ᐅ Optimize and expand the floor plan of an existing house

Hello everyone,
We have just bought my mother’s house. It is almost 115 sqm (1,237 sq ft). Six of us live here, and we need a bit more space.
We have two options now: either we convert the attic above the main house into five rooms and a second bathroom. Then, on the ground floor, the kitchen would be moved one room over (to where the bedroom and living room are now), combining the kitchen and dining room. The current kitchen would be turned into an entrance hall, where shoes and a wardrobe would be placed.
The other option, which is my favorite (although significantly more expensive), would be to convert the adjacent barn. In that case, the kitchen and dining room would move into the barn, and the rest of the layout would remain the same. Especially looking ahead a few years, it’s practical to stay on one level.
What do you think? Or do you perhaps have ideas we haven’t considered yet?
Best regards, Mira and Jan

The information is a bit sparse—especially the sketch. Where is the entrance? Is this the ground floor or the future upper floor? What is the roof pitch? Is there a knee wall?

I would generally recommend converting the attic rather than remodeling the barn. A barn is not a simple project and often it’s more cost-effective to demolish and rebuild. Usually, the barn is also much too large, which can lead to serious financial overcommitment. The advantage of working with the roof is that all the utility lines are usually already nearby. Also, the insulation from below is likely to be of higher quality than in the barn. Whether that applies in your case depends on gathering all the information you have.

The same applies here: complete the questionnaire to assess your needs and the starting situation:
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundrissplanung-unbedingt-vor-Beitrag-Erstellung-lesen.11714/

(Please also include your budget!)

kaho674 schrieb:

The information is a bit sparse – especially the sketch. Where is the main entrance? Is this the ground floor or the future upper floor? What is the roof pitch? Is there a knee wall?

I would generally recommend converting the attic rather than remodeling the barn. A barn is not simple to convert and often it would be more cost-effective to demolish and rebuild it. Usually, barns are also much too large, and you risk overstretching financially. With the roof, you have the advantage that all the utilities are at least nearby. The insulation from below is probably of higher quality than in a barn. Whether this applies in your case, you would need to gather together all the information you have.

The same applies here: fill out the questionnaire to assess your needs and the starting situation:
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundrissplanung-unbedingt-vor-Beitrag-Erstellung-lesen.11714/

(Please also specify your budget!)

Thank you very much for your reply.
Yes, we do not have all the documents yet, so I could hardly answer the questions.
The main entrance is in the kitchen. It used to be in what is now the dining room, but there is only a patio door there now.
The floor plan is for our ground floor where we currently live.
The attic is completely empty and just one room. Until a few years ago, there were two rooms there, but they were removed.
We will continue to collect more documents first. Thank you again for your response.
Best regards

Stable? – Hopefully, we’re not talking about an outdoor area here...

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11ant schrieb:

Stable? – hopefully, we are not talking about an outdoor area here...

But isn’t a stable always considered an outdoor area, or what exactly is meant? It is directly adjacent to the house, and we are currently using it as a shed while our chickens live there.

Year of construction of the house and barn?

How or where would one access the attic?