Here is the house, I hope you like it. We will us old European bricks

The house is beautiful. <3

My first concern is the orientation of the house. It appears that the kitchen has windows that face south *and* west. Having the afternoon heat of western exposure would be a problem for me. (Unless you have mature trees in front of the windows.) :-) The north side seems to lack windows on the first floor.

*** I am using 10.76 to convert square meters to square feet, to help others contribute more easily. ***

First of all the large area! about 270 sqm! It would be really great if
we could get it to less than 260sqm by implementing it more cleverly.

You have 2905 sq. ft., and would like roughly 2800, so cutting 105 sqft (53 sqft on each floor) isn't very much; that's good. :-)

I think you will receive more ideas from more people if you can provide the dimensions (length and width) of each room, instead of the area/square footage/square meters of each room.

Without knowing dimensions, my first thought would be to cut the kitchen on the south side, since it looks like there is a lot of space dedicated to walking around (I would *not* do the "semi-island"/peninsula, because the seating looks very crowded from front-to-back). I would rotate the island 90* and delete countertop/cabinetry on the south wall.

Do you plan to cook on the island? A lot of people here on GardenWeb do not like cooking on islands, especially when seating is also planned for the island. I also do not know how an island cooktop is vented, when there is a second story/floor above it.

Reducing the kitchen also means reducing the master bathroom upstairs, but with some rearranging, a smaller master bath would be better. As it is drawn, there is a lot of space to walk around (exactly like the kitchen), and I think it can be made more compact and more functional, without sacrificing luxury.

Guest room and guest toilet should be barrier-free and large enough so that the parents or we could live there later.

Having a straight path from the hallway to the guest room's entrance would make it easier for people to navigate, especially if/when anyone needs walkers or wheelchairs. I would take away space from the technical room to make a square vestibule to enter the guest room.

Suggestions for clearances and arrangement of guest bathroom elements (urinal, toilet, shower, sink) first need room dimensions (length and width). :-)

I have more ideas, but before I talk too much (hahahaha), I would really appreciate having room dimensions. :-)

I had started answering, but I am unclear why you are asking these questions to your architect, which is probably more well-versed in what is doable or not in Germany.

What seems obvious to me is that the children bathroom could be larger, but you could do that easily by making the bedrooms a little smaller. I think the laundry room is also too small if you need two washers and dryers as indicated. If you need only one, you probably have the space for an ironing table but my guess is that it would need to be folded when not used.

I do not like the master arrangement. A king bed wil be tight in 14.00 m2. I just looked into a French magazine to be sure and they recommand at least 16 m2. Going to the bathroom during the night seems a long trip. You have to go through the WIC, the bedroom hall and at least part of the bathroom. I am pretty sure that there is a better layout for the master suite.

I like the ground floor a lot better. I think the guest room/bathroom need to be rethink because going from the guest room to the guest bathroom does not look easy. You need to find somebody who is specialist in age-in-place to help you with that. Should this person use a walker or be in a wheelchair, I am not sure the doors would be wide enough.

I think the tech room is probably fine. Ours is smaller, if I read the plan well and if tech room is the equivalent of a utility room.

Why does your wife think the door 2 is necessary. I do not see it, but she may have her reasons.

Is there a reason a coat closet is not possible under the starway. As for whether it is in the right place or not, I find it fine. May be they see something I do not see.

Will you be carrying your food shopping in the kitchen from the garage or through the main entry. Moving the kitchen door makes sense if you use the main entry. Leaving it where it is is fine if you come from the garage, IMHO.

BTW, where are you in Germany? How is the weather?

You should have no problem cutting 10 m2.

Are all the boxes with x cabinets?

You have so many cabinets that could be built as a tall cabinet and be used for coat storage. You hardly need in clothes storage!

Alex - Love your home!!!

The changes you have made are so much better. :) Shame on your architect. I saw so much wasted space with that first plan. You do still have a little wasted space, but I find it hard to work that out.

The one change that I would make is to flip the guest bathroom layout so that the door is directly across the hall from the bedroom. And perhaps change the door swing to the other side to make accessing the toilets easier, and quickly. Much easier for your parents, especially during the night.

Good luck with your house building. We have just begun to build our new home.

BTW - We live in Tennessee, USA. We have good German friends that live in Bocholt ..also near the Dutch border. We have visited their home a few times when we cruise out of Amsterdam.

@nb22 thank you very much for your nice feedback! :) Really happy to hear.

We did consider the bathroom like you did before. But then we won't have a window, or just a little small one, so that was the reason why we did it the other way around.

I hope you always liked your stay in Germany. :)

All the best for your home!

I was not sure if there was a window or not in your new plan.

If you can get by without having a window, but wanted it for an aesthetic look to the outside of your home, you could make a Faux window out of shutters... like this:

Shown above.

I love the little person hanging out of your upstairs office window. I think he has had enough work for the day!

Hey @nhb22 we do actually don't like rooms without natural light, therefore the window is not there for the aesthetic look but for having natural light in there. :)

Also, the man hanging there, is on the balcony. :D In front of the office is a balcony. So it is not such a bad working day, as it looks like. ;)

:) So he is!

I understand about the natural light factor. Unfortunately, one of our 4 baths will not have natural light. We thought about one of those roof sun tubes. And then we decided against it. A lot of trouble and expense for a little sun coming through the ceiling. Not to mention the heat those things put off!

(not a pro) Looks like it will be a lovely home!

Have you considered making the window in the mudroom a door instead? I realize people can go through the garage to get there, but I like having a door right into my mudroom for letting the dog out (and being able to keep an eye on him from inside) and when the kids were young they could come in and out directly for the mudroom, restroom, etc. You could have a door with a nice window so you don't lose that light and window view from down the hall. And do you need the door that's currently into the mudroom from the center hall? If you do, I might swing it the other way or make it a pocket door so it doesn't block the cabinets.

Have you looked into the pros and cons of double entry doors? I like how they look, but some people find that they usually only use one at a time. Also be sure that the locks are as secure as a single door locking into a frame. You also need to figure out where your light switch for the front hall will be so it's not covered when you open the doors. You might be just as happy with a nice single door that has windows, a transom and 2 sidelights.

I like your new layout a lot. I had the same thought nhb22 had concerning the guest bathroom, but even as it is, it is a lot better than it was before.

Good luck and enjoy your new house in a wonderful place.

Good luck

@chicagoans thanks a lot for your feedback! That is actually a door, that's why it has a triangle icon before it. :) And yes, it will have a window in there.

Thanks for the suggestions regarding door and light switch! Need to avoid not to forget any. :)

@Ig222 thank you very much, really happy you like it. :)

@nhb22 yeah, those tubes can be expensive. :(

"That is actually a door" - good! I was looking at a later image (below, where I circled) but now I went back to your original and see it. :)