Will our house become too dark and opinions on the floor plan

A house is being planned, then an extension (conservatory) is constructed below because the space doesn't fit due to the office, and in the planner's eyes, it is then finished... But then the use of the rooms is reassigned... The annex remains because nothing else is replanned. Whether a utility room needs its 8 sqm on the ground floor despite having a basement is not considered.
The windows in the living room are blocked by furniture, so ground-level elements could also be fixed, but the terrace is planned along the entire front. Why? The sensible exits to the terrace would be the corner door and dining area. For the second half of the house, there are many design possibilities; among other things, some light wells are omitted.
I do not see you partying in the large basement room, since, due to the staircase leading to the garden, it is very likely that everything that doesn't fit in the garage will be stored there.
Basically, the concept should be established BEFORE planning. Here I see none. There are also an incredible number of planning errors built in: for example, the rule for window calculation was not applied here at all.

So, I quite like the floor plan as it is at first. There are still a few small things that could be improved: - Kitchen: definitely a bigger window. - Ground floor hallway: I would align the wall of the study (utility room) with the living room wall, so you don’t have that strange offset in the hallway. - I don’t like these corner windows in the living/dining area. In the dining area, I would omit the small window on the garage side and instead put a floor-to-ceiling double casement window to the terrace. - I would swap the WC with the pantry (cloakroom). - The door swing of the front door should be reversed, then the hallway will feel more open when you enter the door, and you can access the cloakroom immediately on the right (where the WC is now). Now, about the upper floor: - You will never ever be able to place a bathtub in front of the knee wall window in the bathroom. Or a bed in front of the window in the bedroom. The knee wall windows will be sitting at floor level. I would skip them. They do nothing but disturb the overall look and restrict furniture placement too much. - The children’s rooms will definitely be too dark. Either bigger windows (which isn’t possible in one of the rooms) or an additional roof window, but please with a shutter.

First of all, thank you for your reply.

A house is being planned, and then a single-storey extension (conservatory) is constructed at the bottom because the space doesn't fit due to the office, and in the planner’s eyes that’s finished... Then the use of the rooms is redistributed... The annex stays because nothing is replanned.

Actually, it’s not supposed to be an annex to enlarge the office, but because my husband wanted a corner in the floor plan and not just a cuboid, and so the living area is visually somewhat separated from the dining area.

Whether a utility room needs its 8 sqm on the ground floor despite having a basement is not considered.

Yes, that is intentional. I want a large utility/storage room to accommodate many things. Supplies, cleaning items, vacuum cleaner, waste paper, and quite a few other things should go in without it becoming cramped. We currently have a 10 sqm room, and it is also well filled.

The windows in the living room are blocked by furniture, so they could also be fixed elements at ground level, but the terrace is planned along the entire front. Why? The useful exits to the terrace would be the corner door and the dining area. For the second half of the house, there are many possibilities for design, among other things, a few light wells are eliminated.

That’s true; the doors in front of the sofa will be removed so that the furniture can go right up to the wall. I forgot to mention that.

I don’t see you throwing parties in the large basement room, since everything that doesn’t fit in the garage is very likely stored there due to the stairway to the garden.

For certain celebrations like New Year's Eve, the room will definitely be used. Our old kitchen is also supposed to go in there immediately.

Basically, the concept should be established BEFORE planning. I don’t see one here. There are also an incredible number of planning errors included: the rule for window calculation alone was not applied here.

Could you explain the rule to me? The design is actually from a planner.



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I tried to edit the post to be readable

Rhenish greetings
Construction expert

It would be helpful if you did not include your answers within the quotation. That way, your answers cannot be directly recognized.

We now have a 10 m² room and it’s also well filled

Yes, but in the future you will also have a basement! The original office was located in the beautiful bright west, now the space requirements are being shuffled, the utility room goes to the west and the office to the dark basement. May I ask who had the idea? Was the wardrobe originally missing and now someone (the builder or lazy planner) looked for a replacement and saw the solution in swapping the rooms?

Of course, you can do that, but I just question whether that is the right decision, whether the house will still be the way you initially wanted it.

The room will definitely be used for certain celebrations like New Year’s Eve etc. It should also immediately include our old kitchen

You don’t understand what I meant: if you plan the outside stairs there, it will automatically become a storage room – whether you want it or not: sooner or later you will store outdoor things there.

Can you explain the rule to me? The design is actually from a planner

Yes, gladly: DIN 5034 as well as the state building codes regulate the minimum amount of daylight in living and recreational rooms. While one rule states 55% window width of the living space width, the other rule states 1/8 to 1/10 construction measure of the window of the sqm of the living space.

These regulations are a bit dusty and outdated (according to many opinions) because nowadays daylight has a different significance for living.

Those who deal with living know that windows are the positive connection to the outside and accordingly should be larger in the living space (i.e., private rooms, not commercial spaces)! Some even speak of 20% instead of 10%. Now, besides the prescribed regulations, the consideration comes in of how a room is used and whether the window captures northern or southern light. Example current planned utility room: 8.5 sqm. Should be: at least 0.85 regulated window requirement. Is: (1.0 x 2.10) 2.1 sqm window, so more than twice as much. More can never hurt, as you know when you see the planning of your living room window. Kitchen: 11.5 sqm, at least 1.15 sqm. Is: (1.00 x 1.20) 1.2 sqm. Just within the norm, but to note is that the kitchen window faces north and kitchen work light should be provided, and that for several times longer during the day. A doubling would be the minimum. Child 2: 17.5 sqm. Min. 1.75 sqm, Is: (1.00 x 0.9) 1.2 sqm. That is too little. The east sun the school child doesn’t see anyway. Intuitively, I would assign a children’s room this size 2 to 3 sqm window (2 sqm maybe for south or west location, 3 for east location).

It would be nice if you could also answer the questions of the other thread participants.

Regards Yvonne

Oh, I would also take ’s suggestions to heart. If I were your planner, I would advise against the outside staircase or at least include it in the design in such a way that it is protected from the rain. Changing the garage roof would also be beneficial. By the way, it is neither a sin nor the fault of the builder if the planner doesn't think ahead. So this is not a reproach to you or you all.