ᐅ Hillside House in the Southwest Palatinate – Our Home Construction 2.0
Created on: 9 Sep 2022 18:13
K
kati1337
Good evening everyone
I’m starting a small collection thread here for photos and progress updates on our second building project.
We’ve already moved to the Palatinate region to be closer to the construction site. Now we’re watching eagerly and happily as our (hopefully final) dream home takes shape near family.
One big challenge still ahead of us is the facade design. I really love the Nordic style with brickwork and mullioned windows. That won’t be possible here for two reasons: firstly, no one here can do bricklaying, and secondly, it would stand out too much. We will be going with a rendered facade. How to design the colors of the facade and windows to still create some country house / cottage charm is currently still a work in progress mentally.
Otherwise, I’m sharing our plans here and how it will eventually be built.
The support pillar marked near the kitchen island could be removed for a small extra cost, so that will be gone.
The room for “garden equipment” under the garage will get a partition wall for structural reasons.
It won’t be fully finished living space like in the house, but underfloor heating will be installed, along with a lockable door and a window. It’s meant to store garden tools but also some of the building services equipment, since the utility room (HAR) is quite small, and maybe be used as a party room.
We had three construction companies in the final selection. In the end, we chose the “doer” – a builder recommended to us here by friends and family. No website, no smartphone, but he is on site every day himself working in overalls. He has a very good reputation in this area and now rarely builds single-family homes. We were a bit lucky through personal connections and a very friendly initial phone call to get our foot in the door. So far we are very satisfied with this choice.
I’m starting a small collection thread here for photos and progress updates on our second building project.
We’ve already moved to the Palatinate region to be closer to the construction site. Now we’re watching eagerly and happily as our (hopefully final) dream home takes shape near family.
One big challenge still ahead of us is the facade design. I really love the Nordic style with brickwork and mullioned windows. That won’t be possible here for two reasons: firstly, no one here can do bricklaying, and secondly, it would stand out too much. We will be going with a rendered facade. How to design the colors of the facade and windows to still create some country house / cottage charm is currently still a work in progress mentally.
Otherwise, I’m sharing our plans here and how it will eventually be built.
The support pillar marked near the kitchen island could be removed for a small extra cost, so that will be gone.
The room for “garden equipment” under the garage will get a partition wall for structural reasons.
It won’t be fully finished living space like in the house, but underfloor heating will be installed, along with a lockable door and a window. It’s meant to store garden tools but also some of the building services equipment, since the utility room (HAR) is quite small, and maybe be used as a party room.
We had three construction companies in the final selection. In the end, we chose the “doer” – a builder recommended to us here by friends and family. No website, no smartphone, but he is on site every day himself working in overalls. He has a very good reputation in this area and now rarely builds single-family homes. We were a bit lucky through personal connections and a very friendly initial phone call to get our foot in the door. So far we are very satisfied with this choice.
Dear everyone – two weeks have passed, and it really took that long for us to unpack most of the boxes. The basement is still full right up to the ceiling, but it’s simply wonderful to see how this house is perfectly made for us. Every item has found its place. So, the basement doesn’t worry me at all; good things take time. And we’re not in a rush. For now, it’s livable, and we feel very comfortable here.
Today, I finally took some photos for you.
Everything still looks a bit bare. I’m still hesitant to put nails in the pristine walls. Mostly, I can’t decide which picture or decoration should go where. We have no shortage of decorations; there are still three boxes full of pictures in all sizes here.
Today, I finally took some photos for you.
Everything still looks a bit bare. I’m still hesitant to put nails in the pristine walls. Mostly, I can’t decide which picture or decoration should go where. We have no shortage of decorations; there are still three boxes full of pictures in all sizes here.
And here’s another batch of photos =)
The utility room and pantry are my personal "Dreams Come True" spaces.
I’m already living the dream where outerwear basically requires no effort anymore. I’ve always been someone who avoids ironing. Now I just hang the shirts on hangers, shape them a bit, let the exhaust fan do its thing, and the next day I can simply carry them on the hangers over to the dressing room/closets. I’m really delighted.
Of course, there’s still a lot of decoration missing, and here and there some trims need to be added / drawers, doors, and lamps still need adjusting – the usual madness. Children’s room 2 and the games room are still a complete mess. I’ll share photos of those later. I also need to take pictures again once the scaffolding is gone. I think the grid windows will look quite different then. Right now, with the scaffolding poles, it looks a bit strange both in real life and in photos.
We debated for a long time about what kind of wardrobe to choose. Since we needed quite a lot and IKEA was fairly affordable for that volume, we ended up going with IKEA. I’m honestly surprised and very pleased with how well it works as a walk-in wardrobe.
The utility room and pantry are my personal "Dreams Come True" spaces.
I’m already living the dream where outerwear basically requires no effort anymore. I’ve always been someone who avoids ironing. Now I just hang the shirts on hangers, shape them a bit, let the exhaust fan do its thing, and the next day I can simply carry them on the hangers over to the dressing room/closets. I’m really delighted.
Of course, there’s still a lot of decoration missing, and here and there some trims need to be added / drawers, doors, and lamps still need adjusting – the usual madness. Children’s room 2 and the games room are still a complete mess. I’ll share photos of those later. I also need to take pictures again once the scaffolding is gone. I think the grid windows will look quite different then. Right now, with the scaffolding poles, it looks a bit strange both in real life and in photos.
We debated for a long time about what kind of wardrobe to choose. Since we needed quite a lot and IKEA was fairly affordable for that volume, we ended up going with IKEA. I’m honestly surprised and very pleased with how well it works as a walk-in wardrobe.
H
HoisleBauer2215 Sep 2023 23:37It's great that many of the furniture pieces are made from solid wood rather than particle board or similar materials. The two dark vintage dressers are also fantastic.
schubert7916 Sep 2023 06:23Is the lamp going to stay in the living room, or is it a temporary construction setup? Curtains?
HoisleBauer22 schrieb:
It’s nice that many of the furniture pieces are made of solid wood rather than particleboard and similar materials. The two dark vintage dressers are also great. Thanks, I eventually moved away from particleboard furniture because during my student years (like probably everyone else) I had a lot of IKEA furniture. It’s practical, was affordable back then, and versatile—but it’s also plain, and after a while, you just get tired of it.
In the office and the video games room, I still have quite a bit of IKEA Besta. Those rooms basically inherited the old student apartment’s living room setup.
schubert79 schrieb:
Is the lamp staying in the living room, or is it just a temporary fixture? Curtains? The lamp is staying. It was too expensive to be temporary. XD We really took a long time deciding what to put there, but for me pragmatism was more important than looks in that spot. We already have pendant lamps over the kitchen island and dining table, and I definitely wanted something in the TV corner that wouldn’t cause reflections on the screen. It still needs to be adjusted to direct light to the right corners.
We’re not sure about curtains yet. In the old house, we had them, but even then opinions were divided. Some find them old-fashioned (which doesn’t bother me, half of my décor is “old-fashioned”), others like them.
I still need to think about what kind of system would work and whether it would look good if only some of the windows had curtains. For example, I’d definitely leave the kitchen window bare. I honestly don’t know what I would even put there. Café curtains are out—I doubt I could find a tension rod 3 meters (10 feet) wide. Side curtains won’t work either because they would be in the way everywhere.
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