Hello,
My wife and I visited a model home park for prefabricated houses yesterday, and we noticed that each house offered various features and floor plans whose practical benefits I don’t quite understand. That’s why I’m starting this thread, hoping you can explain the advantages of these choices or point out what I might be missing and why it still makes sense to design a house that way:
1. Almost every house had floor-to-ceiling windows installed. What’s the purpose of these? I imagine they would be terrible both in summer and winter. Wouldn’t it get extremely hot in summer? And in winter, don’t you constantly have to lower the blinds so that anyone passing by can’t look directly into the living room or inside the house? Also, isn’t the effort to clean those windows huge? Am I missing something? Do they have advantages that I don’t see?
2. There wasn’t a single house where the kitchen and dining area were separated from the living space; at best, the kitchen was separated from the dining area. I understand that having everything open makes the space appear larger and is better for hosting many people, but isn’t it very impractical? If I’m frying or cooking something in the kitchen, doesn’t the whole living room end up smelling like food? It would also bother me that as soon as my wife or I have guests over, the other person couldn’t sit in the living room and watch TV quietly, for example. This might sound a bit picky, but for me, it’s important that everyone can invite their friends without the other person always being within earshot or needing to get out of the way somehow. Why are open-plan ground floors so common? What are the real advantages?
3. The balconies on the upper floor are always accessible from one of the children’s bedrooms and the parents’ bedroom. Doesn’t that significantly affect privacy? I can’t imagine it’s great if my child can constantly knock on our bedroom door via the balcony, for example. Also, if you have two children, wouldn’t the one without a balcony be at a disadvantage?
I don’t want to bias you with my opinions here—I’m completely open to your views because I’d like to be convinced of the benefits. So I would like to know your reasons for including such features in your plans. Alternatively, has anyone built in a more “traditional” way and can speak to the practicality of these layout choices?
Best regards
My wife and I visited a model home park for prefabricated houses yesterday, and we noticed that each house offered various features and floor plans whose practical benefits I don’t quite understand. That’s why I’m starting this thread, hoping you can explain the advantages of these choices or point out what I might be missing and why it still makes sense to design a house that way:
1. Almost every house had floor-to-ceiling windows installed. What’s the purpose of these? I imagine they would be terrible both in summer and winter. Wouldn’t it get extremely hot in summer? And in winter, don’t you constantly have to lower the blinds so that anyone passing by can’t look directly into the living room or inside the house? Also, isn’t the effort to clean those windows huge? Am I missing something? Do they have advantages that I don’t see?
2. There wasn’t a single house where the kitchen and dining area were separated from the living space; at best, the kitchen was separated from the dining area. I understand that having everything open makes the space appear larger and is better for hosting many people, but isn’t it very impractical? If I’m frying or cooking something in the kitchen, doesn’t the whole living room end up smelling like food? It would also bother me that as soon as my wife or I have guests over, the other person couldn’t sit in the living room and watch TV quietly, for example. This might sound a bit picky, but for me, it’s important that everyone can invite their friends without the other person always being within earshot or needing to get out of the way somehow. Why are open-plan ground floors so common? What are the real advantages?
3. The balconies on the upper floor are always accessible from one of the children’s bedrooms and the parents’ bedroom. Doesn’t that significantly affect privacy? I can’t imagine it’s great if my child can constantly knock on our bedroom door via the balcony, for example. Also, if you have two children, wouldn’t the one without a balcony be at a disadvantage?
I don’t want to bias you with my opinions here—I’m completely open to your views because I’d like to be convinced of the benefits. So I would like to know your reasons for including such features in your plans. Alternatively, has anyone built in a more “traditional” way and can speak to the practicality of these layout choices?
Best regards
We built without floor-to-ceiling windows because having more usable space was more important to us.
If you build very generously and, for example, can place the couch freely in the room and have enough surface areas upstairs, that might be a different story. However, during drives through new housing developments, I’ve seen far too many floor-to-ceiling windows blocked by furniture or other items, which discouraged us. Occasionally, you even see floor-to-ceiling windows with pleated blinds at the bottom to prevent views from the street. Planning something like that is completely pointless.
It’s true that children generally can’t look outside well, but small children usually play where the parents are anyway, not mostly in the living/dining area. From there, they can look outside through the patio door.
Our kitchen was initially separate, with a small table for breakfast during the week, etc. Otherwise, the living-dining area is designed so that a long table can be set up for celebrations.
This has the advantage that when cooking or baking, you can leave things around without the cat helping itself.
However, I could also imagine later converting it into an open-plan living space. Both have their pros and cons.
It might be that all of this is a bit of an ’80s style for us, but maybe the trend will come back again.
If you build very generously and, for example, can place the couch freely in the room and have enough surface areas upstairs, that might be a different story. However, during drives through new housing developments, I’ve seen far too many floor-to-ceiling windows blocked by furniture or other items, which discouraged us. Occasionally, you even see floor-to-ceiling windows with pleated blinds at the bottom to prevent views from the street. Planning something like that is completely pointless.
Alex85 schrieb:
Kids sit there like they’re hypnotized, looking outside—it’s really funny to watch. Keep in mind, with a normal window sill height of 90cm (35 inches), a small child can’t see out at all. Once they can look out standing up, they can’t anymore when sitting, for example, at a desk. So, kids really enjoy having this.
It’s true that children generally can’t look outside well, but small children usually play where the parents are anyway, not mostly in the living/dining area. From there, they can look outside through the patio door.
Our kitchen was initially separate, with a small table for breakfast during the week, etc. Otherwise, the living-dining area is designed so that a long table can be set up for celebrations.
This has the advantage that when cooking or baking, you can leave things around without the cat helping itself.
However, I could also imagine later converting it into an open-plan living space. Both have their pros and cons.
It might be that all of this is a bit of an ’80s style for us, but maybe the trend will come back again.
C
Caspar202017 Jul 2017 09:14blablub1234 schrieb:
there are various layouts and features whose practical usefulness I don’t quite understand.Not everything displayed in a model home park is actually built very often. However, no one can afford to just put up a generic, cookie-cutter house there. The sizes shown are also not what most customers actually order. Features like ceilings open to the roof in the attic are rarely implemented, since most houses are built without basements, making the attic space essential.
blablub1234 schrieb:
1. Almost every house had floor-to-ceiling windows installed—what’s the idea behind that? I imagine having those could be unpleasant both in summer and winter. Doesn’t it get extremely hot in summer? And in winter, you’d have to keep the blinds down all the time, otherwise anyone could look into my living room or even inside the house? Also, the effort to clean those windows must be huge?! Am I missing something? Do they still have advantages that I don’t see?Children of the light love them. However, as @Alex85 already pointed out, they are also great for small children. By the way, external venetian blinds are a better choice than roller blinds for shading.
You can also orient the house or select the plot so that no one can look inside.
blablub1234 schrieb:
When I’m frying or cooking in the kitchen, won’t the whole living room end up smelling like food? Also, it would bother me that if my wife or I have guests over, the other person couldn’t comfortably sit in the living room and, for example, watch TV in peace. This might sound a bit picky, but I think it’s important that everyone can invite their friends without the other always being within earshot or having to clear out. Why do so many houses have open-plan ground floors? What are the real advantages?Our living, dining, and kitchen area is 55m² (590 sq ft), mainly because the previous owner knocked down the kitchen wall facing the living area. That’s why we ended up with it.
It’s much easier to be in the kitchen while still keeping an eye on the children. Also, the paths to the outdoor grill are shorter. It’s more sociable. And it doesn’t give off the impression of the “woman belongs in the kitchen.”
As for cooking smells, it’s really not that bad. The worst smell we get is when we do raclette, but the grill is right on the dining table anyway. Having a separate kitchen wouldn’t have helped there.
Besides, food odors don’t just stop immediately when the cooking finishes.
I can’t really relate to your last point about watching TV in peace. Where exactly would you like to meet “your” friends? In the kitchen?
B
blablub123417 Jul 2017 09:23Really interesting perspectives to read here, exactly what I hoped for, thanks to everyone who replied.
Regarding the topic of show home parks needing to be practical, I understand. However, when I drive through our new residential areas, I see these floor-to-ceiling windows everywhere.
@Caspar2020 about meeting friends, I meant that if the dining area is separate from the living room, you can sit with friends in the dining area while your partner can still read, watch TV, or do something else relatively undisturbed in the living room. For example, I could invite my friends over for card games, and my wife could still enjoy her evening without much disturbance. If everything is open plan, I think you always have to make sure to get away if you want to avoid being constantly disturbed.
Regarding the topic of show home parks needing to be practical, I understand. However, when I drive through our new residential areas, I see these floor-to-ceiling windows everywhere.
@Caspar2020 about meeting friends, I meant that if the dining area is separate from the living room, you can sit with friends in the dining area while your partner can still read, watch TV, or do something else relatively undisturbed in the living room. For example, I could invite my friends over for card games, and my wife could still enjoy her evening without much disturbance. If everything is open plan, I think you always have to make sure to get away if you want to avoid being constantly disturbed.
B
Bieber081517 Jul 2017 09:29Floor-to-Ceiling Windows
They let in a lot of natural light, and you can look outside comfortably while seated. In my opinion, the effort required for cleaning does not really increase; cleaning a small or large window makes little difference (larger glass surfaces are often easier to clean than smaller ones).
In a child’s room, you can alternatively use low sill heights of around 40cm (16 inches), so playing children can also look outside. Safety railings or fall protection are then necessary for upper floors (these can also be attractive, but they tend to be more expensive).
We don’t have floor-to-ceiling windows on the upper floor. Furniture placement is simply easier. Still, I find it a bit disappointing that when I wake up in bed, I cannot immediately see the beautiful garden.
Open Kitchen
I like the kitchen and dining area to be open. It’s great to be able to interact with guests while still busy in the kitchen. I find this very positive. There is also plenty of space for a long dining table. Our living room seating area is somewhat separated again, with no direct line of sight to the cooking area.
Balcony
If the balcony is accessed through a room, it practically belongs to that room. For shared use, the balcony should be accessible from a common area (usually a hallway on the upper floor; on the ground floor, access often leads from the kitchen or living room to the terrace). In my humble opinion, a single-family house can easily do without a balcony.
They let in a lot of natural light, and you can look outside comfortably while seated. In my opinion, the effort required for cleaning does not really increase; cleaning a small or large window makes little difference (larger glass surfaces are often easier to clean than smaller ones).
In a child’s room, you can alternatively use low sill heights of around 40cm (16 inches), so playing children can also look outside. Safety railings or fall protection are then necessary for upper floors (these can also be attractive, but they tend to be more expensive).
We don’t have floor-to-ceiling windows on the upper floor. Furniture placement is simply easier. Still, I find it a bit disappointing that when I wake up in bed, I cannot immediately see the beautiful garden.
Open Kitchen
I like the kitchen and dining area to be open. It’s great to be able to interact with guests while still busy in the kitchen. I find this very positive. There is also plenty of space for a long dining table. Our living room seating area is somewhat separated again, with no direct line of sight to the cooking area.
Balcony
If the balcony is accessed through a room, it practically belongs to that room. For shared use, the balcony should be accessible from a common area (usually a hallway on the upper floor; on the ground floor, access often leads from the kitchen or living room to the terrace). In my humble opinion, a single-family house can easily do without a balcony.
Hmm, what exactly is the problem? Is it about installing the windows? Our entire south-facing side (10 glass units) consists of floor-to-ceiling windows, and 90% of them have plants or similar in front of them. Why not? The windows aren’t meant to open for going outside anyway...
In the past, small windows were built because houses weren’t airtight; nowadays, that’s different...
Open areas as well... walls only limit space.
We don’t even need to talk about balconies; they have no place on a single-family house.
In the past, small windows were built because houses weren’t airtight; nowadays, that’s different...
Open areas as well... walls only limit space.
We don’t even need to talk about balconies; they have no place on a single-family house.
Show homes are primarily meant to inspire visitors and demonstrate what is possible. How you design your own floor plan later is entirely up to you, as everyone has different habits and preferences. I personally dislike closed-off kitchens where you have to cook alone, separated from the rest of the family relaxing in the living room. When I cook, there is no strong odor! We currently have floor-to-ceiling windows measuring 4m (13 feet) in the living room, and in the new house, they will be over 10m (33 feet) – we love that. It is very bright, you can enjoy the view of the garden, and if it ever feels like too much light, you can lower blinds or hang curtains or something similar. My daughter insisted on having a floor-to-ceiling window in her new room, so why not?
A balcony is not absolutely necessary; most people leave it out anyway, and young children should never be left alone on a balcony.
Best regards
Sabine
A balcony is not absolutely necessary; most people leave it out anyway, and young children should never be left alone on a balcony.
Best regards
Sabine
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