ᐅ Hillside House in the Southwest Palatinate – Our Home Construction 2.0
Created on: 9 Sep 2022 18:13
K
kati1337
Good evening everyone
I’m starting a small collection thread here for photos and progress updates on our second building project.
We’ve already moved to the Palatinate region to be closer to the construction site. Now we’re watching eagerly and happily as our (hopefully final) dream home takes shape near family.
One big challenge still ahead of us is the facade design. I really love the Nordic style with brickwork and mullioned windows. That won’t be possible here for two reasons: firstly, no one here can do bricklaying, and secondly, it would stand out too much. We will be going with a rendered facade. How to design the colors of the facade and windows to still create some country house / cottage charm is currently still a work in progress mentally.
Otherwise, I’m sharing our plans here and how it will eventually be built.
The support pillar marked near the kitchen island could be removed for a small extra cost, so that will be gone.
The room for “garden equipment” under the garage will get a partition wall for structural reasons.
It won’t be fully finished living space like in the house, but underfloor heating will be installed, along with a lockable door and a window. It’s meant to store garden tools but also some of the building services equipment, since the utility room (HAR) is quite small, and maybe be used as a party room.
We had three construction companies in the final selection. In the end, we chose the “doer” – a builder recommended to us here by friends and family. No website, no smartphone, but he is on site every day himself working in overalls. He has a very good reputation in this area and now rarely builds single-family homes. We were a bit lucky through personal connections and a very friendly initial phone call to get our foot in the door. So far we are very satisfied with this choice.
I’m starting a small collection thread here for photos and progress updates on our second building project.
We’ve already moved to the Palatinate region to be closer to the construction site. Now we’re watching eagerly and happily as our (hopefully final) dream home takes shape near family.
One big challenge still ahead of us is the facade design. I really love the Nordic style with brickwork and mullioned windows. That won’t be possible here for two reasons: firstly, no one here can do bricklaying, and secondly, it would stand out too much. We will be going with a rendered facade. How to design the colors of the facade and windows to still create some country house / cottage charm is currently still a work in progress mentally.
Otherwise, I’m sharing our plans here and how it will eventually be built.
The support pillar marked near the kitchen island could be removed for a small extra cost, so that will be gone.
The room for “garden equipment” under the garage will get a partition wall for structural reasons.
It won’t be fully finished living space like in the house, but underfloor heating will be installed, along with a lockable door and a window. It’s meant to store garden tools but also some of the building services equipment, since the utility room (HAR) is quite small, and maybe be used as a party room.
We had three construction companies in the final selection. In the end, we chose the “doer” – a builder recommended to us here by friends and family. No website, no smartphone, but he is on site every day himself working in overalls. He has a very good reputation in this area and now rarely builds single-family homes. We were a bit lucky through personal connections and a very friendly initial phone call to get our foot in the door. So far we are very satisfied with this choice.
M
motorradsilke4 Oct 2022 12:34kati1337 schrieb:
😀
It’s okay as a temporary solution, but my husband and I are counting the days until we can get rid of it. ^^
IKEA Metod kitchens really aren’t what IKEA kitchens used to be (Faktum). This thing is quite a mess.
The dishwasher rarely cleans completely. Only two burners on the cooktop work, and it always shows an error at startup saying it only has one phase. We already had an electrician look at it, probably a faulty appliance. The oven bakes very unevenly.
The cabinets offer storage, but with many doors and few drawers, it’s extremely impractical. The dishwasher is also positioned too low, which makes it even worse. I won’t miss this kitchen at all. 😀 I think it’s fine for the utility room, though. That actually puts your criticism of IKEA into perspective. You could have chosen drawers or doors yourself. And the appliances can be from a different manufacturer. All of that has nothing to do with Faktum or Metod.
I also like design #3 the best. Green is a color you can look at for a long time.
We all have very different tastes, but I think you can live with the green for a long time as well. What I would test: can you easily see fingerprints on it? If yes, stay away from that front. With two toddlers, you’ll otherwise go crazy (this is also something I would test with the other fronts).
What I notice about all three designs is that the cooktop and sink are separate. Do you really want that? Carrying a pot full of cooked noodles over to the sink — then a child runs between your legs and you spill the hot noodle water on them. My worst nightmare.
I would move the cooktop to the back, under the tall cabinets (which would, of course, need to be removed), and use the island as a pure workspace. Maybe even install a small second sink there (very handy when chopping vegetables, etc., so you don’t have to keep washing your hands and veggies elsewhere). Is that still possible from an installation point of view? Then the cooktop would be near the main sink, and you’d really have a functional island.
You rarely stand at the stove but very often at the countertop. Therefore, the cooktop can move slightly out of the prime working zone to the edge, while the main work surface is positioned in that prime zone.
We all have very different tastes, but I think you can live with the green for a long time as well. What I would test: can you easily see fingerprints on it? If yes, stay away from that front. With two toddlers, you’ll otherwise go crazy (this is also something I would test with the other fronts).
What I notice about all three designs is that the cooktop and sink are separate. Do you really want that? Carrying a pot full of cooked noodles over to the sink — then a child runs between your legs and you spill the hot noodle water on them. My worst nightmare.
I would move the cooktop to the back, under the tall cabinets (which would, of course, need to be removed), and use the island as a pure workspace. Maybe even install a small second sink there (very handy when chopping vegetables, etc., so you don’t have to keep washing your hands and veggies elsewhere). Is that still possible from an installation point of view? Then the cooktop would be near the main sink, and you’d really have a functional island.
You rarely stand at the stove but very often at the countertop. Therefore, the cooktop can move slightly out of the prime working zone to the edge, while the main work surface is positioned in that prime zone.
kati1337 schrieb:
Oh, and to top it all off, today we also discovered a beautiful kitchen from Schüller. I had made up my mind not to be swayed again by some trendy color (most recently black 😀) away from my magnolia-colored country-style dream. Then we found this little gem here in reed green. I have a bit of a crush on it. Part of me wonders if I’ll still like it that much in five years. Anyway, I liked it enough that the consultant is recalculating the costs for us. I had a similarly green kitchen with black appliances for years. Taste is subjective, of course. But I definitely loved it and was happy every day to have it. The color never became too much for me, and I still liked it after five years. I eventually had to leave it behind and hand it over to my dad as an office kitchen. My heart still breaks a little whenever I see it again. So, a clear yes to green kitchens. 🙂
motorradsilke schrieb:
That puts your negative opinion of Ikea into perspective. You could have chosen between drawers or doors, and the appliances can be from any other manufacturer. But all of this has nothing to do with Faktum or Metod. I had Faktum for 10 years, Nobilia for 2 years, and now I have had Metod for a few months. My personal opinion is that Metod has declined in terms of structural quality. It all feels less solid in everyday use. Others may see it differently, but based on my experience, I wouldn’t buy a new Metod kitchen.
K a t j a schrieb:
I had a similarly green kitchen with black appliances for many years. Taste is subjective, of course. Anyway, I loved it and was happy every day to have it. The color never overwhelmed me, and I still liked it after 5 years. I had to leave it behind and let my dad use it as an office kitchen. It still breaks my heart whenever I see it again. So, a clear yes to green kitchens. 🙂 Glad to hear that.
I also contacted a friend who has had a green kitchen for several years, and she said exactly the same. She says she still loves it like the first day. Let’s do the calculations then.
Climbee schrieb:
I also like design #3 best. Green is a color you can look at for a long time.
We have very different tastes, but I think you will live with the green for a long time as well. What I would test: do fingerprints show easily on it? If yes, I’d avoid that finish. With two toddlers, you’ll go crazy otherwise (this is also something I would test with the other fronts). With green probably less noticeable than on white. In the previous house, we had black fronts — everything showed on those, but our child mostly kept their fingers off. Of course, that might change, so that’s a good point.
The “Sylt” in the lighter tone has similarly smooth matte fronts like our black ones. Those are already prone to fingerprints.
Climbee schrieb:
What I notice in all three designs is that the cooktop and sink are separated. Do you really want that? Carrying a full pot of cooked pasta across to the sink — then a child runs between your legs and you spill hot pasta water all over them. My worst nightmare.
I would move the cooktop to the back, under the tall cabinets (which would then have to be removed), and use the island as a pure prep surface. Maybe even install a small second sink there (very practical for chopping vegetables, etc., so you don’t always have to wash your hands and veggies elsewhere). Would that still be possible from an installation point of view? Then you’d have the cooktop next to the large sink, and a real island you can use.
You rarely stand at the stove but very often at the prep area. So the cooktop can move slightly out of the prime work zone toward the edge, and the prep surface moves into the prime work zone. I don’t think that can be changed structurally anymore; the ground slab for the main floor is already finished. But I find it okay as is.
Our previous Nobilia kitchen was the same way, and it never bothered us. The distance between sink and cooktop isn’t far, and children are not left unattended near the kitchen when cooking. This distance was never an issue in the past.
The ground floor slab is installed, but heating circuits, insulation, and screed will still be added on top. Kitchen wastewater and water pipes can easily be routed from the wall to there. In the other forum, there are example pictures from other construction projects in my albums.
SumsumBiene4 Oct 2022 15:26I would get a headache from a green kitchen. Ikea has generally declined quite a bit. We recently bought a Malm dresser. If it hadn’t been on special offer and if Ikea had been closer, we would have returned it. Now it just has to spend its time in the utility room.
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