ᐅ Layout Feedback: One-and-a-Half-Story House in Northern Germany

I completely miss the connection between the kitchen and the terrace. I also find the bay window to be a waste of space. With this orientation, you would first think of a bay window facing the garden, continuing as a dormer on the upper floor.

Are the cats allowed outside? If not, is an outdoor enclosure planned?

I see some similarities with your floor plan, so I’m joining the conversation here.
We are also a gaming couple who both work from home. We have just finished building our second house (in the final stages).
For our first house, we had a general contractor’s floor plan which we adapted to our needs.
A quick note upfront: They build it exactly as you want. However, after moving in, we realized that we are not architects, and some of our changes had negative effects we hadn’t anticipated during planning.
For the second house, we wrote down our requirements in text on two DIN A4 pages and an architect designed a wonderful home for us. Since moving in, we’ve been noticing many positive aspects that we hadn’t been aware of before.
Great sightlines, beautiful natural light, stunning sunrises visible from the bedroom—so many things turned out really well that I never would have thought of. Room sizes and layout all feel cozy and right. I don’t think we would have been able to plan this as laypeople.
I also wouldn’t have dared to commission a solo architect myself. But this general contractor offered a custom floor plan for an additional 1500€ (approximately 1500€) fee. If we had built with this contractor, that amount would have been deducted from the total cost. Instead, we paid 1500€ just for the design.
I can only wholeheartedly recommend this to you: Let a professional handle the planning.
Our first house certainly wasn’t bad. And we didn’t give it up because of the house itself, but for family reasons. But the second house—custom designed for us—is simply amazing.

Specifically about your floor plan:
- I wouldn’t put the washer/dryer in the bathroom. You have plenty of space for two people, so there should really be a utility room. Ours is on the upper floor where the laundry is generated, and I find it very practical.
- I wouldn’t place skylights directly above the bed. If I didn’t have kids, I’d want to sleep in on weekends. 😀
- The living room area between the sofa corner and the desk feels like a “ballroom,” since it’s hard to furnish and very large. That’s unlikely to feel cozy.
- Even with two people working from home, I think four PC workstations across three rooms is a bit excessive. Couldn’t this be reduced to two somehow? We have two large workstations in the office for regular work and one backup workstation in the room opposite.
- I know you don’t want to hear this, but a 375 (thousand) all-in price for a house of this size in the suburban area of a city seems unlikely to me. I won’t go into detail unless you want me to, but I’d recommend discussing the financial planning aspects as well. No one wants to ruin your dream, but ending up with a lot of work still left when the money runs out leads to needing extra financing or personal bankruptcy. Both options are more than uncomfortable.

kati1337 schrieb:

We are also a couple who loves gaming.

I thought of you and your old house. You turned the extra room into a gaming room, which can also be used as an office.

I can only stress again not to focus too much on one hobby and build the house in a way that limits its use socially. It’s good to plan enough space for desks. But doubling that, so having 4 desks for 2 people, and deciding in your early 30s that for the rest of your life you won’t even be able to have dinner at home with several couples because the rooms don’t allow it—that’s a big restriction.
Okay, here you can convert two gaming setups into a dining table, but I would plan for that in advance as well.

You will definitely change over time. Everyone changes every 7 years. This affects perspectives, needs, interests, and goals. Just keep that in mind. Of course, the present should take priority.

@K a t j a already expressed it well: a bay window facing the garden, acting as a light catcher, and the kitchen with terrace access should be located there.

A secondary bay window (maximum 1/3 of the total length) would also need approval if it extends beyond the building line (building permit / planning permission).
And if you add many windows on the south or west side, for example above the stairs, you also let important sunlight into the house in the afternoon.

Personally, I would not sacrifice a southern exposure for a utility room, toilet, or storage room.

I would also appreciate it if you could position your house on the plot, including the carport, driveway, and terrace. It is still not entirely clear to me how the carport interacts with the kitchen window on the left side of the plan.

For now, I’ll hold off on responding to the individual comments, but thanks to everyone for the feedback!
We have discussed the points here over the last 1-2 nights and will review everything again with our general contractor, who offers some individual planning services. It will probably be similar to @kati1337, where an in-house architect will handle it. If they don’t do it, we will consider reaching out to an external architect again. Thanks again specifically for your message, @kati1337. We will get back to you 🙂

P.S.: The house price we mentioned is really just the house price, excluding land and additional construction costs (planning permission fees, inspections, etc.).