ᐅ Single-Family Home Floor Plan Before Approval: Request for Feedback

Sorry, but I get the impression that you want to be prepared for every unlikely eventuality and have a room for each one.

The first thing that stands out to me is the topic of the children's rooms. You mention wanting 2 children but are planning for 3. So you are designing the house with 3 children’s bedrooms, each at least 15m² (160 ft²).

Then you say that the room above the garage could become a guest room or, if you have more children in the future, another bedroom. So, is it actually 4 children?

In your initial post, under space requirements, you say you need 2 children’s rooms and 1 guest room, which might later be used as a 3rd child’s room.

Now, however, you have 3 children’s rooms, 1 guest room, and the huge room above the garage, which not only makes the entire project very expensive but also involves compromises, since that room also needs an access route. You have almost 32m² (344 ft²) of hallway space on the ground and upper floors alone! In total, that’s 5 rooms for guests/children and other eventualities.

First, consider how many children you actually want. There’s nothing wrong with wanting 2 OR 3, but there is a big difference between 2 and 4, also in terms of life planning.

Have you already received a calculation of the living area?

If I quickly add it up:

Basement: 89m² (958 ft²) + 51m² (550 ft²) underneath the garage
Ground floor: 90m² (969 ft²) + garage
Upper floor: 90m² (969 ft²) + 34m² (366 ft²) above the garage

That adds up to 180m² (1,937 ft²) of living space plus 89m² (958 ft²) of basement, including the garage 214m² (2,304 ft²) plus 140m² (1,507 ft²) basement.

Especially here in the south, that would be really tight at around 400,000 €. I would even say it probably won’t work. Even if I don’t count the garage, it’s already pushing it. The problem isn’t that the house can’t be smaller, but that you reach this size due to the aforementioned eventualities.

Regardless of whether it’s 2, 3, or 4 children, the upper floor would at least benefit from a separate toilet, maybe even a second bathroom for the children.

What I find interesting about the plan, despite its huge size, is that the ground floor could actually use a few more square meters here and there. Are the living room furniture pieces you show your actual ones? I know architects like to use certain seating groups, but not everyone has that. It’s best to furnish it with your actual furniture.

I already mentioned the kitchen, but if you cook fresh every day, it should be a space you enjoy being in. The pantry really takes away a lot of the room’s potential, which I don’t understand.

I know the layout of the ground floor from my cousin; they have a door from the hallway to the kitchen. Without this door, I (and definitely they) would go crazy having to take a long detour every time. Think that through carefully.

Overall, I believe if you don’t dig under the garage or build over it, you won’t miss those spaces because you already have plenty of storage, hobby rooms, and basement area.

What about basement rooms 1-4? Are they planned for something specific, or are they just there because you wanted a full basement?

Why not put the honey kitchen (a term for a special type of kitchen or storage room) in two of these rooms and have an outside basement stairway? That would still leave 2 rooms left.

No matter how I look at it, the house is way too big, while the most important rooms—living, cooking, and dining—are just standard size.

If you can and want to afford all this, there’s no problem. But definitely not for 400,000 €.

Hello Yvonne,

thank you for your reply.

By how much should the garage be moved forward and the bedroom and bathroom enlarged? The idea is very good, but we need to make sure there is still enough space for the children's room windows and the kitchen window.

Thank you for the “absolutely not” objection regarding the bathroom, that definitely needs to be revised.

Hello Matte,

thank you for your reply.

Room layout: the room downstairs is an office. Upstairs there are two children’s rooms, a guest room, and a hobby room. If there are three children, there will be three children’s rooms, and the hobby room will sometimes have to double as a guest room. Four children are not planned.

Thanks for the note about the kitchen door to the hallway; we will consider that. The pantry would have been nice, just for food storage, but it is not a must. The storage room is intended for cleaning supplies, extended wardrobe, shoes, bags, and so on. In the bathroom downstairs, it would be nice to have space for a cabinet for towels and other items.

Hello Matte,

regarding the living room furniture: No, those are not our actual pieces.

We still need to discuss the use of the basement rooms.

Yes, the ground floor could use more square meters (square feet). However, due to the building boundaries (building lines), we cannot make the house wider.

Hello Manu,

thank you for your response.

We will consider sliding doors as patio doors in the dining room, thanks for the suggestion.

The access to the terrace from the kitchen, as mentioned, needs careful consideration because we actually want the work area facing south.

How would the layout be better?

The door to the storage room is not fixed yet. With the suggestion to move it to the center, you are definitely on the right track.

We will rethink the layout on the upper floor (see reply to Yvonne). Do you have any other tips?

In the bathroom/sauna in the basement, there should also be a toilet, as mentioned.

Hello

Unbelievable

120m² (1292 sq ft) of basement space with questionable use
and then a 10m² (108 sq ft) bathroom for 5 people, which is further limited by sloping ceilings.

You really have to want that

Olli

Hello kbt,

the initial plan without a covered garage actually included a larger bathroom. Yes, the problem is the access to the room above the garage...

No, the garage is not on the property line. It is about 1.5m (5 feet) away from a planned pedestrian path.