How the architect did it!

Here are the plans so far: (the explanations are underneath the picture)

This is the north side of the house, facing my in-law's house. This side has the fewest windows, for obvious reasons.

This is the east view of the house. It is the side with the best view, of the Swabian Alb and the Hohenneuffen:
Castle Ruins

You can also see the kitchen addition here. We're adding a meter of width to the kitchen to allow for our island. The dining room is in the front corner (on the left side)

This is the west view of the house. You can see our front door, it is on the cellar level, we are going to have a lot of glass here to let light into the cellar. Our living room is on this side of the house, as well as Joern's office.

Here is the view from the south, the view from the street. Since the house is being built into a hill, it looks like it is 3 levels from the street view- of course, that bottom floor is actually our cellar. The garages are strategically planned because you are allowed to build garages right along the border, so one garage borders Joern's aunt's property, and the other borders the property of the new build.

Cross-section of the house. Yes, we have 3 steps up from the garage, but it is necessary to allow a terrace to be built on top of the garage.


This is the floor plan for the cellar. If you enter from our front door and are facing the house, the media room will be on your left, on the right is a room without a purpose right now, a bathroom (I would like a rinse-off area here, for the dog, muddy kids, muddy shoes, etc.),a storage room, and the boiler room. I know it seems strange, but you have to walk to the far end of the house to walk up the stairs. I've learned that unless you have an unlimited amount of money, somehow even your dream house does have to fit in the confines of the property. This is why our staris are a bit odd.


At the top of the stairs, you will be facing the front (street.) On your right is the living room, which leads into Joern's office. On your left is the dining room, moving back to the kitchen. The kitchen is 215 sq. ft, which I am pretty sure is huge, but is necessary for an island. No, Mr. Builder does not think our kitchen is efficient, but the work triangle is on the side of the addition. The other side of the kitchen (along the stairs) will be used for storage, a wine refrigerator and a breakfast making bar. Since we do not have a breakfast nook the island itself will be used for seating- which means that the island needs to be large and flat. I am thinking of putting the sink and dishwasher in the island too.
Moving towards the back of the house, the pantry is immediately behind the kitchen. The back door is near the staircase, and then there is a bathroom with a shower stall (in case we have 2 kids, this will become our guest bath.)
You have to walk up the stairs again from the back of the house, because this design allows for a large shower in the master bath.

Once you reach the top of the stairs on the top floor, you will be facing the children's bathroom. We will be building a closet into this bathroom for our washer and dryer. I know some people have strong feelings against a washer and dryer on the bedroom level, but because of my arthritis, I feel strongly about putting the laundry close to the bedrooms. Also, because the house is made of stone, and the floors are all concrete-slab (yes, even the living floors,) it will be much more resistant to noise and vibration from the washing machine than a traditional wooden home.
On the right side of the children's bath is the master suite. Our bedroom is not very large, but because we have a large walk-in closet, the bedroom doesn't need to fit much more than the bed. We have a large master bath, with a double sink, a soaking tub, and a separate walk-in shower.
On the left side of the house are the two children's rooms. I am considering putting the guest room in the large room in the back, because there will be a nice view, and have access to the balcony. The room in the front is smaller, which might be better for a future nursery. But my opinion on the guest rooom flip-flops daily.

Well, that's our house. We're waiting for Mr. Architect to print out all the paperwork for the application for the building permit. In total, we'll recieve 6 copies of the application. 4 copies go to various town and county offices, and all have slightly different information inside. 2 copies are for us, and I'm sure one of those two copies will go to Mr. Builder. As soon as Mr. Architect has completed the paperwork, we'll go to him, sign everything, and deliver the application to the town hall.