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
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
J
j.bautsch29 Mar 2018 08:36So, in especially large kitchens, having two sinks can be quite practical. However, we also belong to the group that rarely uses them for washing food.
In the next kitchen, there will also be an undermount sink; simply wiping everything in is very convenient, and it reduces cleaning edges.
Regarding the floor-to-ceiling windows and the increased amount of light: yes, but only if nothing is placed in front of them, otherwise the effect is lost :P
In the next kitchen, there will also be an undermount sink; simply wiping everything in is very convenient, and it reduces cleaning edges.
Regarding the floor-to-ceiling windows and the increased amount of light: yes, but only if nothing is placed in front of them, otherwise the effect is lost :P
Just out of curiosity: what do you use two completely separate sinks with faucets for? I honestly can’t think of a use case (for me) in the best scenario.
Sure, having a lot of counter space is great, but two faucets?
Is your kitchen then 40m² (430 sq ft), so that the distance to a faucet would be too far?
The dishwasher takes care of washing up, and for cooking, one sink and one faucet have always been more than enough for our mise en place [emoji4]
Sure, having a lot of counter space is great, but two faucets?
Is your kitchen then 40m² (430 sq ft), so that the distance to a faucet would be too far?
The dishwasher takes care of washing up, and for cooking, one sink and one faucet have always been more than enough for our mise en place [emoji4]
A sink is located near the cooktop. I imagine this is useful either for draining pots or for leaving rinse water standing briefly.
Another one is on a work island opposite. There is plenty of space around it for chopping and preparation together. You can wash salad there, quickly rinse your hands... whatever...
I know this setup from friends who have it that way, and I find it very practical, especially when you often don’t work alone in the kitchen.
But this topic is generally discussed very controversially here :P
Just a matter of taste again...
Another one is on a work island opposite. There is plenty of space around it for chopping and preparation together. You can wash salad there, quickly rinse your hands... whatever...
I know this setup from friends who have it that way, and I find it very practical, especially when you often don’t work alone in the kitchen.
But this topic is generally discussed very controversially here :P
Just a matter of taste again...
I would simply find the lost countertop space for the sink too much of a waste. Besides, I don’t really find sinks particularly attractive; I prefer a countertop. We only have a single basin sink opposite the kitchen island (where the cooktop is), and that is absolutely enough for me.
Best regards
Sabine
Best regards
Sabine
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