ᐅ Semi-detached house for rent. Feedback and suggestions are welcome.

Hello, I am currently planning to build a semi-detached house for rental purposes.

The house width must not exceed 15m (49 feet), but I have flexibility in the length.

Orientation is northeast.

It will be a standard house made from 36.5cm (14 inches) aerated concrete blocks, with either an air-to-water heat pump or ground-source heat pump, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, and a pitched roof or hipped roof (nail truss).

I have a few questions regarding improvements.

Ground floor: Should I swap the kitchen and living room? If yes, do I also need to swap the bathroom and bedroom on the upper floor?

Upper floor: Should I keep the small 4.5sqm (48 square feet) room as an office/dressing room or plan it as a children's bathroom and allocate the main bathroom to the parents?

Feedback and suggestions are welcome.

As a father of two children, I have never understood the purpose of a separate children's bathroom. First world luxury. We do very well with just a guest bathroom and a main bathroom. I would always prefer to create additional space rather than extra cleaning work.

In my opinion, the kitchen and dining area are too far apart. Nowadays, most people prefer an open-plan living, cooking, and dining space. Additionally, it is more practical when the kitchen is close to the terrace.

@ HausiaKlausi
Thank you for your response.
We also have two boys (10/12) and so far haven’t experienced any issues with congestion in the bathroom. The boys go to bed around 9 p.m., we a bit later.

@pinky

The main terrace is currently next to the kitchen (northeast orientation). If I swap the living room with the kitchen, I (the tenant) will probably have high water consumption due to a 15m (49 ft) long hot water pipe.
I would prefer not to move the utility room to the south side because the house is already positioned with the narrow side facing the sun.

Please share the draft with the floor plan, access routes, parking spaces, and terrace so that we can get an idea of where everything is planned to be located.

As a tip: use 5 squares for one meter (3.3 feet). This makes it easier to visualize the kitchen and other furniture.

Plan doors as 90 cm (35 inches), showers as 100 x 100 cm (39 x 39 inches). Bathtubs 80 x 180 cm (31 x 71 inches), and children's beds also 100 x 200 cm (39 x 79 inches).

For me, a design can always be improved if a 3-meter (10 feet) wardrobe cannot be placed in the bedroom.

Nowadays, hardly anyone wants a separate kitchen. Yes, they exist, but they are rare.

A dedicated children's bathroom is not necessary. What you need is washing and storage space.