Upside down home

[Moreorlessmentallystable]

We are in the process of designing our new home and considering going for an upside down home...so big open plan kitchen, dinner, living, separate utility and WC and a snug/office inrbeh upper floor. We have designed it so there is a driveway up and entrance at the top floor to eliminate the going up with bags of shopping etc... The obvious advantage is the views as we spend a lot of time in the social areas, but I am not sure if we'll miss just being able to walk from the kitchen to the garden for example...or the ease for taking bins out etc does anyone have any experience with this type of home?

.

.

I viewed a house like this. Lack of garden access was an issue for us, little children and a dog. Now we are a bit older that’s not an issue, but we use our garden to,socialise in with friends, meals outside, drinks outside etc and it’s just a ballache to have to drag everything uo and down stairs from the kitchen to do that. It really depends on how you use your garden. For us, it’s a no.

I would agree with noise as our living is above some bedrooms, so creaky walking can be annoying, but if you are building this house yourself then don't do it on the cheap and that should eliminate that issue

I always want bedroom windows open at night - and unless it’s very cold not just a crack - so from a security POV ground floor bedrooms are a definite no for me.
A dd said exactly the same to agents when looking to buy a flat (having lived in a ground floor one) - absolutely nothing on the ground floor.

I used to do some work with a alarm / cc tv installer, burglars like to break into houses when they either know nobody is home ( watching the house,holiday ect ) preferred Or at night time when the occupants are asleep upstairs
I never knew of anybody breaking into a room were people were asleep in bed 🙂.

Look at it from the burglars point of view the person in bed might be a 25 stone brick shithouse and wake up and rip both arms off. 😀
I often fall asleep on the sofa in summer and wake up with both sets of French doors wide open at 3 am 🍩

just invest in a good alarm.

@Diyextension, that’s one POV and I dare say it may often apply, plus I dare say it will also depend to some extent on where you live (crime prone or not) but we’ve been burgled while asleep upstairs, and I can’t say I’d ever feel entirely comfortable sleeping with ground floor windows wide open. We do have an alarm, but it’d never be triggered by anyone climbing in through ground floor windows where anyone was sleeping! Any movement will set them off.