ᐅ Floor plan of a 172 m² bungalow in Brandenburg, south of Berlin

Gudeen. schrieb:

I would actually prefer a completely different layout for the rooms and the house itself—living areas more toward the south, home cinema somewhere on the north side, possibly not square with more garden/windows on the SW-SE side or similar... but that depends on the plot and surroundings.

ypg schrieb:

Do yourselves a favor and orient it like this: the cinema in the NE, the kitchen in the light with at least 2 sqm (22 sq ft) of window area. If you have to cut back to 20 sqm (215 sq ft) for cost reasons, move the cinema into the attic. A gable roof allows for many possibilities.

Thanks again to everyone here for your replies. We have carefully read your ideas, critiques, suggestions, and improvements and tried to implement some of them in a second draft. The title should now state 143 m² (1,538 sq ft) instead of 172 m² (1,851 sq ft). We managed to remove almost 30 m² (323 sq ft) from the design. We are satisfied.

We would appreciate your honest opinion on this as well. The utility room is now narrow but quite long. The home cinema protrudes as an angle. I expect this will be discussed here too, since an angled corner is indeed more expensive. There is even a guest bathroom now, though it is very, very small. 😀 The entrance area is not separated. Some might not like that, but we actually find it nice to enter directly into the large room.

The design includes some placeholder elements. These are the cabinets in the dressing room (60 cm (24 inches) deep), the built-in closet for shoes, jackets, coats (60 cm (24 inches) deep) in the entrance area, and in the guest room a desk (70 cm (28 inches) deep), a pull-out sofa bed for guests (can be up to 2.0 m (6 ft 7 in) long), and shelf space 60 cm (24 inches) deep.

We are now planning with a gable roof. The carport should have enough space for 2 cars in this design.

Additionally, there is an overview showing the neighboring plot, illustrating how the neighbor builds.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Kreisrund schrieb:

This is definitely not true in general. We have a bedroom window facing directly east, and I wouldn’t want to miss that at all. We benefit from it almost all year round, except around June, either during the week or on weekends. Of course, how important this is depends on the individual.

That’s why I asked the original poster about their reasons. Maybe the kitchen table would be better placed on the east side?

Regarding the new plan: I find the approach... _approach_ clearly better.

Concerning the bathroom locations, I would like to refer to this thread:
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/Grundriss-nach-erstem-planungsgespraech-140m2-1-5-geschossig.42222/

Sorrow87 schrieb:

I do have disability insurance, but planning our house around the possibility of developing cancer or other chronic illnesses doesn’t really help me.

Hmm... You’re not supposed to design your entire house around that—it sounds like a rather rigid way to look at it.

Sorrow87 schrieb:

A one-and-a-half-story house is our exit strategy if the bungalow doesn’t work at all, even with compromises. But then it would be a half-baked house.

Oh dear, it seems you haven’t built and lived in many houses yet, judging by what I’m reading so far—it sounds quite fixed in mindset, especially when you say “someone would first have to convince me of that...” No one has to convince anyone, thankfully everyone does as they please. But why should a multi-story house be an “exit strategy” (what did we call it before these fancy terms?) and why would it then be a “half-baked house”... ufff.
I would generally be cautious with so-called recommendations like “my friends have it this way.” First, builders exaggerate or even lie about things just like with fishing, sex, or hunting. Also, there’s a big difference between occasionally visiting a place and living there permanently, with all the associated behaviors and people.
Today I have a controlled mechanical ventilation system; before, I didn’t, and both times I was fine—but I like having it (so far). There’s no absolute right or wrong.
I generally refuse to accept “this is good” or “this is bad” on these topics without considering all aspects. Also, we older folks are now experiencing that we sometimes behave very differently than we thought. We have new favorite spots, drink coffee in different places, new rooms—new life; you can’t plan all that, at least I cannot, but I can create options for it in advance.

aero2016 schrieb:

I find it inappropriate to insist so insistently on adding a second toilet when the original poster clearly says they don't want one. What’s your problem with that? People get different amounts of visitors. The OP knows their situation best.
I also often find it amusing how some here try to present themselves as the perfect hosts of high society. .........
.....I think it’s great that the OP sticks firmly to their needs and doesn’t let themselves be talked into doing things “because that’s better.”
Stick to it!

I see it differently. If as a reader I believe the OP might be too set in their opinion, it should be pointed out clearly. It’s not about mocking them, but clear criticism is essential in a forum like this—though, as I mentioned before, only before construction starts; afterward, it feels more malicious to me.
From the experience of others, regardless of age, I can learn—without giving up my own priorities. Many suggestions from the forum are reflected in my home, which I initially saw quite differently, but it still became the house we like (with all its quirks, just like the builders themselves).
Choosing to have no second toilet isn’t really a “need” but can become one to have. The OP says he’s a gentleman now, which sounds gallant—but there are gentlemen out there who, at an advanced age, have wet themselves while waiting (Gentlemen over 50 should wear darker pants or even diapers :eek 🙂. Persistence and stubbornness are often closely linked, and everyone should check this for themselves in their own interest.
In the end, no one here really cares if the OP builds one or five toilets; critics should not be assumed to have malicious intent.

Sorrow87 schrieb:

We don’t want to sell the house; we want to live there for our whole lives.

Most people don’t want to sell their houses either—I certainly never wanted to 🙁—but people must do so due to divorce, illness, or other unplanned changes. I agree with you that you shouldn’t build just to get a better resale value, but foreseeable changes in your own life should be buffered appropriately. If I were you, I’d build a really great TV room!

11ant schrieb:

I’m just imagining someone watching all the movies in their home theater where the plot involves someone building a house for the humorous idea of a long queue forming in front of the only toilet at their funeral. At least I expect Finnish film professors to seriously establish that as an independent genre at their art school *LOL*

Check out “Sterben für Anfänger” (Dying for Beginners), it at least touches on that with the grandpa...

Sorrow87 schrieb:

Previous generations lived with just one toilet. Rumor has it they somehow survived.

And lived in caves, and supposedly dragged their wives to work by the hair. So, a simple outhouse would also drastically reduce costs; by the way, I myself didn’t have running water growing up, a shared kids’ bedroom without heating under the roof, and a thousand other things... the pastor thankfully only disciplined us physically. If I referred to those times being over 60, maybe that’s okay—but you’re around 30... If you want to be consistent, then build without all the modern stuff, because back then we didn’t even have TV (lucky us). You want a TV arena, which I think is great if customized individually. Then that old comparison doesn’t quite fit anymore. Also, showering more than once a week is overrated, laundry machine use even more so, and people didn’t brush their teeth so obsessively back then either.

Sorrow87 schrieb:

We are satisfied.

Look, that’s great. Not because you changed anything for others, but because you kept an open mind. Don’t lock yourself unnecessarily into a roof shape or other things. Make sure you find exactly your floor plan that includes the sensible points mentioned here. Then there’s still plenty of room for attractive individuality, which I really like, given all the blandness nowadays.

Sorrow87 schrieb:

There is now even a guest bathroom. But it’s very, very small.

That’s enough.

Sorrow87 schrieb:

The entrance area is not separated. Some might not like that. We actually quite like entering directly into the large room.

We have the same; the entrance is part of the living space, and we like it.
If I’m reading correctly, you have nearly 70sqm (750 sq ft) of area including the kitchen for the so-called open-plan living space; I would prefer an open or semi-open kitchen so you really feel right in the middle of that beautiful, large room.
I believe a planner or someone here could help undo the boxed-in feeling around the bathroom/toilet/bed area. Somehow, I think the utility room would also be better placed near the front, and perhaps the much-discussed extra toilet could even be en-suite with the guest room, reducing the number of doors or toilet accesses opening directly into the dining area.

I would approach it quite differently:

Position the bungalow as far to the right as possible to create some distance from the neighbor to the southwest, so they don’t block your sunlight. Place a carport to the right of the house. If you need an additional parking space, put it in front of (planunters) the carport or as an uncovered spot to the left of the house. Then, orient the living areas toward the garden to catch the southeast sunlight from above or behind, for example with a staggered shed roof featuring windows facing southeast or other roof windows.

Alternatively, consider the typical L-shaped bungalow, where the upper part of the (mirrored) L further distances you from the southwest neighbor.

Why? For me personally, the view is very important. Feeling comfortable includes being able to look out at a nicely landscaped garden, especially when there are no neighbors directly opposite!

A terrace depth of 3 meters (10 feet) is borderline; I’d prefer 3.5 meters (11.5 feet), otherwise you won’t be able to walk behind the chairs if you have a table with a depth of 1 meter (3 feet). I wouldn’t make it that long, though. You’re not going to fit three tables on it, right?

ypg schrieb:

That’s why I also asked the original poster what arguments they have. Maybe the kitchen table would be better placed in the east?

We also agree with the argument from @Kreisrund.

ypg schrieb:

Regarding the new plan: I find the approach... _approach_ much better.

Concerning the bathroom locations, I would like to point to this thread:

Thank you very much. What do you mean by "approach... _approach_" 😀
So there’s still a lot of room for improvement?

Thanks for pointing out the bathroom positions and the reference to the thread. Apart from the fact that the thread was a bit rough to read, it is extremely helpful. Not just regarding the toilet location... 😀

One idea would be to extend the wall from the dressing room straight down to the utility room to clearly separate the entrance area toilets. Would that make sense? I just don’t want the southwest area to feel like a narrow corridor. With a length of 13 meters (43 feet), what would be a minimum width for the living area? I quite like the room arrangement in the northeast, but somehow I feel there is still potential to improve it further. Somehow, though, I can’t quite solve this Tetris level with extra stars 😀

pagoni2020 schrieb:

We have it the same way; the entrance is part of the living area, and we like that.
If I’m seeing it correctly, you have just under 70 m² (750 sq ft) for the so-called open-plan living space including the kitchen; I would personally prefer an open or semi-open kitchen so you really feel right in the middle of that beautiful, large room.
I think a designer or someone here could probably help break up the box-like layout of the bathroom/toilet/bedroom area a bit. Somehow I would also prefer the utility room closer to the front, and maybe I’d take the much-discussed extra toilet as an en-suite with the guest room, which would reduce the number of doors/toilet accesses from the dining area.

Thanks for the detailed input.

We also really like the open entrance concept. The kitchen as it is now isn’t ideal yet. It feels a bit narrow with the fridge placed at the bottom. I would just like to have the windows here to let in the south-southwest sun.

This boxed-in layout remains the biggest challenge. We’re still waiting for a creative spark on that.