ᐅ Comments and feedback on the floor plan layout are welcome.

I would really suggest choosing one of the floor plans mentioned here and making only minimal adjustments; you’ve just gotten some good ideas above anyway!

I think you and your wife have certain must-haves that you’re trying to force into the floor plan by all means. This inevitably creates that Tetris feeling; the result is then neither functional nor harmonious.

Surely you can’t be serious about wanting to walk through the already not very large bathroom and then also through a walk-in closet into your bedroom, which is somewhere at the end of the maze (or maybe not).

borxx schrieb:

"going into the bedroom and from there into the bathroom and dressing room is wrong, and in the worst case, having to pass by your partner on the toilet in the morning if you want to leave. You really have to want that."

…which is described exactly here.
And then you’ve actually planned an emergency exit-type door in the walk-through closet so that in the above-mentioned worst case you can leave the house that way and get back inside from the front, bypassing the occupied bathroom.
This is neither sensible nor functional, just nonsense, sorry. Imagine that in reality… you’d need some kind of roof there or always have a raincoat in the bedroom in case it happens. A bathroom with two doors is far from comfortable anyway, and if your wife leaves the bathroom without reopening the bedroom door, you’ll eventually be found like Ötzi in the bedroom. You even almost jokingly write “locked in,” but you have to realize that this can’t work, right?

The kitchen feels like a bulky room just placed there, and you have to walk all the way around it; the kitchen door makes no sense because the kitchen is open anyway; it would be more inviting if it were completely open in my opinion.

Upstairs, I would remove the walls/door in the living room completely and definitely keep it open. Maybe it also makes sense—an architect could figure this out—not to place the open space only above the dining area; perhaps the planning could reveal a different picture and possibilities for an open design.

I’ve really read some great ideas about houses and floor plans in your threads. I know you want it to look nice. I, too, find floor plans challenging, so I usually leave it to people who can implement my ideas properly (or not, if they’re crazy).
I believe this is exactly what I would recommend to you in order to get a great house. If you look at just the bedroom-bathroom-dressing room version, you should realize that someone else needs to handle it because that idea alone is from another planet.

Nothing has happened yet after all…

pagoni2020 schrieb:

I would genuinely suggest choosing one of the floor plans mentioned here and making only minimal adjustments; you’ve just received some ideas above anyway!
I believe that you and your wife each have certain must-haves that you’re trying to force into the design. This inevitably creates a cramped, Tetris-like feeling; the result ends up neither functional nor harmonious.
Surely you’re not serious about having to walk through the already small bathroom and then through a walk-in closet just to get to your bedroom, which is located somewhere at the end of the labyrinth (or not).

... as you described so precisely here.
Additionally, you’ve actually planned an emergency exit-type door in that walk-through closet space so that, in the worst-case scenario you mentioned, you could leave the house and re-enter from the front by bypassing the occupied bathroom.
This is neither practical nor functional; it’s simply nonsense, sorry. Imagine it in real life — you’d either need some kind of roof covering there, or you’d always have to keep a raincoat in your bedroom in case that situation occurs. A bathroom with two doors is far from comfortable, and if your wife leaves the bathroom without reopening the bedroom door, you might eventually be found sleeping there like Ötzi. You jokingly write “locked in,” but you really have to realize that simply won’t work, right?
The kitchen feels like a bulky, awkwardly placed room that you have to walk around; the kitchen door makes no sense since the kitchen is open anyway; in my opinion, a fully open kitchen would be more inviting.
Upstairs, I would completely remove the walls and door around the living room and keep it open. Maybe it also makes sense — and an architect could confirm this — not to place the open space strictly over the dining area; perhaps the plan could allow for a different layout and more open design possibilities.
I’ve read many really good ideas about houses and floor plans in your threads. I know you want it to be beautiful. I personally have a hard time with floor plans as well, so I either stay away or leave it to people who can appropriately translate my ideas (or not, if they’re crazy).
I believe this is exactly what I want to recommend to you, so you end up with a great house. Just based on that bedroom-bathroom-dressing room concept, you should realize another person needs to be involved because that idea alone is from a different planet.
Nothing has happened yet...–

Hi, and thanks for your input. I do take your advice seriously, and I think about many things. In some areas I follow the suggestions, and in others, we clearly live differently.

We had a session with the planner last night and made a few changes on the ground floor. See the attachment. Yes, the door is now in the dressing room. Personally, I find that unfortunate, but okay…

The void space now extends over the entire depth of the left third of the house (lighter in the sketch, and over the bedroom). The roof there will be built without knee walls, so it will be lower: a) rooms won’t be as tall and b) there will be the option to install windows upstairs.

Looking at the floor plan of the recommended Weberhaus mylife 400, I notice that
- it is at least as convoluted
- there’s a huge room where kitchen, sofa, and dining table seem randomly placed. Am I right that the TV stands in the middle of the room and people at the dining table end up watching the back of it?
- The distance between eyes and TV seems to be about 3 meters (10 feet). That would be too short for decent TV viewing. Not to mention that in such a large room, decent acoustics (like for 5.1 surround sound) won’t develop.
- There’s no office or guest bedroom, so an additional floor is necessary. But there’s no room for a staircase either.
- The stove and sink are located in the darkest part of the entire house.
- The utility room with heating, electricity meter, washer/dryer, and connections (worst case: ventilation system) is cramped.
- The guest toilet is located right next to the living room. I know this from friends and always notice the noise in the living room when guests use the toilet.
- The hallway, especially near the entrance, feels quite small. Where will jackets hang, shoes be kept, or hats and scarves laid?
- Where do everyday tasks happen: Where do vacuum cleaners, ironing boards, drying racks go? Where is laundry sorted? Every laundry load has to be carried twice across the house (plus the way to wherever the laundry dries).

These are the first quick questions I have about this floor plan. It’s a similar story with the Rensch house: instantly, a thousand questions come to mind.

I don’t understand what is different about us that we don’t like these standard layouts, and why our plans get “torn apart” like this?

Since I’m genuinely interested in this topic... how do you live? How do you plan a house: based on looks or on daily routines and needs?

Best regards, Andreas

I think if you plan everything on the ground floor, including the sleeping area and the utility room, there is really no need for an upper floor once the children have basically moved out. Why would you go upstairs at all, except for cleaning?
Why not rather have a more spacious living area downstairs and sleep upstairs? This way, you also get the nice view of the planned open space, and with a stair lift, it won’t be a problem as you get older.

Best regards,
Sabine

Curly schrieb:

I think if you plan everything on the ground floor, including the sleeping area and the utility room, then you basically don’t need an upper floor anymore, especially if the children have practically moved out. For what reason would you still go upstairs, except for cleaning?
Why not rather have a more spacious living area downstairs and bedrooms upstairs? That way you also get the nice view of the planned open space, and with a stairlift, it’s no problem as you get older.

Best regards
Sabine

Hi,

a) The children still live with us, but probably not for much longer (hopefully).
b) We currently only have a partial upper floor. There is no upper floor above the living rooms downstairs, and the space is open up to the ridge.
c) We want to keep the option to create a separate apartment upstairs.

neo-sciliar schrieb:

In other places, we obviously just live differently.

That’s perfectly fine.

neo-sciliar schrieb:

Yes, the door is now in the walk-in closet. Personally, I find that unfortunate, but go ahead......

Of course, place your door wherever YOU want. But WHY do you think that’s unfortunate? I’m honestly very curious!
That said, I don’t think I can offer you anything useful on this. The only thing left is what your children criticized.

neo-sciliar schrieb:

Looking at the floor plan of the recommended Weberhaus mylife 400, I
- see that it is at least just as convoluted
- see a huge room where the kitchen, sofa, and dining table seem randomly placed to me. Am I right in seeing that the TV is in the middle of the room and people at the dining table have to look at the back of the TV?
- Is the eye-to-TV distance about 3 meters (10 feet)? That would be too short for a proper TV viewing experience. Not to mention that in this huge room there is hardly any chance for decent acoustics (topic: 5.1 sound system)
- there is neither an office nor a guest sleeping area. So, you have to add a floor upstairs.

The unit has 135 sqm (1453 sq ft), you mentioned earlier something about planned 180. No wonder the 400 looks a bit tighter. It was only meant to show that you can have everything on one level with a bungalow without needing to build 180 sqm (1938 sq ft).
No guest sleeping area? I see 2 children's rooms there.
Small fun fact: rooms called children's rooms can also be converted into offices; Weberhaus doesn’t mind at all.
"The room is huge," which is why I said: push the two kitchen rows to 120 cm (47 inches) apart and then build a wall behind the right kitchen row. That way, you get peace in the living room. And you simply place the TV somewhere else.
And yes, it is convoluted. Just straighten the exterior walls and that will get rid of the chaos.
Swap the WC and utility room, done.