ᐅ Ground floor approximately 100 sqm, upper floor adaptable for expansion (planned bathroom, 2 children's bedrooms, 1 storage room)

Hello,

Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 879 sqm (9,458 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site occupancy index: 0.3
Floor area ratio: 0.45
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 5 m (16 ft) to the street, 3 m (10 ft) each to the orchard area and neighbors
Edge development /
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: gable roof
Construction style: solid / masonry
Maximum heights / limits: ridge height 9.0 m (30 ft), eaves height 6.0 m (20 ft)
Other requirements

Homeowners’ requirements: living room facing south, small office (initially used as a nursery), walk-in shower on ground floor, utility room on the driveway side
Style, roof type, building type
Basement, floors: no basement, 1.5 stories
Number of residents, age: 2 – under 30
Office use: family use rather than home office
Number of overnight guests per year: 2-3
Open or closed architecture: closed
Traditional or modern style: rather traditional
Open kitchen, kitchen island: no
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: carport planned later on the east side
Kitchen garden, greenhouse: no

House design
Designer: general contractor
What do you like most? Why? living room facing south, the number of rooms as desired
What do you dislike? Why? the office window 1 should be moved from south to west (otherwise the wall looks too bare); driveway and access to be on the east, not the west
Price estimate by architect/planner: available after Easter; currently mainly focused on the floor plan
Personal price limit including fixtures: expected around €1,700 per sqm (sq ft conversion not added per instruction)
Preferred heating: gas

If you have to give up, which details/features?
-can give up: bathtub
-cannot give up:

Why is the design as it is now?
The floor plan is based on a very similar layout seen during a house viewing and is our favorite among all viewings and catalog research. We only adapted it slightly to our needs (removed guest WC and enlarged living room, rotated office).

What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
The floor plan basically fits us, but I would appreciate your opinion to see if any improvements are possible. Note: as mentioned, we want to move the office window to the west so the wall doesn’t look so bare. Driveway on the east, not west. Therefore, the bare wall on the west is where the carport will go up to the utility room door. Alternatively, a window could be added to the living room there and the carport start behind the house. The plot allows this.

My main concern is that we’re not 100% happy with the roof’s east-west orientation; I would prefer a north-south alignment. Do you have ideas on rotating the floor plan 90 degrees while keeping the layout mostly unchanged? Only the kitchen and office could be swapped.

PS: The square meter figures for the hallway may be incorrect; the contractor will finalize after Easter. Correct figures will be approximately: living room 31.79 sqm (342 sq ft), kitchen 15.19 sqm (163 sq ft), utility room 9.87 sqm (106 sq ft), hallway about 19.5 sqm (210 sq ft), office/child room 1 about 8 sqm (86 sq ft), bedroom about 11.8 sqm (127 sq ft), bathroom about 8.5 sqm (91 sq ft)

Plot details: length west: 40 m (131 ft), east: 42 m (138 ft), width: 21.5 m (71 ft)

Best regards

Okeeeee. So, here’s what I notice:
KZ: A room of 8 sqm (about 86 sq ft) really won’t make a child happy. It’s barely enough for a very small office or more like a storage room.
If children are planned, the children’s bedroom should be set up upstairs.
You should also reconsider giving up the bathtub if you want children. There’s nothing better for cleaning small kids (including those little black toes and fingernails) than a bath.
I also don’t find it very appealing to have to walk through the dirty area at night to get to the toilet.
Serving food in the dining area is of course nice as well. Again, right through the dirty zone.

The basement is intended only for the beginning. Once children arrive, the upper floor will need to be converted. The bathtub will probably stay; it was more of a compromise to potentially save some space downstairs. However, there will definitely be one upstairs.

The mudroom area doesn’t bother us; we currently have one in our rental apartment between the bedroom and the bathroom, and in general, meals are supposed to be eaten in the kitchen anyway. Eating in the living room is only for guests.

You have exterior dimensions of 10.5 by 12 meters (34 by 39 feet). Then there is a children’s room measuring 8 square meters (86 square feet). A hallway more than twice as large as the children’s room. A kitchen with a tiny north-facing window / hardly any natural light. And a straight staircase—the biggest space-waster when it comes to stairs—to access an apparently unfinished attic (or is the floor plan for that missing?).

Honestly, the floor plan barely makes any sense to me. :-(

Would it even be allowed to rotate the roof ridge? And what is supposed to go into the attic? This needs to be planned now, since the roof slopes and stairs greatly affect the layout of the rooms.

Which mudroom? Evolith, a hallway isn’t dirty. First of all, this is a great design with classic settler house architecture.
The kitchen with a corner bench would be too cramped for me. But a table with four chairs would work perfectly. There should probably be a bit more kitchen cabinetry.
I would swap the kitchen and utility room so everything is located in the corner. Then, maybe even a pass-through to the living room could be possible.
Back door: great.
Bedroom: great. Beautiful house. Build it! (Solid construction team?)

And do you really want to carry the panels all the way from the kitchen to the living room? Including then clearing away the dirty dishes?

In my opinion, a central nursery in the first months is a waste. Usually, the babies sleep with their parents during the first months anyway. Diaper changes happen all over the house, and a dedicated play area is not really necessary since mobility only starts around 6 months. By then, everything is more interesting than their own room.
In other words, when a child is on the way, you’ll probably be in the attic anyway and start to finish it.

@Nordlys: The entrance area is rarely clean. Especially later with kids. I can really relate. I don’t walk barefoot to the washing machine because I have to pass the front door. There is always dirt and dust from outside, which is especially noticeable in winter.

I would also swap the kitchen and utility room and move them to the other side. That way you have a more direct route to the dining table.