What came on the cut list?

With us, at least temporarily dropped, are:

- Elevator (shaft is planned and built, but is used as a "cabinet")
- Whirlpool on the terrace
- Tea kitchen in the basement (the "terrible" wall)
- Sauna
- Air conditioning unit in the attic floor

Most of these we will install later at some point, we'll see how long we can manage without. I would have liked the whirlpool to be floor-to-ceiling, now we will just have to put a mobile one somewhere later, if we really want one. Connections are available.

- Fireplace/tiled stove that I absolutely wanted (and still somewhat miss today)
- KNX - my husband decided against it; I am not sure if that was the right choice
- straight staircase (otherwise the house would have had to be bigger, which was not worth it to us and would have taken up too much space on the property)

we would like to have a privacy screen, but we currently also have a hedge that at about 20m is just a fraction of the future one. And even that we can't manage to maintain...

Hm. Then put up a bar grille fence and plant ivy on it. It takes a while for it to get going, but it becomes opaque even in winter and doesn’t need much space. You do have to prune it at some point, but that’s manageable. And it’s also more ecological than those stupid gabions or plastic ribbons.

Alternatively, even more ecological would be a hedge made of various native shrubs. If you choose properly, the maintenance effort stays manageable. But it needs space in depth, 2-3m would be good, and of course it takes time to become opaque. Ours has been there for 1 year now and will probably need another 2 before you can't see through or over it anymore. But that doesn’t bother us; it also acts as a burglar protection.

I would be careful with ivy. I actually like it a lot, also because it keeps its leaves in winter, but it grows EVERYWHERE. Even where you don’t want it, like into garden sheds, it can also sometimes break a wall, etc. It’s like the ghosts you called but then can’t control. If it’s a place where it can’t cause any damage, then go for it. Otherwise, think carefully! There are also other plants that are suitable for green walls/fences.

Fence/privacy screen is also on our minds.
Have you been able to implement a hedge more cost-effectively? If yes, in EL or from Gala?

Yes, hedges done in-house.
Ordered online and never regretted it twice.

A double rod mesh fence or wooden fence would have been about twice the price - and would not have provided real privacy.
The Gala offer for the hedges was about three to four times the price we ultimately paid, however, including labor costs.

The labor effort in EL was manageable:
We took about 1 day each for approx. 2 x 20-25m hedges (filling with planting soil and mulching bark on top).

Dressing room, simply made the rooms too small for a completely pointless room.