ᐅ The layout is finalized. What are your thoughts?

I don’t know how it was planned in the last draft, but I find it surprising that the parents (2 people) are supposed to have a fully equipped bathroom with both shower and bathtub, while the children (4 people) are expected to manage with just a shower bathroom.

By the way, I would position the laundry chute so that it can be accessed and used from both the children’s bathroom and the parents’ area upstairs, whether that’s the bathroom or the dressing room.

I would strongly recommend consulting an architect. Otherwise, in two years you might be rebuilding your third house to fix the mistakes of the second.

With four children, most standard floor plans won’t be suitable. By the way, the architect won’t just fulfill your wishes but will also find a proper orientation for the house.

Honestly, I found the first draft quite dreadful, while the second one simply doesn’t work at all.

I consider the second approach a feasible draft for a possible room layout. However, I am concerned that it may not be achievable within the exterior dimensions of 11.5 x 11.5 meters (38 x 38 feet). One drawback is the orientation of the children’s rooms mainly towards the northeast. Therefore, my recommendation is to involve an architect.

11.5m (37.7 ft) by 11.5m (37.7 ft) is the internal dimension

I can easily understand how much fun it is to tinker with your own floor plan. But honestly, you run the risk of presenting your design to a general contractor, who will try to build it exactly as you planned. You will probably be satisfied with that, since it’s your vision. Unfortunately, you will never know how much better a floor plan can become when an architect brings their experience and trained perspective to the table.

There are freelance architects in almost every small town. Just call, make an appointment, exchange information, and wait for the first draft to be ready. This initial step is usually free of charge—it's best to ask in advance.

You will already get a sense during the preliminary meeting if the fit is right.

The first draft from an independent architect for free? I somewhat doubt that; at least no one offered us that. The only ones who will provide a free draft are the sales staff from Stadt Land Haus or Brockenvieh.