ᐅ First Floor Plan Initial Draft – Feedback Welcome

ypg schrieb:
There was the laundry niche on the upper floor, which I really liked. Positioned just outside the bathroom, it had a convenient location.

Veto from my partner... ;o)

ypg schrieb:

Why did you choose the roof over the short side and not the gable ends?
The room on the left seems much smaller than 1 sqm (11 sq ft) to me.

We wanted a south-facing roof for potential solar energy use later on...

Which room do you mean with 1 sqm (11 sq ft)?

Hi, we are currently building as well, and I have a few questions.

Ground floor
Why are you planning a guest bathroom with a shower if you don’t have a guest room? This is just something I don’t quite understand.
Open kitchen – I personally find the path from the front door to the kitchen quite long. I’m thinking of a woman carrying a child and full of shopping bags. Around the stove, there should always be some countertop space – grease on tiles can become slippery; a friend of mine had that issue. The refrigerator is very far from the sink (for washing vegetables, etc.) – I would suggest consulting a professional on that. We spent about 6 months on our final kitchen design, and even then, there is probably still room for improvement.
Stairs and hallway – I find the distance extremely tight; you almost end up facing a wall directly. The entrance area feels quite cramped – what will happen if you want to say goodbye or welcome a few people? In contrast, the living room is huge.
Your children’s rooms are really spacious – I would seriously consider adding a separate toilet and making the shower a bit larger. You even have space for a kids’ bathroom, but that would also increase costs. Sharing one bathroom for four people becomes difficult, especially during puberty. We have a kids’ bathroom and main bathroom next to each other, with the toilet below – this saves a lot on plumbing costs related to waste water management.

Regarding the dormer window on the roof – what do the neighbors have? Depending on that, it can be much easier to get such special features approved. For example, we rotated the orientation of the roof!

linthe schrieb:

Why are you planning a guest bathroom with a shower if you don’t have a guest bedroom? Just trying to understand

In case two people want to shower at the same time... As you already mentioned: puberty is the keyword.

QUOTE=linthe;53619]
Open kitchen – personally, I find the distance from the front door to the kitchen quite long[/QUOTE]

Maybe you could add a door from the kitchen to the hallway. If I move the countertop to the window wall...

QUOTE=linthe;53619]
Stairs and hallway – I find the space extremely tight – you basically walk straight into the wall. The entrance area feels very cramped – what if you want to see off or welcome a few people? – In contrast, the living room is huge.
Your children’s rooms are really big – I would seriously consider adding a separate toilet and making the shower a bit larger – you even have space for a kids’ bathroom – however, this would also incur additional costs. Sharing one bathroom as a family of four gets challenging at the latest during puberty. We have the kids’ bathroom and main bathroom next to each other and the toilet below – this saves quite a bit on costs for wastewater piping. [/QUOTE]

Move the downstairs shower out + reduce the guest toilet = larger entrance area with possibly a coat closet.

Rearrange upstairs and maybe add a second bathroom and/or a separate toilet.

Thank you for the feedback.

Justifier schrieb:
I think you’re wasting a lot of space. For example, I would keep the bathroom and toilet separate upstairs and plan for a much larger shower in the bathroom.

The small kitchen island is far from ideal. Consider making it a galley layout—that could be much more practical. With the tiny cooking area, you have no workspace on either side, and there’s always the risk that someone’s sleeve or jumper might catch on the pan handle and knock over a hot pan...

linthe schrieb:
Regarding the kitchen—you should always have some countertop space next to the stove. Grease on tiles can become slippery—I know someone who experienced this. The fridge is quite far from the sink (where you wash vegetables, etc.)—I’d recommend consulting a professional. We spent about six months finalizing our kitchen design, and I’m sure it could still be improved.

@PeterLustig
Our general contractor said regarding the bathroom: “The supplier where you select your finishes uses design software and will work with you to develop the optimal solution for your bathroom. That’s why we (the general contractor) provide the floor plan and ensure there is enough space for everything, but the details are handled by the bathroom planner.” I think it will be similar with the kitchen.
So first create a rough plan—that means roughly how you want it designed (window placement and approximate furniture layout) and where the walls and doors should be.

Justifier schrieb:
Furthermore, in my opinion, you’re wasting a lot of space—take, for example, the two large rooms you call children’s bedrooms—those are at least 7-8sqm (75-86 sq ft) too large. Also, in the bedroom, you have plenty of space between the bed and the wardrobe to practice ballroom dancing; I would use the space saved from the children’s rooms and bedroom to add a walk-in closet or dressing room instead.

linthe schrieb:
You really have huge children’s rooms.

In general, I’d be interested to know the actual usable floor area of these rooms (i.e., after deducting for sloped ceilings). With low knee walls, the usable living space shrinks considerably.