ᐅ Hillside house, 235 sqm, with a garage in the basement on a 3,600 sqm plot

Hello everyone,
we would like to present the floor plan design of our planned house for discussion.
Main questions can be found in the questionnaire.

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 3600 sqm (0.9 acres)
Slope: yes – south/east facing with a little over 2 meters (6.6 feet) gradient in the house area
Floor area ratio, gross floor area ratio, building envelope, building line and boundary: No development plan, all according to §34 Building Code
Adjacent development: see above
Number of parking spaces: see above
Number of floors: 1 to 3 floors in the surrounding area
Roof type: all types except shed and flat roofs are present in the surroundings
Architectural style: none specified
Orientation: none specified
Maximum heights / restrictions: none
Other specifications: none

Owners’ Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: Gable roof house with a large covered terrace and open design; the roof covering should extend from the balcony over the terrace and transition into a gable roof on the terrace. So no hip roof covering.
Basement, floors: Basement + 2 full floors
Number of occupants, age: 2 adults (34/28)
Room requirements on ground floor and upper floor:
Ground floor – utility room, shower/toilet, kitchen, pantry, dining, living room;
Upper floor – bathroom, dressing room, bedroom, children’s room, office, open area as reading nook (reserved for a second children’s room)
Office: 2-person home office
Guest bedrooms per year: few or none
Open or closed architecture: mixed
Conservative or modern construction: rather conservative. Solid construction (Poroton masonry outside, calcium silicate bricks inside), minimal “ornamentation.” No technical gimmicks. We both enjoy being outdoors, so the covered terrace and large patio doors are especially important to us.
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen to dining room without kitchen island (we cook a lot, so a powerful extractor hood that vents directly outside is very important)
Number of dining seats: 6–8
Fireplace: yes
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: balcony that transitions into the terrace
Garage, carport: double garage in the basement
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: large garden with productive areas
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons for choices:
- centralized ventilation system, otherwise simple house technology
- large patio doors (it is sufficient if you can exit from the kitchen door to the balcony and from the dining room window to the terrace; the others (balcony, living room) can be fixed glazing)
- large pantry
- utility room on the ground floor and below the bathroom, since a laundry chute is desired

House Design
Who created the plan:
- planner and our ideas
What do you particularly like? Why?
- almost level access to the terrace and connection to the balcony
- full use of the sunny location
- we really like the floor plan
What do you not like? Why?
- entrance area with a small vestibule on the ground floor acting as a bottleneck; we will probably mainly use the entrance through the garage in the basement anyway
- concerns whether the dining area might be too large
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: none so far
Personal price limit for the house including fixtures and fittings: none yet, still in price determination
Preferred heating system: gas + tank

If you had to give up certain details/finishes
- can you do without:
- cannot do without:

Why did the design turn out this way?
Standard design from the planner: no
Corresponding / Which wishes were implemented by the architect:
- desire for lots of light and still covered terrace
- openness to the large garden
- separation from neighbors on the “right” side through the protruding structure
- built in line with the slope (wider than deep)
What makes it particularly good or bad in your view?
- particularly good because it meets all our requirements but leaves some small doubts as mentioned above.

What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?

We are unsure if there are too many and too large windows on the ground floor, and if the dining area is too big; if so, how to reduce it without major changes.

We look forward to your feedback!
Best regards and many thanks in advance
J+N