ᐅ Floor plan of 165 m² with basement – your opinion?

haydee schrieb:

I don’t like the entrance through the kitchen.
Do you really want a corner bench?
I would leave out the pantry. You have a basement anyway.

You like the separation between living and dining, but to me there seems to be a lot of space that’s used only as circulation and not really functional.

I would keep the upper floor as it is.
From the hallway, I would go down to the basement, and from the living area, go upstairs.

Where have you planned the terrace? I’m a fan of having the kitchen connected to the terrace.

The terrace is planned exactly between the living room and the corner bench along the entire side (which is also the south side).

wolverine1987 schrieb:

The terrace is planned exactly between the living room and the corner bench along the entire side (which is also the south side)

I thought so. You know that means sand dunes all the way to the kitchen.
For short distances and practical reasons, the path from the kitchen to the outdoor dining area should be as short as the path to the indoor dining area.

Draw all existing and desired furniture to scale. That’s the easiest way to see where things might become problematic for you. Will the shoe collection fit in the wardrobe, the books in the living room, the oversized bed, etc.?

wolverine1987 schrieb:

What do you mean by too short? Or rather, where would you say there is not enough space?

Between the staircase and the patio door. Technically, the passage is wide enough, but architecturally it feels like a narrow alley fit for a medieval overlord. In terms of spatial perception, the living room here feels like Siberia. Build YOUR own house – stop copying the model home.

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bowbow91 schrieb:

Reminds me a bit of ours.

"A bit" is exactly what ours is too 😉

wolverine1987 schrieb:

We carry dirty things like car tires down the outside stairs.

Yeah, I didn’t even notice those at first. And when the hobby room and similar spaces are down there, that basically puts them right in the middle of your living and dining area’s busiest traffic flow...
I don’t know if you realize that with four people who have basically everything still stored in the basement (laundry, hobby room, decorations here and DIY stuff there, then the tradesperson), this hallway-… uh… living area basically turns into a chaotic hub.

wolverine1987 schrieb:

We thought we’d place the staircase in the entrance hall for better acoustics.

Acoustics might even become a secondary issue. Think it through carefully – there’s no general verdict on whether it’s good or bad. Regarding acoustics: with such openness, you might want to consider a different upper floor layout where you can create some separation.

wolverine1987 schrieb:

But we’re still wondering if that works or if we should go from the living area to the upper floor or not. I thought maybe someone here has experience with exactly this kind of issue.

We have the stairs leading to the upper floor directly from the living area without a basement. For us, that’s not a problem but exactly as desired. However: we have an open staircase and no children. No one needs to pass through or disturb anyone. What bothers me about your idea is the massive, central installation planned for the stairs. You’re probably planning it as a closed staircase, right? In my opinion, that’s a bit problematic for an open living concept. It doesn’t fit together. If you have a central staircase that affects almost every room, you also have to consider the visual impact, acoustics, and privacy. I wonder if you have considered that it can look completely different when it’s a closed staircase.
What bothers me most about the stairs is the sightline from the entrance to the staircase: there simply isn’t one, it’s completely ignored and feels wrong because it’s offset.
There are probably people who don’t mind that, but such details are what distinguish an amateur floor plan from a professional one.

bowbow91 schrieb:

After accounting for the tall cabinets, only about 1m (3.3 ft) remains for the passage. I think a few more centimeters wouldn’t hurt here. Recommendations are often at least 1.1–1.2m (3.6–4 ft).

I wouldn’t make the kitchen a passageway at all: lose the pantry and instead have a storage room accessible from the front, where you can grab the broom without disturbing whoever is cooking. Family events like Tupperware parties, card games, and the collective football TV watching then remain cozy and undisturbed.

I took a look at Regnauer’s designs. Let me put it this way: homebuilders pack their show homes with features that have a wow and “oh” factor. Sometimes these are incredibly expensive or not practical for everyday use. Instead of walls, they build openness and create amazement. These highly equipped homes are meant to entice someone to buy. Then the builder wants that house because of the wow factor, but it gets cut for cost reasons. Or it gets scaled down so that a few things can still be realized. In the end, you get a house that still vaguely resembles the show home but isn’t really the one. Exactly what sets it apart is missing.
Yours is somewhat more practical for everyday use: you can actually use the wardrobe and kitchen. You can even watch TV now, after a window was omitted.
Upstairs, I don’t see that being the case. Laundry chute in the bathroom, two windows in the bedroom, one of them directly above the bed...

How much is all of this supposed to cost?

I would definitely include a shower in the ground floor bathroom, even if it’s a smaller one. There’s usually enough space for it, and you never know how your life or that of your household members might change.

The dining area layout should be drawn out with precise measurements, exactly as you expect it to function in your daily life. So far, there is a larger space between the kitchen and living room that I can’t really visualize without your specifically drawn plan.

For us, it will be similar with that seemingly "useless" open space in between, but we want it that way and know how we will design and use it. I feel the same about the living room area by the window—it seems more like just a passage or walkway to me. Considering the modest size of the open-plan area, I would take another look at this, especially regarding the staircase inside the room.

At the entrance, you should keep in mind that the drawn car passes very close to the front door and will have to reverse past it when leaving. We have something similar, so to prevent issues, there is either a platform or a post protecting the entrance canopy.

wolverine1987 schrieb:

But we’re still considering whether this layout works or if we should access the upper floor directly from the living area or not. I thought maybe someone has experience with exactly this issue.

That’s not really a "problem," just a matter of preference. Sometimes it will bother you, other times you’ll be glad about it. It depends on many factors—cooking, guests, noise, etc. I can see both options working. If the staircase is integrated into the living area, the design should make it feel like a cohesive part of the home, not a cold, damp entrance space but part of the apartment.

If the staircase stays as planned, I would prefer access to the upper floor from the terrace side and the basement from the hallway. So far, though, this feels quite separated to me, with a rather "narrow" passageway, which feels like wasted space.

Here is the site plan to show the orientation.