many things have to fit in there. Besides all the usual technology, there’s washing machine, dryer, drying rack, freezer, drinks, ironing board, vacuum cleaner, and so on and so forth.
Dressing room: I understand the impression you got from the sketch. We have already planned the dressing room furnished with Pax cabinets including a dresser in the middle. A place to put the laundry basket, fold clothes, etc.
Kitchen: absolutely valid point regarding the door and the island. If we implement the larger open-plan living area, the island will not be in line (blocking the way). On the contrary: the hallway walkway continues into the walkway between island and table. Whether the door to the open area stays one meter wide or becomes wider is still open.
Guest toilet / wardrobe: I really had to laugh at this one. Do you know why? Of course, we also planned it the other way around once. But: currently, the “dirty” area of the wardrobe is directly at the front door, and you wouldn’t have to cross it to get from the open living area to the guest toilet.
Bed width: OK, I get it: be prepared for a big bed. The wall to the dressing room can be shifted downwards on the plan so that a larger bed fits.
Open space above / stairs: a pitched roof with a 95 cm knee wall is planned. So the “entrance hall” wouldn’t look that huge. The hallway would be 2.50 m wide. A landing staircase is very comfortable to walk on, just regular steps. Upstairs in the gallery there is a roof window planned to illuminate the stairway and hallway on the upper floor.
Best regards