Hello everyone,
After almost a year’s break, we have resumed our building project and are planning a new floor plan.
We’re stuck when it comes to the open-plan living area, so I would like to hear your opinions!
Our garden faces west, and to the south, the neighboring property begins after three meters (10 feet).
Option 1:
Overall, we like this option best. BUT: Is it possibly too tight? About one meter (3 feet) between the sofa and table—is that too cramped? It’s enough for walking through, but maybe it compromises comfort on the couch? Currently, we have much more space between the couch and table, but not as much room depth as in the planned layout. We are thinking of trying to place the table this close to the sofa in our current apartment to get a feel for it.
Pros: Great window view to the west, a skylight to the south (brings in plenty of light but prevents the neighbor from looking into our house), from the couch you can see the room, the garden, and the TV.
Cons: Is it too narrow in width?
Option 2:
Same setup, only the table is rotated. Basically, a table with a footprint of 1.00 x 2.00 meters (3 x 6.5 feet) requires a total space of 2.00 x 2.00 meters (6.5 x 6.5 feet) to accommodate chairs. In this arrangement, all guests could look out to the garden. In option 1, both the sofa and the kitchen island have visual contact with all guests.
Option 3:
The sofa and the entertainment wall are swapped. The skylight to the south changes to a floor-to-ceiling window, but the window to the west is removed.
Pros: More freedom of movement in the room, sofa hidden behind the fireplace, more coziness.
Cons: No view of the garden from the sofa, loss of a west window, view of the fireplace only from the side.
We have gotten so lost in the planning that we can’t see the forest for the trees right now.
What do you think?
Thanks and best regards,
Ypsi
After almost a year’s break, we have resumed our building project and are planning a new floor plan.
We’re stuck when it comes to the open-plan living area, so I would like to hear your opinions!
Our garden faces west, and to the south, the neighboring property begins after three meters (10 feet).
Option 1:
Overall, we like this option best. BUT: Is it possibly too tight? About one meter (3 feet) between the sofa and table—is that too cramped? It’s enough for walking through, but maybe it compromises comfort on the couch? Currently, we have much more space between the couch and table, but not as much room depth as in the planned layout. We are thinking of trying to place the table this close to the sofa in our current apartment to get a feel for it.
Pros: Great window view to the west, a skylight to the south (brings in plenty of light but prevents the neighbor from looking into our house), from the couch you can see the room, the garden, and the TV.
Cons: Is it too narrow in width?
Option 2:
Same setup, only the table is rotated. Basically, a table with a footprint of 1.00 x 2.00 meters (3 x 6.5 feet) requires a total space of 2.00 x 2.00 meters (6.5 x 6.5 feet) to accommodate chairs. In this arrangement, all guests could look out to the garden. In option 1, both the sofa and the kitchen island have visual contact with all guests.
Option 3:
The sofa and the entertainment wall are swapped. The skylight to the south changes to a floor-to-ceiling window, but the window to the west is removed.
Pros: More freedom of movement in the room, sofa hidden behind the fireplace, more coziness.
Cons: No view of the garden from the sofa, loss of a west window, view of the fireplace only from the side.
We have gotten so lost in the planning that we can’t see the forest for the trees right now.
What do you think?
Thanks and best regards,
Ypsi
Y
Ypsi aus NI25 May 2021 15:11driver55 schrieb:
From 0 to 3 years old, but not the regular preschool for 3 to 6, right?
And it goes on with moving walls, rearranging furniture, etc.Unfortunately, I’m not exactly sure. I think I heard something about 300€ (about $320). But there are no spots available...
Do you have a floor plan shared somewhere in the forum?
Our well-regarded childcare options nearby for the little one (1 year) ranged from 200€ to nearly 800€ per month for 5-6 hours a day when using various daycare providers or childminders. This is by no means a general rule.
For the eventual childminder, due to different locations, there was a factor of 2 difference in costs for different children depending on who provides subsidies (county, municipality...).
Kindergarten later on in Hesse is, in my opinion, free of charge.
For the eventual childminder, due to different locations, there was a factor of 2 difference in costs for different children depending on who provides subsidies (county, municipality...).
Kindergarten later on in Hesse is, in my opinion, free of charge.
And suddenly, my quotes have disappeared.
Anything considered unimportant simply does not get commented on here by me.
What stuck with me is this: a floor plan is not private, nor do compromises on floor plans hurt.
Off topic: If someone wants a "Sadoraum" (sauna room) and doesn’t want everyone to know, they just call it a hobby room! Whether they sit on the toilet or have preferences in the fridge, or whether the toothpaste tube is always left open—none of that is revealed by a floor plan. As long as it is just a drawing, there is nothing private about it.
And if something in a large, custom-designed house doesn’t turn out Pinterest-perfect, it’s well known that it doesn’t hurt.
I think the decision regarding the parents' area is completely fine, and if you want it differently later, you can find (painless) compromises. Maybe you swap it with the office rooms?! That could be planned that way. (“Could” is, by the way, the equivalent of “would have,” I just realized 😉 )
When planning a house, the rooms should fit together harmoniously. That’s why you don’t design single rooms and just stick them together—you mark out the house on the plot and plan from the rough to the fine details.
First using—yes—standard dimensions so that everything functions at all, then you get more specific. Everyone should have their individual house, but many just call their own “house planning” unique and use that to excuse their mistakes.
What happened to the Mediterranean city villa and the much-loved sloped walls? The first plan had six of those right away (I flipped back to the beginning, in 2020). Although I prefer a nice knee wall and your planned open space can look very nice under a sloped roof instead of an equally sized open space in a two-story building, I wonder where those initial ideas went? Why isn’t there any follow-up on them?
Regarding the open space/gallery: my parents had that, implemented in a family-unfriendly way on the ground floor, but upstairs it was a great room for everyone. I once used it to play with the traffic routes inside the house; my mother now uses the space as a decoration and writing room. It was always a great room for larger sewing or DIY projects.
I have now built something similar.
When you ask here, you get answers. That’s the point! If a question is nonsensical, you get counter-questions. Even if something is not consistent...
...
A questioner should be glad to receive answers from experienced people. They can filter out what they don’t like. After all, this is not an online encyclopedia or something similar, but a forum where many opinions are sought (crowd knowledge) and conclusions can be drawn collectively.
About 50% of questioners here feel attacked when they receive criticism. I think it’s a fair question what those people are looking for in this forum if brainstorming is the purpose.
If someone advises getting professional help, they often get the response that either the professionals have no idea or don’t address individual needs or tastes (which means the architect doesn’t want to reproduce every nonsense). Ultimately, the attitude is that a professional is only good if they approve everything and make it possible.
The professional is no longer seen as a partner—just like here in the forum, where discussions get shut down by page three at the latest because everyone is against you.
Anything considered unimportant simply does not get commented on here by me.
What stuck with me is this: a floor plan is not private, nor do compromises on floor plans hurt.
Off topic: If someone wants a "Sadoraum" (sauna room) and doesn’t want everyone to know, they just call it a hobby room! Whether they sit on the toilet or have preferences in the fridge, or whether the toothpaste tube is always left open—none of that is revealed by a floor plan. As long as it is just a drawing, there is nothing private about it.
And if something in a large, custom-designed house doesn’t turn out Pinterest-perfect, it’s well known that it doesn’t hurt.
I think the decision regarding the parents' area is completely fine, and if you want it differently later, you can find (painless) compromises. Maybe you swap it with the office rooms?! That could be planned that way. (“Could” is, by the way, the equivalent of “would have,” I just realized 😉 )
When planning a house, the rooms should fit together harmoniously. That’s why you don’t design single rooms and just stick them together—you mark out the house on the plot and plan from the rough to the fine details.
First using—yes—standard dimensions so that everything functions at all, then you get more specific. Everyone should have their individual house, but many just call their own “house planning” unique and use that to excuse their mistakes.
What happened to the Mediterranean city villa and the much-loved sloped walls? The first plan had six of those right away (I flipped back to the beginning, in 2020). Although I prefer a nice knee wall and your planned open space can look very nice under a sloped roof instead of an equally sized open space in a two-story building, I wonder where those initial ideas went? Why isn’t there any follow-up on them?
Regarding the open space/gallery: my parents had that, implemented in a family-unfriendly way on the ground floor, but upstairs it was a great room for everyone. I once used it to play with the traffic routes inside the house; my mother now uses the space as a decoration and writing room. It was always a great room for larger sewing or DIY projects.
I have now built something similar.
When you ask here, you get answers. That’s the point! If a question is nonsensical, you get counter-questions. Even if something is not consistent...
...
A questioner should be glad to receive answers from experienced people. They can filter out what they don’t like. After all, this is not an online encyclopedia or something similar, but a forum where many opinions are sought (crowd knowledge) and conclusions can be drawn collectively.
About 50% of questioners here feel attacked when they receive criticism. I think it’s a fair question what those people are looking for in this forum if brainstorming is the purpose.
If someone advises getting professional help, they often get the response that either the professionals have no idea or don’t address individual needs or tastes (which means the architect doesn’t want to reproduce every nonsense). Ultimately, the attitude is that a professional is only good if they approve everything and make it possible.
The professional is no longer seen as a partner—just like here in the forum, where discussions get shut down by page three at the latest because everyone is against you.
One more thing:
If you had started your discussion with different assumptions, you might have been advised to build a bungalow with a converted attic for the children, possibly including a storage room and a gallery. It also depends somewhat on how you present your case in a forum—just like in real life.
However, this doesn’t change your issue with the house length—and we don’t even know the background there. So, it’s easier to just complain than to offer constructive suggestions.
First, I would try angling the corner in the kitchen/dressing area!
If you had started your discussion with different assumptions, you might have been advised to build a bungalow with a converted attic for the children, possibly including a storage room and a gallery. It also depends somewhat on how you present your case in a forum—just like in real life.
However, this doesn’t change your issue with the house length—and we don’t even know the background there. So, it’s easier to just complain than to offer constructive suggestions.
First, I would try angling the corner in the kitchen/dressing area!
Ypsi aus NI schrieb:
Do you actually have a floor plan of your house posted in the forum?Nope. Should I upload one? 😎Similar topics