# Material

Yesterday I downloaded Sweet Home 3D and a few hours later I had a pretty much exact digital twin of my ground floor apartment (of a two floor, two apartment house) - awesome tool. I seem to be unable to attach the exported OBJ file, so I attached a screenshot instead and uploaded the OBJ to [SendAnywhere](https://send-anywhere.com/): [download file](https://sendanywhe.re/C29LE6JB).<br>(I was able to open it with [an online 3D viewer](https://3dviewer.net))

The dimensions are mostly accurate, but there are some inconsistencies with the real house:
- white furniture is white/oak finish for the most part, all except bathroom
- the bathroom tiles are green
- the metal stove pipe should be at an angle to reach the chimney
- the outer wall where the entrance is is nowhere near as nice. it's old uneven bricks, and different coloured from wiping paintrollers in the wall
- the 2D plan shows an underbed carpet which isn't there, but that matters little
- before the entrance there is 2m x 1m wooden patio, with 3 steps down to the terrace. there is also the outer AC unit on the left of the entrance

Also notice that the living room has an office area - **we both work from home**.

# House

`A1` - our apartment (as detailed above)
`T1` - our terrace
`G ` - shared garage
`FR` - furnace room
`A2` - top floor apartment
`T2` - top floor terrace

```
Ground floor:
+----+---------+
|    |         |
| G  |   A1    |
|    |         |
+----+---------+
| FR |   T1    |
+----+---------+

First floor:
+----+---------+
|              |
|     A2       |
|              |
+----+---------+
| T2 |
+----+
```

# Orientation

```
   E
   ↑
N ← → S
   ↓
   W
```
So our entrance is from the West.

# Context

My partner and I are planning to start a family. Probably one child, but maybe two if we later change our minds.

Future grandma lives above us, and her entrance (stairs) is from the East side. We share a big garage/workshop with her, which is on the north side of our apartment with a car entrance on the East side, and a normal door on the West side. The garage's floor is about 60cm lower then our apartment's floor, and has the same length as our apartment (E-W direction), and is wide enough for just about two cars.

In front of the entrance we have a makeshift terrace (just tiles on coarse sand) for now. It is three steps lower then apartment floor.

Our terrace continues into a lawn at the same level (for now), and our back yard is huge and then continues into a forrest.

# Extension idea 1

There is space for another 3-car garage between the existing garage and the road to the East, so if we end up having two children, I would almost certainly extend the `A1` apartment into the existing `G` garage; otherwise, I am not yet sure.

# Extension idea 2

I plan to gain papers for it and it will take time, but the main goal is to replace the whole `T1` terrace with a foundation at the same level as `A1` floors, so I can extend the apartment to there.

# Plan

If we can pull off both extensions, the current idea is as follows.
- **Bedroom** becomes kid's room, more or less as is. Closet rooms needs work for efficiency for example. We have no heating there right now, so probably an IR panel to the ceiling is best.
- **Living room** becomes master bedroom. The office area becomes a new closet area divided by a wall, and we close the passage from the main hall. We also close of the window and balcony doors, but we would leave a hidden passage through the balcony doors to the closet, lockable from the inside.
- **Kitchen & dinning room** would become just a kitchen, though not sure yet how to be most efficient with it. Refrigerator would be added, a small dish-washing machine below the sink (right half a cabinet the machine, left half a cabinet a sink with the bins below). We'd like to keep plumbing as is.
- **Pantry** stays as is, but I'll make shallow shelves on the left side and more shelves and some drawers on the right. Refrigerator gets replaced by freezer closet and integrated into the right-side shelves. The safe would be put in the dead end of the same shelves (it's easy to move, since there's only an old machete in it), and the freezer right before it, then shelves/drawers all the way to the door and up to the ceiling.
- **Bathroom and toilet** will both be completely remodeled at a later date, but we'd still like to keep the toilet separate from the bathroom then, I suppose. If we can avoid moving plumbing, that's a bonus, but not necessary. No fixed plan yet though.
- **Halls** really seem like a waste of space, but we haven't made any plans to change or remove them. The right (South) wall of the main hall supports the upper floor, so it definitely stays as is, but the left one could be removed in theory. It would require more money and effort though, and would include moving electricity and plumbing.
- **Terrace (T1)** tiles would be removed, sand hardened, parameter built with concrete bricks and the new foundation would be at the same level (minus leveling cement) as the apartment. Then there are options. One option is to build new outside walls just on the perimeter (and with massive windows), and a bit higher than the rest, so the roof directly extends above it. That would make the dinning area in front of kitchen (window would turn into passage, perhaps with sliding door) ie. on the left-hand side of the new space, and a new living room on the right-hand side, couch facing East towards the TV, behind which is the hidden passage. Between the now-entrance and the TV I will make a new chimney and a new fireplace. The other option is to somehow reserve part of this new area as a smaller outdoor terrace.
- **Garage** at last can mostly remain as a single space for now, only I'd take a part of it for the new office area (soundproofed from outside) and the rest will be a home gym / children playing area. It has fairly high ceiling so I will rope nets all over the upper half, and climbing rope, ladder and wall to get there, and fitness devices below (with fall safety in mind).

# What I hope to achieve by posting this

Well, first of all, if you managed to read all that, you're a hero, and if you provide any helpful advice, you're my hero! I'm a big fan of Cliff Tan's work (IG @dearmodern), so if there is one out there amongst you, and is willing to _turn the world upside down_ ie. rethink this layout in a way that I'd never think about, but once I see it, it's the only thing that makes sense, then my gratitude will noticeably extend to you.

A couple turning family needs a new layout (warning: long and detailed post)