Hello everyone,
After almost a year’s break, we have resumed our building project and are planning a new floor plan.
We’re stuck when it comes to the open-plan living area, so I would like to hear your opinions!
Our garden faces west, and to the south, the neighboring property begins after three meters (10 feet).
Option 1:
Overall, we like this option best. BUT: Is it possibly too tight? About one meter (3 feet) between the sofa and table—is that too cramped? It’s enough for walking through, but maybe it compromises comfort on the couch? Currently, we have much more space between the couch and table, but not as much room depth as in the planned layout. We are thinking of trying to place the table this close to the sofa in our current apartment to get a feel for it.
Pros: Great window view to the west, a skylight to the south (brings in plenty of light but prevents the neighbor from looking into our house), from the couch you can see the room, the garden, and the TV.
Cons: Is it too narrow in width?
Option 2:
Same setup, only the table is rotated. Basically, a table with a footprint of 1.00 x 2.00 meters (3 x 6.5 feet) requires a total space of 2.00 x 2.00 meters (6.5 x 6.5 feet) to accommodate chairs. In this arrangement, all guests could look out to the garden. In option 1, both the sofa and the kitchen island have visual contact with all guests.
Option 3:
The sofa and the entertainment wall are swapped. The skylight to the south changes to a floor-to-ceiling window, but the window to the west is removed.
Pros: More freedom of movement in the room, sofa hidden behind the fireplace, more coziness.
Cons: No view of the garden from the sofa, loss of a west window, view of the fireplace only from the side.
We have gotten so lost in the planning that we can’t see the forest for the trees right now.
What do you think?
Thanks and best regards,
Ypsi
After almost a year’s break, we have resumed our building project and are planning a new floor plan.
We’re stuck when it comes to the open-plan living area, so I would like to hear your opinions!
Our garden faces west, and to the south, the neighboring property begins after three meters (10 feet).
Option 1:
Overall, we like this option best. BUT: Is it possibly too tight? About one meter (3 feet) between the sofa and table—is that too cramped? It’s enough for walking through, but maybe it compromises comfort on the couch? Currently, we have much more space between the couch and table, but not as much room depth as in the planned layout. We are thinking of trying to place the table this close to the sofa in our current apartment to get a feel for it.
Pros: Great window view to the west, a skylight to the south (brings in plenty of light but prevents the neighbor from looking into our house), from the couch you can see the room, the garden, and the TV.
Cons: Is it too narrow in width?
Option 2:
Same setup, only the table is rotated. Basically, a table with a footprint of 1.00 x 2.00 meters (3 x 6.5 feet) requires a total space of 2.00 x 2.00 meters (6.5 x 6.5 feet) to accommodate chairs. In this arrangement, all guests could look out to the garden. In option 1, both the sofa and the kitchen island have visual contact with all guests.
Option 3:
The sofa and the entertainment wall are swapped. The skylight to the south changes to a floor-to-ceiling window, but the window to the west is removed.
Pros: More freedom of movement in the room, sofa hidden behind the fireplace, more coziness.
Cons: No view of the garden from the sofa, loss of a west window, view of the fireplace only from the side.
We have gotten so lost in the planning that we can’t see the forest for the trees right now.
What do you think?
Thanks and best regards,
Ypsi
Y
Ypsi aus NI20 May 2021 13:39Myrna_Loy schrieb:
But doesn’t that contradict the idea of having a large kitchen island and the goal to entertain in an open-plan space?I can’t quite follow that argument. I don’t need the island as a showpiece for guests. I move around the kitchen a lot and often, so I need the space.
Ah, now I think I understand you.
We have two different types of gatherings:
1) A couple of friends with a child visit. Then we all sit together at the dining table while some nice cooking happens alongside in the kitchen.
2) Half the family visits for birthdays, casual get-togethers, mulled wine parties, or something similar. Number of people > 8: this takes place in the conservatory, which is also easily accessible from the kitchen. At these events, I don’t stand at the kitchen island serving the crowd ;-)
M
Myrna_Loy20 May 2021 13:40But now I understand why you’re having such a hard time developing the floor plan. You’re trying to accommodate too many self-imposed must-have requirements at once. Suggestions from the forum won’t help much, since we don’t know the many somewhat specific conditions in your minds. You need an architect with whom you can discuss your ideas.
Ypsi aus NI schrieb:
Then read through my old thread! That’s exactly what I thought, but without the floor plan of the upper floor, the ground floor layout was unacceptable.Is this the one?L-Shaped Floor Plan – What is your opinion?
Then I wonder, what is that one large room suddenly doing here?
Y
Ypsi aus NI20 May 2021 13:45Myrna_Loy schrieb:
But now I understand why you’re having such a hard time developing the floor plan. You’re trying to fit too many self-imposed must-have requirements into one design. Suggestions from the forum won’t help much either since we don’t know the many, somewhat specific requirements you have in mind. You need an architect to discuss your ideas with directly. I hope we haven’t already gotten too fixated on the must-have requirements. But you have to start somewhere with some basic assumptions. The legitimate question is: What do I like about how I live today, and what do I want to change?
We don’t have children yet, but we’re still trying to put ourselves in that situation. We talk a lot with other parents but also hear many different opinions, which was to be expected.
Y
Ypsi aus NI20 May 2021 13:47driver55 schrieb:
Is this supposed to be the one?
L-shaped floor plan – What are your thoughts?
Then I wonder, what is this one large room suddenly doing here?Yes. That was the old thread. Reset. New floor plan. This topic with the two extensions finally resulted in a nice floor plan (which was no longer posted here), but the extensions simply did not look good from the outside.
askforafriend20 May 2021 13:47driver55 schrieb:
In my opinion, you can’t properly fit 3 units (living/entrance/kitchen) into 9.90 m (32.5 feet) length. That would leave only 3.30 m (11 feet) per unit, which is far too little for living space. You need at least 4 to 4.5 m (13 to 15 feet). That leaves 5.5 to 6 m (18 to 20 feet) for dining and cooking, which is quite tight, as you can see. It hardly matters whether the dining table is placed across or lengthwise. I also consider the kitchen somewhat too large at over 8 linear meters (26 linear feet). I think that’s cheesy. Get a large U-shaped sofa or seating area about 3.50 m (11.5 feet) wide, then you still have 6.40 m (21 feet) left. That’s more than enough! My problem definitely wouldn’t be the space, but rather that the kitchen doesn’t face the main terrace — but that’s a matter of personal taste.
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