ᐅ Floor Plan for a New Semi-Detached House with a Compact Footprint

Hello everyone,

My fiancé and I are currently planning our future home and are interested in a semi-detached house offered by a home construction company as a complete package (plot + solid house). We have made some modifications to the floor plan based on the company’s design but are unsure whether these changes make sense. We would therefore like to hear your opinions. We look forward to your comments!

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 290m² (3,130 sq ft)
Slope: no
Dormer windows are already maximized to the permitted extent

Owners’ Requirements
Basement, floors: basement + ground floor + upper floor + attic
Number of occupants, age: 2, mid-thirties
Room needs on ground floor and upper floors:
Ground floor: living-dining-kitchen area, guest WC, hallway;
Upper floor & attic: bathroom with tub, bathroom with shower, bedroom, dressing room, 2 children’s rooms, 1 home office/guest room;
Office use: family or home office? -> home office
Guests per year: several times a year, sometimes for two to three weeks at once
Open or closed layout: open layout
Traditional or modern style: modern/minimalist
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen with peninsula
Number of dining seats: 4-8
Fireplace: yes
Music/sound wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: double carport
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Additional wishes/special features/daily routine, also reasons for preferences

House Design
Who designed the plan:
The project manager’s architect incorporating our wishes

What do you particularly like? Why?

• Large open living-dining-kitchen area with a big kitchen since we spend a lot of time at home and often cook twice a day
• Large windows on the ground floor and in the bedroom
• Space for a home office (we work about 60-80% from home)
• Dressing room with vanity table, because one of us is an early riser and the other a night owl

What don’t you like? Why?

• South-facing bedroom might be unnecessary
• Northern room in the attic is very small, plus a niche behind the stairs in this room is rather unusable

Why is the design as it is now?
Standard plan from the designer?
Which of our wishes were implemented by the architect?
A mix of ideas from various magazines...
In your opinion, what works well or not so well about it?

Based on a suggestion from the project manager, we have made several changes:

• Added the bay window on the ground floor
• Chose a longer but narrower staircase to create space for the kitchen peninsula
• Enlarged the bathroom on the upper floor to fit a bigger shower
• Added a shower bathroom on the upper floor
• Enlarged the northern dormer window

What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Is a more functional layout of the upper floor and attic possible? Is a shower bathroom in the attic necessary if it is planned for two children’s rooms?

Attachment: floor plans (right: our half; left: original plan mirrored)