ᐅ Optimizing the Floor Plan for a New Single-Family Home Build

Hello everyone,

I would appreciate feedback on the following floor plan. I’m completely new to the forum but have read comments on various other designs here. Before receiving feedback suggesting a complete redesign, I prefer to put this unfinished draft up for discussion.

What is still unfinished: window positions and sizes, furniture arrangement in the living room, separation between the utility room and the adjacent pantry, acoustic optimization of the home office.

Development plan/restrictions: driveway on the left, not allowed on the same side as the house
Plot size: 650 sqm (about 7,000 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: 0.35
Floor space ratio: unknown
Building envelope, setback line and boundary: 3 m (10 ft)
Edge development:
Number of parking spaces: 1
Number of stories: 2–3
Roof type: no hip roofs allowed
Architectural style: no preference
Orientation: fixed due to road location
Maximum height/limits: 11 m (36 ft) for 3 floors
Other requirements: open building style

Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof, building type: Bauhaus, flat roof
Basement, floors: no basement, 2 stories
Number of occupants, ages: 5 people, including 3 children aged 2 to 8 years
Room requirements on ground and upper floors: not defined, based on required rooms
Office: separate room needed for a home office
Overnight guests per year: at least 2, sometimes several weeks at a time
Open or closed architecture: closed, for acoustic reasons
Traditional or modern construction: modern, minimalist, efficient
Open kitchen, island: island desired, open kitchen preferred
Number of dining seats: usually 5, more when hosting guests
Fireplace: no
Music/sound system wall: no, but a good idea
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: carport directly adjacent
Utility garden, greenhouse: small garden accessible from the terrace, which should be accessible from the living room
Other wishes/considerations/daily routine, including reasons why some things should or shouldn’t be:
- Ground floor should be as age-appropriate as possible (older guests, so guest room and shower on ground floor)
- Morning sun should shine into the bedroom for natural waking
- Terrace not southwest-facing to avoid overheating
- Home office should be located to minimize disturbances to others when starting early or working late
- The home office needs good acoustic separation from the rest of the house for calls (children should not be overheard; the “worker” ideally not heard outside the room)
- Children’s rooms can be relatively small, as bunk beds with space underneath are planned
- There should be enough space in front of the TV in the living room for children to join in activities (dancing, etc.)
- Quietness is important due to current noisy and stressful living conditions (loud street, poor door seals, noisy children)
- The layout should be efficient and functional: short distances, easy to clean, robot vacuum should be able to reach most areas
- Smart home requirements and space needs for equipment are still unclear
- The house should be bright but able to be quickly darkened in the evening (blinds or similar)
- An electric piano must fit somewhere (probably upstairs, in a gallery above the front door)

House design
Origin of the design: based on a standard plan with many DIY modifications

What you like: it seems quite efficient already
What you dislike: possibly too little storage (no basement, so likely need a shed somewhere)
Price estimate from architect/planner: not yet known
Personal budget including equipment: approx. 450,000
Preferred heating system: district heating, as this is standard there

If you had to give up certain details/features:
- Can be omitted: kitchen island, kitchen does not have to be open, one of the children’s rooms if necessary (another would have to be larger)
- Cannot give up: separation of guest and home office, must be two separate rooms

Why is the design the way it is now?
We reviewed many standard plans and then used one as a base for various modifications through many iterations.
What do you think is especially good or bad about it? /

What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters or less?
What can be improved and why? Unfiltered feedback is very welcome.

Thank you very much