Hello,
we will start building our "dream house" at the end of the year and until a few days ago, we were absolutely sure: this is just perfect.
But suddenly, we are having serious doubts about the kitchen and living area. We are very satisfied with the size of all the other rooms, only here we are feeling extremely uncertain.
Attached is a screenshot from the building plan. On the right is the kitchen with an island, in the middle the dining table, and to the left the couch and TV.
The kitchen is about 17 m² (183 sq ft), and the living and dining area is 30.81 m² (332 sq ft).
We have now considered swapping the position of the couch and TV, and placing the table perpendicular to the window, see the second screenshot attached.
Before we thought, "Wow, what a big house, yay!" but now it feels more like, "Phew, it’s so small and cramped..."
Another issue is that the purchase contract for the house has already been signed and the documents have been submitted to the building authority (building permit / planning permission).
In other words, making changes is now difficult (especially since we are already at the limit of our budget)...
It is a city villa, with a 5-meter (16 ft) tall floor-to-ceiling window by the kitchen/dining area, and a ceiling height of only 2.55 m (8 ft 4 in).
What is your opinion? Are we just making ourselves unnecessarily anxious?
And yes, I know: these are luxury problems we’re dealing with. But in the end, it’s meant to be "for the rest of our lives"...
Looking forward to your feedback!
we will start building our "dream house" at the end of the year and until a few days ago, we were absolutely sure: this is just perfect.
But suddenly, we are having serious doubts about the kitchen and living area. We are very satisfied with the size of all the other rooms, only here we are feeling extremely uncertain.
Attached is a screenshot from the building plan. On the right is the kitchen with an island, in the middle the dining table, and to the left the couch and TV.
The kitchen is about 17 m² (183 sq ft), and the living and dining area is 30.81 m² (332 sq ft).
We have now considered swapping the position of the couch and TV, and placing the table perpendicular to the window, see the second screenshot attached.
Before we thought, "Wow, what a big house, yay!" but now it feels more like, "Phew, it’s so small and cramped..."
Another issue is that the purchase contract for the house has already been signed and the documents have been submitted to the building authority (building permit / planning permission).
In other words, making changes is now difficult (especially since we are already at the limit of our budget)...
It is a city villa, with a 5-meter (16 ft) tall floor-to-ceiling window by the kitchen/dining area, and a ceiling height of only 2.55 m (8 ft 4 in).
What is your opinion? Are we just making ourselves unnecessarily anxious?
And yes, I know: these are luxury problems we’re dealing with. But in the end, it’s meant to be "for the rest of our lives"...
Looking forward to your feedback!
With the new version, the TV will lose its light source, or am I mistaken?
Personally, I would also consider moving the large window again (5 meters (16 feet) is nice, but maybe a bit oversized for the depth of your room) to create more wall space in the kitchen.
In an open living/dining/kitchen area, it often makes sense to work with an L-shaped layout to partially separate the kitchen from the living area.
In your case, the room might actually benefit more if you enlarge the adjoining room behind the sofa, reducing the distance between the TV and the sofa. This way, your door will also have a stop against a wall, and you can somewhat solve the issue of having a "shoebox" shaped room.
Making design changes during an ongoing building permit/planning permission process is not a big deal, but of course, it always involves additional costs.
Changes are also possible with the shell constructor despite an existing contract, but again, this comes with additional costs.
If budget is a concern, you could consider saving by skipping the interior-insulated prefabricated wall elements for the exterior walls and instead use fully insulated 36.5cm (14 inches) hollow bricks.
Personally, I would also consider moving the large window again (5 meters (16 feet) is nice, but maybe a bit oversized for the depth of your room) to create more wall space in the kitchen.
In an open living/dining/kitchen area, it often makes sense to work with an L-shaped layout to partially separate the kitchen from the living area.
In your case, the room might actually benefit more if you enlarge the adjoining room behind the sofa, reducing the distance between the TV and the sofa. This way, your door will also have a stop against a wall, and you can somewhat solve the issue of having a "shoebox" shaped room.
Making design changes during an ongoing building permit/planning permission process is not a big deal, but of course, it always involves additional costs.
Changes are also possible with the shell constructor despite an existing contract, but again, this comes with additional costs.
If budget is a concern, you could consider saving by skipping the interior-insulated prefabricated wall elements for the exterior walls and instead use fully insulated 36.5cm (14 inches) hollow bricks.
Papierturm24 Mar 2026 18:22Neubau27 schrieb:
Attached is a screenshot from the building plan. On the right is the kitchen with an island, in the middle the table, on the left the couch and TV.
The kitchen is about 17 sqm (183 sq ft), the living and dining area 30.81 sqm (331 sq ft). Only seeing parts of a plan makes it difficult to comment.
Our open-plan living, dining, and kitchen area is also 47 sqm (506 sq ft), which feels more than spacious enough. The kitchen itself is 12 sqm (129 sq ft) but in a U-shape.
The question will be whether you have enough storage space in the kitchen (I do see what looks like a pantry) and enough countertop area. That also depends on the family size.
I wouldn’t worry about that too much at this stage.
A 100 cm (39 inches) aisle width is good for one person working. For two people, it would feel tight, and you’d likely bump into each other often.
Neubau27 schrieb:
the purchase contract for the house is already signed and the documents submitted to the building authority.
So: making changes now is quite difficult (plus we’re already at the limit of our budget... From my experience: moving interior walls usually isn’t an issue with most building authorities. Even facades can be slightly adjusted as long as the external dimensions don’t change (for example, window sizes).
However, I honestly don’t see any reason to make major changes that would increase costs (at least judging from the images). At least regarding room dimensions.
I am a bit surprised there’s no window on the TV side (left side of the plan). (Though I don’t know anything about the plot or surroundings.)
Neubau27 schrieb:
Neubau27
with a 5-meter (16 feet) floor-to-ceiling window by the kitchen/dining area and a ceiling height of only 2.55 meters (8 ft 4 in). My wife would have liked higher ceilings too. Originally, we planned at least 2.55 m (8 ft 4 in), but it wasn’t possible. Due to zoning regulations, we had to reduce it to 2.50 m (8 ft 2 in).
When the room was finished, my wife was initially very unhappy with how low it felt.
That only lasted a few days. Even when the tiles were installed (which visually lowered the room further), it no longer bothered her. By now, she’s actually very happy with it.
At least that’s something.
Neubau27 schrieb:
What’s your assessment? Are we making ourselves unnecessarily worried? There will be many reasons to get anxious.
Some reasons will be unnecessary, others won’t.
Building a house is stressful.
I’m right in the middle of it myself…
N
Noxmortana24 Mar 2026 21:58I hope you keep your enthusiasm for your "dream home." Here are a few observations from my side (I'm not a layout expert, just currently planning the "perfect?!" kitchen-dining area myself...):
1. You didn’t just rotate the table; you also roughly increased it from 90×140 cm (35×55 inches) to 100×200 cm (39×79 inches). I’m worried this might have created a tight spot between the door and the kitchen: if the chair at the bottom right isn’t pushed fully under the table—or if someone is sitting there—the direct path from the open-plan room door to the kitchen might become very narrow or even blocked. You would always have to walk all the way around the dining table, which I don’t think is ideal. Which table size does your plan actually include? Or do you perhaps not have the table yet? If so, that could still be flexibly adjusted… maybe a round or oval table would suit you better if you really need eight fixed seats?
2. A 1 m (39 inch) gap between the cabinet run and the island seems too narrow to me, but we also have a learning tower in our kitchen and small children running around, so maybe people with different family or lifestyle situations would see this differently. In your kitchen design, the cooktop and sink—two main work areas—are directly opposite each other, which could emphasize the tightness: while one person is stirring chili, the other is already washing knives and boards? No, that won’t work; people would get in each other’s way and constantly bump into each other!
3. The island is 117 cm (46 inches) wide and less than 2 m (79 inches) long (if you compare it with the table), so it’s not tiny but not particularly spacious either. Are you very committed to the island design, or could something else be possible that would make the pathways and clearances more comfortable? A U-shape? A peninsula? With your huge window, I keep thinking it could be nice to have a seating spot in front of that fixed element as well…
In short: I do see a few things in your plans that don’t look ideal to me at first glance, but I believe everything could be solved with appropriate furnishing and kitchen planning—and maybe my concerns don’t even apply to you because, for example, only one person ever works in the kitchen at a time. So please don’t let these points discourage you from what feels right for you…
1. You didn’t just rotate the table; you also roughly increased it from 90×140 cm (35×55 inches) to 100×200 cm (39×79 inches). I’m worried this might have created a tight spot between the door and the kitchen: if the chair at the bottom right isn’t pushed fully under the table—or if someone is sitting there—the direct path from the open-plan room door to the kitchen might become very narrow or even blocked. You would always have to walk all the way around the dining table, which I don’t think is ideal. Which table size does your plan actually include? Or do you perhaps not have the table yet? If so, that could still be flexibly adjusted… maybe a round or oval table would suit you better if you really need eight fixed seats?
2. A 1 m (39 inch) gap between the cabinet run and the island seems too narrow to me, but we also have a learning tower in our kitchen and small children running around, so maybe people with different family or lifestyle situations would see this differently. In your kitchen design, the cooktop and sink—two main work areas—are directly opposite each other, which could emphasize the tightness: while one person is stirring chili, the other is already washing knives and boards? No, that won’t work; people would get in each other’s way and constantly bump into each other!
3. The island is 117 cm (46 inches) wide and less than 2 m (79 inches) long (if you compare it with the table), so it’s not tiny but not particularly spacious either. Are you very committed to the island design, or could something else be possible that would make the pathways and clearances more comfortable? A U-shape? A peninsula? With your huge window, I keep thinking it could be nice to have a seating spot in front of that fixed element as well…
In short: I do see a few things in your plans that don’t look ideal to me at first glance, but I believe everything could be solved with appropriate furnishing and kitchen planning—and maybe my concerns don’t even apply to you because, for example, only one person ever works in the kitchen at a time. So please don’t let these points discourage you from what feels right for you…
Hello,
Thank you for the now very constructive responses!!! :-)
Attached is the kitchen plan (with the correct dimensions of the island and others) and the ground floor in a larger format:
Kitchen:
The passages on the left and right are 90 cm (35 inches), and 100 cm (39 inches) near the stove and sink. It’s not perfect, but given the measurements, it wasn’t possible to do it differently, and my wife really wanted a larger island. It is now 200 cm (79 inches) wide and 115 cm (45 inches) deep, with a corner bar counter so that 3 or 4 people can sit there comfortably. When not in use, the bar stools are only positioned along the longer side.
The phase with the learning tower is, fortunately / unfortunately ( 😀), over for us. About 98% of the time, one person cooks alone, so it’s rare for two people to be working in the kitchen simultaneously...
Here is the full floor plan of the ground floor:
The absence of a window on the “left” side near the TV area is intentional and related to the plot.
Yes, in hindsight we also realized that. But then you would have to take space from the pantry or utility room again...
Thanks for the constructive exchange!!
Regards
Thank you for the now very constructive responses!!! :-)
Attached is the kitchen plan (with the correct dimensions of the island and others) and the ground floor in a larger format:
Kitchen:
The passages on the left and right are 90 cm (35 inches), and 100 cm (39 inches) near the stove and sink. It’s not perfect, but given the measurements, it wasn’t possible to do it differently, and my wife really wanted a larger island. It is now 200 cm (79 inches) wide and 115 cm (45 inches) deep, with a corner bar counter so that 3 or 4 people can sit there comfortably. When not in use, the bar stools are only positioned along the longer side.
The phase with the learning tower is, fortunately / unfortunately ( 😀), over for us. About 98% of the time, one person cooks alone, so it’s rare for two people to be working in the kitchen simultaneously...
Here is the full floor plan of the ground floor:
The absence of a window on the “left” side near the TV area is intentional and related to the plot.
In an open living/dining/kitchen area, it often makes sense to work with an L-shaped layout to slightly separate the kitchen from the living space.
Yes, in hindsight we also realized that. But then you would have to take space from the pantry or utility room again...
Thanks for the constructive exchange!!
Regards
N
nordanney24 Mar 2026 22:31Neubau27 schrieb:
would have to take space from the pantry again Let me be a bit provocative. Why does an average household need a pantry? It seems more like something from luxury living and large estates than a real necessity.
For practical reasons, I wouldn’t consider storing stuff in a pantry (20 kg (44 lbs) of flour, 300 canned goods, etc.) – the necessary items fit into a regular kitchen.
Just something to think about.
nordanney schrieb:
I’ll be a bit provocative. Why does a typical household need a pantry? Currently, we have a basement where we can store various items such as food, beverages, and appliances that are rarely used, like a waffle iron and similar items. That option is no longer available. Therefore, we want the pantry as a “replacement for storage space.”