ᐅ Single-family house with large open space – Requesting opinions

Hello everyone,

We are building a new house in a rather rural area of North Rhine-Westphalia, on an old but large vacant plot within a village setting. The attached floor plans were created based on a "rough draft" by myself and refined after several consultations with a local architect. Before we move forward decisively, I would appreciate hearing other opinions and welcome constructive criticism.

One change not yet included in the plan is a vestibule, which we want to add to prevent drafts caused by the open staircase access to the upper floor through the atrium. To keep the hallway feeling spacious, we plan to install the front door flush with the façade and add a canopy above the entrance.

Because of the generous basement, we will probably forgo an attic. We generally like exposed roof trusses and the resulting ceiling height. However, there might be an attic above the children's rooms.

The roof section above the atrium is flat. We want to keep the option open to create a rooftop terrace here later. Access would be via an external staircase between the garage roof and the upper floor; from the upper floor, this area would be accessible.

Since we have already posted in a smaller forum, we have already received two valuable tips:
- The kitchen window will be shifted slightly toward the dining table, as it currently takes up space needed for wall cabinets.
- The roof structure will be challenging due to the open atrium and walls that are not aligned vertically. A 12 m (39 ft) long steel beam as a purlin will likely need to be installed above the gallery railing.

We would like to ask for opinions, especially regarding the following: The best view is actually facing west, toward the sunset. The western corner of the living room is currently reserved for the TV, so we initially removed the window there. We are now considering expanding the window front so that a window is placed in the corner with a wider wall section in between, where the TV would be centered in the living room. This would provide a "west view" from the sofa as well. The original corner placement of the TV was intended to allow it to be positioned so it could be viewed from the dining table as well. How would you arrange it?

Checklist:
Development plan / restrictions
Lot size including rear land / former agricultural area overall 2800 sqm (30,139 sq ft)
Slope: street at front is nearly level with garage floor, right side is 1 m (3.3 ft) lower, land levels out toward the back but drops off again at the end, so that the neighbor about 80 m (262 ft) away is around one floor lower
Floor space ratio 0.4
Floor area ratio 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary: marked on ground floor plan at left
Surrounding buildings: bungalow on left, 1.5 storeys on right
Number of storeys: 2 full storeys
Roof style: any
Architectural style: any
Garden orientation: northwest

Owners’ requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: preferably classic "old-fashioned"; we love old castles but unfortunately that’s no longer how people build today
Number of people, ages: 41 + 42 + 1.5 years (possible 2nd child / foster child)
Office: for family use or home office including storage for private documents, books, etc.
Guests staying overnight per year: up to about 10 nights per year so far
Open or closed architecture: preferably open
Traditional or modern construction: both have pros and cons; a mix is welcome
Open kitchen, kitchen island: preferably open with option to close it later; kitchen island not required
Number of dining seats: usually 4, but up to 12-18 for guests
Fireplace: not required
Music/speaker wall: not required
Balcony, rooftop terrace: rooftop terrace as a possible addition later
Garage, carport: at least one double garage
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why certain things are or are not wanted: -

House design
Planner: Architect based on a DIY rough draft
Estimated cost according to architect/planner: approximately 620,000 € including additional costs
Personal budget for the house including fittings: preferably less; we have some saving potentials through professional contacts in the construction industry / partial DIY and friends who are tradespeople
Preferred heating system: ground source heat pump, deep drilling

An open loft space is just a waste of space and causes huge sound problems. I would never build something like that, but it is quite nice to look at.

Bathroom and master bedroom swap....

Several reasons:

North side is cooler
Bathroom is easier for children to access
You get more privacy from the children (they will grow up eventually)

Snowy36 schrieb:
Swap the bathroom and master bedroom....

Several reasons:

North side is cooler
Bathroom is more accessible for the children
You get more privacy from the kids (they do grow up eventually)

I had considered that too. But the bathroom has the best view of the large garden and beyond of all the rooms. For example, you can look out from the bathtub. We only use the bedroom at night, so the view there doesn’t really matter to us.

ltenzer schrieb:
-Price estimate according to architect/planner: approx. 620,000 € including additional costs
Personal price limit for the house, including fixtures: preferably lower

Downsizing. The house is large, partly unnecessarily large in my opinion. And it even has a basement underneath.

The gallery is a huge waste. An open roof structure spanning two floors plus a pitched roof above will be challenging in terms of lighting choices and heating. I also imagine the view from the living room toward the roof looks quite unattractive due to the mix of pitched and flat roofs.
Roof terrace... better forget it. Who would want to go up there? You already have a terrace downstairs.
Pitched roof on the garage is expensive, the slope of the site is expensive... ugh.

I wouldn’t like the hallway at all; it almost calls for a complete redesign—the staircase doesn’t work in my opinion. The hallway downstairs toward the garage is dark and leads nowhere. Going upstairs puts you exactly on the wrong side of the floor. Long walking distances. Somehow unfortunate.

This is a huge house with comparatively small living spaces, except for the open-plan area on the ground floor.
I feel that a lot of emphasis was placed on visual features and little on functionality.
The design’s orientation to the cardinal directions is missing as well.
Hmm. Redesign and make it 100,000 € cheaper.

Bookstar schrieb:
Such an open space is just wasted room and a huge noise issue. I would never build something like that, but it’s nice to look at.

We simply have more space available than we need.
And sound insulation can be improved with slightly higher quality doors on the upper floor.