As our architect continues her study, writes her thesis and builds the models, we get a first glimpse of how the house might end up. As we’re told upfront, this is, by far, not the final design. But this will illustrate the concept. Of course, during the coming months the design will be altered to our wishes, or to fit in certain necessities or by the judgement of the architect.

So, what do we have. Well, I’ll sure try and make some sense of it.

The idea is that every room, or space in the house has a function and contributes to the whole. Lotte has designed the concept in such a way that it not only follows purpose, but it also suits our personal needs.

What you see above is the front of the house, the street side. The right half houses a workshop, storage, bedrooms and at the back a studio/office.

In the middle is a kitchen and bathroom. This is good, it’ll keep the waterworks concentrated. The left side is a living area.
And the back (left side) is a winter garden (orangery) where we can keep our exotic plants and it also provides a buffer zone for retaining heat. The living room looks out over the orangery/greenhouse.

Split Level

The house has various levels and stairs are never higher than 1 meter. The studio, bedrooms and bathroom are low, then the living area, and the kitchen is the highest. We recon we spend quite a bit of time in the kitchen. It will be the heart of the house and it will have a view of the entire garden/land.
Also, the kitchen will open up onto a terrace, which is above the studio.

The orangery opens up onto a terrace on ground level, at the back of the house, from which we can go into the garden.

Now, we still have a lot to do, we’ll have to give the systems a place in the house and we need plenty of storage.
The design is not finished, but the concept is clear and we love it.