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
S
stefanc8413 Oct 2017 21:3411ant schrieb:
I don’t understand this connection: open stairs are expensive, no matter where they are located. And not building a "privacy screen" or partition between the stairs and the living room doesn’t cost extra. I agree with you, there isn’t a strict correlation. But there is somewhat of a link, since a staircase in the living area naturally demands higher standards (at least in the cases I’m familiar with) than a staircase in a hallway recess.
The biggest issue with modern living trends for people who prefer a classic lifestyle is the lack of space for furniture. There is a kitchen area with an island. One wall contains the staircase. Another wall is glazed, and the remaining fourth wall holds the television with a lowboard... but in our living room, we have a Vertigo cabinet with glass doors and the good Holmgaard glasses, another sideboard with doors and drawers. In addition, there is a not-so-small Ikea Valje shelving unit with CDs stored in felt baskets and books, plus a media rack with a Yamaha stereo system and the TV on top. We also have a six-person oak dining table in a natural finish, a corner sofa, and in front of it, a late 1960s original teak coffee table with a dark gray slate top. It’s certainly a bit of a crossover style, but it’s cozy and filled with memories. A modern open-plan room would be impossible for us to furnish. Karsten
Nordlys schrieb:
The biggest problem with the modern living hype for people who prefer a classic style is the lack of usable surface area. There’s a kitchen zone complete with an island. One wall accommodates the staircase. Another is glazed, and the remaining fourth wall holds the TV with a lowboard... but in our living room we have a Vertigo cabinet with glass doors and the good Holmgaard glasses, another sideboard with doors and drawers, a not-so-small IKEA Valje shelf with CDs in felt baskets and books, plus a media shelf with a Yamaha stereo system and the TV on top. There’s also a six-person natural oak dining table, a corner sofa, and in front of it, a late 60s original teak table with an anthracite slate top. It’s definitely a bit of a crossover style, but cozy and full of memories. A modern open-plan living area would be impossible for us to furnish. KarstenSorry, but the furniture you mention would each have its own place in our open-plan living area. And when I say that, I mean each piece of furniture would have its own wall space. Of course, the dining table is positioned in the room without a wall behind it.
Additionally, our open-plan space includes separate walls for an L-shaped kitchen with a cooking island. To add, there are four separate terrace doors—two each 1 meter (3.3 feet) wide, and two each 2 meters (6.6 feet) wide—making a total of 6 meters (20 feet) of terrace access. And what can I say: there’s also a staircase going up, plus room for a fireplace.
I can objectively say that no one who’s been inside here would say it’s overcrowded; rather, it feels cool and sparsely furnished.
stefanc84 schrieb:
A little bit, yes, because naturally the standards for a staircase in a living area are much higher [...] than for a staircase tucked away in a hallway niche. Most of the staircases I read about here are neither the extreme "designer piece" nor the extreme "makeshift ladder, leftover material," but one of the many in between. And they are often not just hidden out of embarrassment about their appearance, away from prime viewing spots from the couch with panoramic views.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
S
stefanc8414 Oct 2017 00:34ypg schrieb:
And I can objectively say that probably none of the people who have been here would judge the place as cozy; it’s rather cool and sparse. But isn’t that exactly what Karsten meant? There’s nothing wrong with a sparse interior; that’s a matter of personal taste. However, if you prefer a more abundant design (and I’m among those who do), having as many walls as possible with few floor-to-ceiling windows is more suitable.
stefanc84 schrieb:
But isn’t that exactly what Karsten meant? There is nothing against minimal furnishing; that’s a matter of taste. But if you want a more lavish interior (yes, I count myself among them), then having as many walls as possible with as few floor-to-ceiling windows as possible is better.Karsten’s point, as I understand it, is that in an open-plan space, there is hardly any room for freestanding furniture.
I disagree with that: I know Karsten’s floor plan and can say that everything he desires would easily fit in our home with plenty of room to spare. And much more.
@Nordlys is wrong...
In any case, I think that based on his current statements, they would have been very happy if they had opted for something more “modern”: open living comes from his wife’s cherished childhood memories—a large kitchen with an oversized dining table: space for family and spontaneous visits from neighbors, plus access to the potatoes in the garden. Also a formal sitting room. It can happen—this is just how it is now.
Similar topics