ᐅ Floor Plan Design for a Single-Family Home of Approximately 150 m²

Baufie schrieb:

I don’t want to be harsh, but looking at the picture of your house, one might get the impression that you have renovated a house from the 1960s or 1970s.

We have a lot of glass, also facing the neighbors, and wouldn’t want to change that anymore. And why should I care if the neighbors see me in my boxers and without a shirt? That’s no different than wearing swimwear...

Baufie schrieb:

For the color, we chose a light shade. It also absorbs almost no light.

kaho674 schrieb:

I still prefer removing the island and placing a table there. Corner sofas usually don’t look as good as two separate smaller sofas.

Wickie schrieb:

We live right next to a footpath. Everyone who owns a dog and lives in the neighborhood walks by here...
Recently, at a big public party in town, my husband was talking to someone who said, "I know where you live. I always see you at the dining table or in the kitchen!" Now he always waves when he walks past with his dog.
That’s how you get to know people too. It doesn’t bother us. I don’t want to be the person everyone talks about as the one who always hides away inside the house. If I block the view from inside, I can’t look out either. I’d rather have my own view than worry about people looking in. If it does bother me that everyone can see inside, I just press a button on my phone and close the blinds. But everyone has their own opinion about that.

For the original poster, I think it’s really awful that he fulfilled his dream of owning a home and now struggles so much with it. Honestly, I find the living space quite oppressive (I don’t mean to be harsh, that’s just how I feel). So I can understand his thoughts.

kaho674 schrieb:

Then just sell it! I don’t know – someone here did that as well. Maybe @11ant can find the thread where the homeowners wanted to sell right away because they found a better plot with less noise.

Selling a house is easier now than ever. You just need to find a new plot – maybe you’ll even improve your situation since you have some experience now.

Climbee schrieb:

We also have large windows and live quite close to our neighbors – we knew this and accepted that people could look inside. Interestingly, it bothers our neighbors more, who have standard windows with typical sill heights and feel their privacy is being disturbed (yes, THOSE neighbors). The lady seriously demanded that we ALWAYS keep our blinds down.

Of course, we don’t do that – I wouldn’t choose large windows just to keep the blinds down all the time. It doesn’t bother me, and personally, I wouldn’t even think of looking into my neighbors’ homes. What would be interesting about that?

Now they always keep their shutters down (they don’t have blinds or roller shutters themselves, just traditional shutters) – well, if that makes them feel better, then let them. I think once we get our privacy fence in the spring, things will calm down.

The funniest and somewhat presumptuous part was the demand, "I have a problem with this, you fix it!" Well, if anyone has an issue, they should solve it themselves. And it worked out – now their windows are fully covered, ours aren’t. But as I said, it wouldn’t bother me if they didn’t close their windows. I wouldn’t peek over there. But if it makes them more comfortable – let them do so.

I just can’t dance around the house naked – which I rarely do anyway, so it doesn’t really restrict me *grin*. We can move freely and unclothed in our private upstairs area with the bathroom, dressing room, and bedroom, as it’s completely private and that’s enough. When I sit at the table or cook, being looked at from outside hardly bothers me.

But it breaks my heart to hear Chris here – it’s just sad when someone builds a house and is so dissatisfied with it. It doesn’t help when people say “I told you so” or “I pointed it out before.” He believed he had good reasons for his decisions but isn’t happy now. I feel sorry for him.

By the way, the fireplace is great! You have my envy – I was talked out of having a fireplace and still mourn it. Especially when I see a beauty like yours.

Otherwise: how long have you lived in the house now? It really still looks quite bare and unfurnished. I’d start there first. Personally, I don’t like curtains, but with these kinds of windows, you just need them! That would be the first thing I’d tackle.

I can imagine two options here: either a somewhat traditional style with rods above (extending well beyond the window frame) and long, lush but definitely light-colored curtains that lay clearly on the floor; or the clean, modern alternative with a track system and curtain panels. These panels would be triple-layered, playing with darker and lighter semi-transparent fabrics, not only on the windows but across the entire wall length (unless shelves or similar are planned). Choose bright, friendly colors.

Get some full-room-sized plants (eBay classifieds can be great for this – many people need to give away oversized plants, so you can get great ones for little money!).

The living room lamp doesn’t create a cozy atmosphere either. This has been mentioned before: get some comfortable lighting. Work around the sofa with small tables or illuminated elements. Currently, Lidl has nice, simple lamps that work well on a small side table next to the couch (cheaper than the classic Wagenfeld lamp). IKEA has those round glass globe lamps which look pretty when placed on the floor (three side by side look nice if you have space – even better if they are different sizes!) or rice paper lamps (they cast a really nice light) in the corner, and in the evening use this lighting instead of the ceiling light. I would add a fancy lamp hanging over the ceiling as a visual highlight, even when turned off – the glass globe currently there is not very charming.

Also, rearranging the sofa as mentioned several times before would be worth trying.

I feel like you’re lacking a bit of a knack for interior design. That’s nothing to be ashamed of, but I’d start there. Look at interiors (online, in furniture stores, or relevant magazines) and find out what makes a room appeal to you. Then try to apply that to your rooms. If necessary, get someone experienced to give you some suggestions. It could just be a good friend whose home you like – doesn’t have to be a pro, but it could be (why not invest a few hundred dollars if it helps you feel “settled” – it’s worth it!).

I’m convinced you can get much more out of the rooms.

Enlarging the windows or creating floor-to-ceiling windows could be a project for the future – for now, I’d be glad to just get the construction mess outside cleaned up. Such a major change makes more sense once you’ve lived there for a while – then you’ll know where it really makes sense or where what you have is already good.

I’m sure you can get a lot more out of the rooms and feel very comfortable in your home then.