ᐅ Single-family Home for Four People – Opinions

That already looks reasonable and livable.

I agree with having a floor-to-ceiling window on the west side in the living room. It doesn’t have to be centered and can be placed near the corner.

Then use double doors to connect the multipurpose room/hallway to the entrance. Preferably glass doors.

In the kitchen, create a nice L-shaped layout and avoid having to fill every corner.

What’s a pity, and where I see hardly any options, is a nice 3-meter (10 feet) wardrobe space in the master bedroom. Maybe, since children’s rooms are usually oriented one way and not mixed with the bathroom and parents’ area, you could add a recess next to the bathroom toward the study in the master bedroom to fit a built-in closet there. Currently, in every room you’re walking up against a wardrobe side wall.

A bit boring, isn’t it? Maybe there’s room for a small facade surprise?
What should the knee wall height be? How high are the window sills on the upper floor?

Ypsi aus NI schrieb:

Hello,
When I placed the start of the staircase directly next to the front door in my floor plan draft, it was rightly pointed out that you always have to walk through the entryway’s dirt zone when going upstairs. You have the same situation.

Yes, it just has to work overall. If the concept allows for options, it’s good, but if it doesn’t fit, then it doesn’t. Here, it’s the size of the house and the desired hallway on the upper floor that prevent it. And if the client is happy, then that’s what matters.

Instead of two patio doors in the living/dining area, I would install one large sliding door.
You will never use the door behind the sofa.
Additionally, you can then design the garden outside with beautiful lighting and features that can be wonderfully seen through the large sliding door.

Unfortunately, it is very obvious how unmotivated the planner is in their work and how little they care about creating something appealing. Walls drawn as lifeless rectangles like this are rare – as a result, all the rooms have rather random dimensions. How exactly did you phrase your briefing to them?

At @chrisw81, you can already read about the drywall fiasco that will follow with the washbasin in this position – the waste pipe apparently hasn’t been considered here (it would run straight through the door of the guest bathroom). The best option might be for you to choose between Katja’s next two proposals by flipping a coin.

Just as a “still,” I have quickly sketched where the (double-sized) stairwell window would be better placed in this design:

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First of all, thank you for all the feedback and great comments. I still owe you a response regarding the location of the garage. The planner said the following...

The development plan does not specify on which side of the building a garage should be located. However, the land development company has favored this location because the houses’ terraces mostly face southwest, and they wanted to maximize the distance from the neighbor—which is possible if the garages are on the right side. To my knowledge, so far all homeowners who have built directly on Walkmühlenweg have positioned their garages on the right side. Additionally,

existing curb cuts are present on the right side of each plot.

In general, there is nothing against building the garage on the left side of the house if you prefer. However, this will likely incur additional costs for modifying and adjusting the curbs.

kbt09 schrieb:

Ground floor:
I would place the sofa against the wall to the guest room and definitely add a window on the west side.
I would align the door to the living area (on the left) with the front door and the patio door. For this, consider making the living area door a sliding door that runs leftwards into the hallway. This way, it can easily stay open without blocking any space. It could be a nice glass door.

Between the dining area and kitchen, I would also plan a sliding door that could slide downwards from the dining room side. This might allow fitting a small island in the kitchen, which is difficult with the existing door placement—especially since that door will likely often be in a walking path.

Upper floor:
I would probably add skylights above the beds in the children's rooms on the left and right sides.

Possibly the same in the bathroom, with the other window being single-leaf, so that between the window and the wall toward the children’s room there might be space for a shower. I’m not a fan of showers right next to the bathroom entrance.

Overall, I find the space distribution quite good.

I like the idea of aligning the front door with the living room door. The same applies to the sliding door to the living and dining area. From my point of view, it is better than a double door because a double door usually takes up space that could otherwise be used for a coat rack. For the kitchen, it’s practical too, even if some noise passes through the door.

I still have to think about the additional skylights. I’m a bit undecided about them. Especially in summer, the skylights on the southern side tend to be mostly covered by external blinds rolled down.

kaho674 schrieb:

Solid work—partly a bit old-fashioned and somewhat wasteful in places. For example, I would find the bathroom very large.
I definitely wouldn’t let anyone reduce the light in the upstairs hallway. On the contrary, I would exaggerate it. The sloped skylights clean themselves with every rain. You can consider the tiny thing on the ground floor by the planner as a joke. Let the sun in! When you enter the lovely large hallway upstairs, you’ll immediately be in a good mood.

Yes, the small window is really tiny. If we have to use a skylight for the hallway upstairs, the planner said it must be electrically operable for opening and closing. I wonder if there are any official requirements for that. Maybe just take both windows. My wife suggested a glass door for the storage room upstairs.

Ypsi aus NI schrieb:

Hello,
When I placed the staircase entry directly next to the front door in my floor plan draft, I was rightly criticized because you always have to walk through the dirt area near the front door to go upstairs. Your layout is similar.

The dirt zone issue is valid. For us, however, the storage room upstairs is important, as well as the shower in the guest bathroom on the ground floor and the large coatroom behind it. We actually want an even bigger guest bathroom, but the hallway restricts us. A different staircase would reduce the guest bathroom size or require giving up direct access to the utility room from the hallway.

ypg schrieb:

That already looks reasonable and livable.

I agree about a floor-to-ceiling window on the west side in the living room. It doesn’t have to be centered and can be placed near the corner.

Then use a double door to connect the living room/entry hall to the hallway. Preferably a glass door.

In the kitchen, plan a nice L shape and avoid filling every corner.

What’s unfortunate, and I see hardly any options, is a nice 3-meter closet space in the master bedroom. Maybe, since the kids’ rooms are all on one side and not mixed with the master bedroom and bathroom, the bedroom could have a recess near the study to accommodate a built-in wardrobe. Currently, you run into a cabinet wall on every side in each room.

A bit bland, isn’t it? Maybe there could still be a small architectural surprise on the facade?
What kind of sand-lime brick will it be? How high are the window sills upstairs?

Knee wall is 130cm (51 inches), and I still need to ask about the window sill heights.

I’m considering the west window on the living room wall. Generally, I like the idea, but I’m just wondering if it might negatively affect the external facade’s appearance. I wouldn’t go for a double door from the hallway because of the coatroom, even though it looks nice.

The master bedroom was moved due to size constraints. The planner chose the larger room for the bedroom. We also wanted it next to the staircase because a child could possibly take the left exit near the door while half asleep and fall down the stairs.

The original floor plan included a recess for a bedroom closet, but this is no longer possible because of the long staircase.

I’m okay with the house being a bit plain.

Alessandro schrieb:

I would install one large sliding door instead of two patio doors in the living/dining area.
You will never use the door behind the sofa anyway.
Plus, outside in the garden you can then work with great lighting and elements that are wonderfully visible through the large sliding door.

I’m considering that.

11ant schrieb:

Unfortunately, it’s very clear how half-heartedly the planner approached this work and how little he cares about whether something nice comes out of it. Walls drawn into a rectangle so carelessly rarely appear—and accordingly, all the rooms have random sizes. How exactly did you formulate your brief?

You can already see from @chrisw81 what drywall misery will follow the washbasin in that position—the drainpipe clearly has not been accounted for yet (it would run straight through the guest WC door). The best thing might be to decide between the next two suggestions from Katja with a coin toss.

Just "anyway," I quickly sketched for you where the (doubled) stairway window would be better placed in this draft:

I often tell the planner what I want—something like “this is roughly how I want the floor plan,” with an example plan. But I rarely specify precise measurements or door positions.

But the washbasin is far away from the guest WC, isn’t it? Or am I misunderstanding something? Basically, we wanted to discuss the bathroom with a bathroom fitter.

I don’t understand the electric double casement window. I would install it fixed, so it cannot be opened. I’m not an expert on double casement windows. But something like that should be available, right?