ᐅ Hillside House in the Southwest Palatinate – Our Home Construction 2.0

Regarding the kitchen wall: I think it’s already fine because otherwise you’d run into the sides of the tall kitchen cabinets. However, I would have moved it further to the left on the plan and also shifted the staircase in the same direction. I don’t understand why the staircase doesn’t start at the exterior wall. That would create a significantly larger kitchen. I would place the sofa against the interior wall; otherwise, it stands in front of the window and you end up looking at a wall instead of the garden. In my opinion, the utility/storage room doesn’t need a door from the hallway. Access through the garden equipment area and possibly the fitness room should be sufficient. You hardly ever need to enter there. This way, the bathroom could have more space. Downstairs, moving the staircase would result in a somewhat wider hallway. One meter (3.3 feet) is already borderline, especially to move furniture around the corner. But I don’t know which walls you already have built ;-)

We also use parquet floor mats under our desk chairs, and have been rolling on them for 5 years, daily for the last 2 years. Brushed and planed oak parquet. You don’t see any damage! For me, nothing beats parquet. I have it in all rooms, including the hallway and kitchen, despite having a dog and a cat. That’s why we clean the ground floor more frequently, and we oil the floor every two years. This prevents water or other liquids from soaking in quickly and brings back a richer color. Upstairs and in the basement, we haven’t oiled it at all in 5 years since those areas aren’t cleaned as often, and it still looks as good as new. So I’m definitely PRO parquet. For you, I would only tile the entrance area and switch to parquet right next to the stairs.

Snowy36 schrieb:

I wouldn’t hold back either. We used tiles from the Beton Greys series by Terratinta Ceramiche in both bathrooms, in different colors (once in cold tone and once in warm). Besides the fact that the catalog is really worth a look, I checked and they have an R10 slip resistance rating. We have had no issues whatsoever in either shower.

Take a look at their catalog—you’ll find some great patterns like the ones you like, for example Marrakesh.

I’ll take a look and maybe also ask the tile supplier again.
Are there any other experiences with barrier-free (walk-in) showers and tiles? Has anyone perhaps used R9 and can share their experience?

Anyway, today we had our third kitchen studio consultation and, surprisingly, we ended up with a quite different result this time.
So far, I like the kitchen from Studio 3 best, and I think the value for money is the best so far. But it’s still hard to compare because the designs differ somewhat.

Studio 1: Overall the weakest advice, especially regarding electrical appliances. The price was about $22,000 with a Nobilia Chalet kitchen (which is quite an expensive cabinet front).

Studio 2: Overall best advice, particularly very thorough regarding electrical appliance options. Also a good design based on our wishes. The result was a bit functional / plain so far. We could probably have it redesigned. The price was about $19,700 for a Häcker C130 kitchen. Appliances were Bosch/Siemens, fridge was Liebherr. The cooktop was the same in all three plans, so irrelevant.

Studio 3: Overall the most visually appealing and coherent design. Almost all appliances (except the cooktop) were Miele, which is a plus (at least from what I know about their pricing). The kitchen is a Nobilia Sylt, but this time in Magnolia. We had that in black in our old house. The price was about $19,000, but it included a second dishwasher. That probably adds a thousand dollars or so, right?

I know this is comparing apples to oranges.
We have since given up on my beloved/dream bench in front of the panoramic window. I thought it was a beautiful idea, but it would have cost us so much counter space that very little would have been left.
By the way, Studio 3 included a butler’s sink in their plan. I hadn’t really considered that before, but I think it adds incredible charm to the whole kitchen. Due to the large window, some of the features I normally associate with farmhouse kitchens (like wall cupboards and decorative elements) can’t be included. I think the design today balanced that nicely with glass-front cabinets on the island, an open end shelf, and the butler’s sink.
Oh, and the handles on the tall cabinets aren’t final yet; we didn’t get to decide on those, but they will be harmonized later.

And here are two views from Studio 2, with and without the bench (that would be the Häcker with Bosch/Siemens appliances).

For the Häcker, the side panels extend all the way to the floor. I have to ask if that would be possible with the Nobilia as well. Visually, I like that much better.

Oh, and to top it all off, today we also discovered a beautiful kitchen by Schüller. I had firmly resolved not to be swayed away from my magnolia-colored farmhouse dream by any trendy color anymore (last time it was black 😀). Then we found this gem here in reed green. I’m kind of already smitten with it. Part of me wonders if I’ll still like it in five years. Anyway, I was impressed enough that the consultant is recalculating the price for us.

I just had to laugh out loud—we clearly have completely opposite tastes.

kati1337 schrieb:

With Häcker, the side panels go all the way down to the floor. I need to ask if that would be possible with Nobilia too. Visually, I like that much better.

The first thing I told the kitchen studio after suggesting Häcker was that the side panels absolutely must not go all the way down to the floor because I find that visually unappealing and I prefer it much better the other way.

kati1337 schrieb:

I had really set my mind not to be swayed again by some trendy color (last time black 😀 ) and stick to my magnolia-colored country-style kitchen dream.

This time, I definitely wanted black because I was tired of the magnolia color in our old kitchen and didn’t find that color modern or minimalist enough. 😀

If you were happy with the cabinet fronts in your first house and liked the kitchen in terms of cabinets, drawers, etc., and you like the one from Studio3 best anyway, I would focus on fine-tuning there. Are you specifically planning to have a second dishwasher? Our studio suggested a second one, but it wouldn’t make sense for us and wouldn’t be used often. For me, having the oven and dishwasher installed at mid-height was important.

Oh, and regarding a green kitchen: mine was blue at first, and I was quite happy that the next tenant bought it from me when I moved out two years later. Such “extreme” colors are not for me. But of course, people have different tastes.

I really like the green as well. 😉

A sink in front of the window... will this be a sliding window? Otherwise, the question is, will the window still open with a sink placed there?

Glass and an open shelf on the back side of the island... you need to be aware that this is only suitable for storing attractive items. Does that fit your needs? Have you considered what will be placed there and whether it might look too cluttered?

Where is the oven located? In a base cabinet somewhere? What type of oven and control system will it have? Nowadays, touch controls with displays are common. These are generally more convenient to use if installed at about eye level. So it’s worth trying out.

Is the dishwasher supposed to be elevated? And why are there two of them? The division of the refrigerator doors seems unusually high to me. How is that intended to work?

Costruttrice schrieb:

Do you specifically want a second dishwasher? Our showroom suggested a second one, but it wouldn’t make sense for us and wouldn’t be used very often. For me, having a half-height oven and dishwasher was more important.

Yes, absolutely. During our two years in house number one, we always joked, “Our next kitchen will have two dishwashers.” Back then, we didn’t know it would happen so soon. 😀 But what started as a funny idea turned into “why not,” because it really annoyed us not having a second one.
We put everything in the dishwasher except my husband’s chef knives. Everything else goes in. And anything that doesn’t survive the dishwasher doesn’t have a place in my household.
You were recommended that? That’s funny. Our kitchen planner at showroom two said, “I’ve never seen that before.” 😀

Costruttrice schrieb:

Oh, and regarding a green kitchen: mine was blue at first, and I was quite glad the next tenant bought it from me when I moved out two years later. Such “extreme” colors are not really my thing. But I guess people have very different tastes.

I felt something similar about the black one. At the kitchen showroom, we had an absolute “WOW” moment, and I was completely amazed by the color. But over time, I could have imagined it lighter and cozier. I didn’t get tired of it directly, but sometimes I felt it lacked a bit of warmth.

kbt09 schrieb:

I also really like the green color 😉.

Sink in front of the window... will that be a sliding window? Otherwise, the question is, can the window still open if there is a sink there?

It will most likely be a panoramic window. But that doesn’t bother me, I’ve had that in every kitchen for the last 14 years.
It’s always on the ground floor, so it can be cleaned from the outside.

kbt09 schrieb:

Glass and open shelving on the back side of the island... you have to be aware that this is only suitable for displaying nice items. Does that work? Have you considered what will go there and whether it might look too busy?

Yes, that’s the idea. The back of the island faces the living area. I don’t like a completely minimalist style, so having a few nicely arranged items makes the space feel cozy for me.
Probably cookbooks will go in the open section, and maybe some attractive decorative objects.

kbt09 schrieb:

Where is the oven? Somewhere in a base cabinet? Which oven with which control system? Nowadays, touch controls with displays are common. These are usually more convenient if installed at roughly eye level. So you might want to try that out.

Is the dishwasher supposed to be raised? And why two of them? The division of the refrigerator doors seems unusually tall to me. How is that planned?

The oven will be on the other side of the island. I would prefer it to be higher as well, but having the dishwashers raised is more important to me. We use the dishwashers daily but the oven only once or twice a week at most.
Your point about the display is very good. We’ll have to think about that.
The cabinet door division on the refrigerator is purely for symmetry. Behind it is a full-height Miele refrigerator.