ᐅ Explanation of the Hypes

Created on: 17 Jul 2017 07:46
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blablub1234
Hello,

My wife and I visited a model home park for prefabricated houses yesterday, and we noticed that each house offered various features and floor plans whose practical benefits I don’t quite understand. That’s why I’m starting this thread, hoping you can explain the advantages of these choices or point out what I might be missing and why it still makes sense to design a house that way:

1. Almost every house had floor-to-ceiling windows installed. What’s the purpose of these? I imagine they would be terrible both in summer and winter. Wouldn’t it get extremely hot in summer? And in winter, don’t you constantly have to lower the blinds so that anyone passing by can’t look directly into the living room or inside the house? Also, isn’t the effort to clean those windows huge? Am I missing something? Do they have advantages that I don’t see?

2. There wasn’t a single house where the kitchen and dining area were separated from the living space; at best, the kitchen was separated from the dining area. I understand that having everything open makes the space appear larger and is better for hosting many people, but isn’t it very impractical? If I’m frying or cooking something in the kitchen, doesn’t the whole living room end up smelling like food? It would also bother me that as soon as my wife or I have guests over, the other person couldn’t sit in the living room and watch TV quietly, for example. This might sound a bit picky, but for me, it’s important that everyone can invite their friends without the other person always being within earshot or needing to get out of the way somehow. Why are open-plan ground floors so common? What are the real advantages?

3. The balconies on the upper floor are always accessible from one of the children’s bedrooms and the parents’ bedroom. Doesn’t that significantly affect privacy? I can’t imagine it’s great if my child can constantly knock on our bedroom door via the balcony, for example. Also, if you have two children, wouldn’t the one without a balcony be at a disadvantage?

I don’t want to bias you with my opinions here—I’m completely open to your views because I’d like to be convinced of the benefits. So I would like to know your reasons for including such features in your plans. Alternatively, has anyone built in a more “traditional” way and can speak to the practicality of these layout choices?

Best regards
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ruppsn
29 Mar 2018 00:02
Ok, until just now, I also thought you were installing two separate basins, each with its own faucet... and I was wondering: WTF?! [emoji23]

Before getting a sink with two basins, I would rather go for an undermount sink or have it integrated into the countertop. That way, you can easily sweep any mess from the countertop directly into the sink without it getting caught on the edge of a drop-in sink. [emoji6]
The advantage of having only one sink: fewer chances to just “pop something in the sink” briefly. [emoji4]
Arifas29 Mar 2018 00:23
We are also getting a sink with a second basin because I want it. One for washing food and a utility sink.
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Alex85
29 Mar 2018 05:32
On the Cook Islands, you can often find small secondary sinks complete with a faucet. These are mainly used for tasks like draining pots or as an additional water source.
KingSong29 Mar 2018 05:58
ruppsn schrieb:
Okay, until just now I also thought you were installing two separate basins each with its own faucet... and I was wondering: WTF?! [emoji23]

Before I would choose a sink with two basins, I would rather go for a single undermount sink or one integrated into the countertop. That way, you can easily wipe debris from the countertop straight into the sink without it getting caught on the edge of a top-mount sink. [emoji6]
Advantage of only one sink: less chance to “just quickly put something in the sink” [emoji4]

You understood correctly—we have a double basin with one faucet on the kitchen counter and a small 40cm (16 inches) basin with a faucet on the kitchen island.
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Wickie
29 Mar 2018 07:36
The same applies to us. One sink with a faucet in the kitchen counter, and another on the work island—also with a faucet. Completely separate from each other!
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Kekse
29 Mar 2018 08:32
I’m already annoyed by the space required for a sink (although I don’t wash dishes myself and find it unnecessary to wash meat or vegetables that will be peeled anyway before use).