ᐅ Living on the upper floor – a bad idea?

Hello,

we have a nice plot of land (~1000m2 (0.25 acres)) adjacent to a nature reserve. Unfortunately, there is a berm about one story high between the property and the nature reserve.

The plan is to build a three-story house, and from the third floor there is a nice view of the lake. Now I’m wondering if the beautiful view might be wasted on the bedrooms, and if I should rather place the dining/living area on the third floor.

In my opinion, this is a trade-off between direct garden access and the view.

At the moment, I live in a ground-floor rental with a garden, and I hardly ever use the garden, only the terrace. I’m not sure if this would change with children.

Does anyone have any other pros or cons?

Thank you very much

Hello!

With children, it’s definitely different—they run out into the garden. I would only consider living upstairs if everything, including a sufficiently large (!) balcony, is on the upper floor and there is direct access from the first/second floor or balcony to the garden. If there is enough space, I would rather plan an additional room with flexible use (office, second living room, TV room, etc.) and a view of the lake. Everything else should be on one level downstairs.

Best regards
Dirk Grafe

Would the first upper floor provide a decent view? If so, it might be worth considering not building a basement, but instead placing storage, building services, and the garage on the ground floor, with the kitchen, living, and dining areas on the first floor, along with a terrace that has a direct staircase to the garden, and leaving the bedrooms in the attic.

If the view works out, this could be a good compromise.

I know a family that has the parents' area including the living room/sofa, TV, and PC on the upper floor. On the ground floor are the two children's bedrooms and a large kitchen-living area for dining, crafts, and more. There is no balcony or terrace upstairs. However, the house does not have a basement.

Best regards in brief

DeepB schrieb:
Now I was wondering whether such a beautiful view might be a waste for the bedrooms and if I should relocate the dining/living area to the third floor.

I agree with you that it’s a shame to have such a nice view only from the bedrooms, but whether the living/dining area should go there, I can’t really judge. What should be placed there depends on when and where you can enjoy the view best. If it’s a side with evening sun, the view might not enhance breakfast as much. If you work from home and spend the day there, you’d probably want your workspace where you can best enjoy the view. As for the kids, having direct access to the outside on their own floor is definitely more practical than on the living room level. What consequences that has in terms of keeping an eye on them, I can’t see from here ;-)

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Of course, the kitchen will be upstairs as well, right? In that case, the only downside is the long distance to carry groceries.