Dear everyone,
I would appreciate it if you could share your thoughts on our floor plan. We aim to finalize the floor plan (at least the key aspects, such as the exterior walls) within the next 2-3 weeks. The dotted line indicates the 70cm (28 inches) roof overhang.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 1350m² (14,521 ft²)
Site coverage ratio: 0.25
Floor area ratio: 0.4
Building zone of 15m (49 feet) with a 5m (16 feet) setback from the street
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of storeys: 2
Roof type: Gable roof
House orientation: SE (sketches are oriented to north)
Maximum height / limits: Eaves height 4.5m (15 feet)
Homeowner Requirements
Storeys: 1
Number of occupants: 2 adults (28-30 years) + 2-3 children (planned)
Space requirement: 160m² (1,722 ft²) living area
Office: for family use
Annual number of overnight guests: 15-25
Open kitchen, possibly with an island
Number of dining seats: 5-8
Fireplace: yes
Double garage with gable roof
Possible utility garden / greenhouse
Other wishes / special features / daily routine: We both work full-time
House Design
Planner: Architect candidate
What we especially like: Room orientation considering the plot and our personal wishes, with dressing room / utility room / bathrooms facing NW and living areas facing SW/SE; space for large family gatherings in living room/kitchen; the living/dining area as the social hub but still allowing for retreat.
What we don’t like: The openness between living room and hallway, or alternatively the tightness if a wall/door is installed there.
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: 240,000€ (excluding garage)
Preferred heating system: Geothermal heat pump with deep drilling, cozy fireplace
If you had to give up something, which details / additions would you forgo?
- Could give up: KfW 55 standard, temporary waiver of fireplace, very wide roof overhang
- Cannot give up: KfW 70 standard, living area
I would appreciate it if you could share your thoughts on our floor plan. We aim to finalize the floor plan (at least the key aspects, such as the exterior walls) within the next 2-3 weeks. The dotted line indicates the 70cm (28 inches) roof overhang.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 1350m² (14,521 ft²)
Site coverage ratio: 0.25
Floor area ratio: 0.4
Building zone of 15m (49 feet) with a 5m (16 feet) setback from the street
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of storeys: 2
Roof type: Gable roof
House orientation: SE (sketches are oriented to north)
Maximum height / limits: Eaves height 4.5m (15 feet)
Homeowner Requirements
Storeys: 1
Number of occupants: 2 adults (28-30 years) + 2-3 children (planned)
Space requirement: 160m² (1,722 ft²) living area
Office: for family use
Annual number of overnight guests: 15-25
Open kitchen, possibly with an island
Number of dining seats: 5-8
Fireplace: yes
Double garage with gable roof
Possible utility garden / greenhouse
Other wishes / special features / daily routine: We both work full-time
House Design
Planner: Architect candidate
What we especially like: Room orientation considering the plot and our personal wishes, with dressing room / utility room / bathrooms facing NW and living areas facing SW/SE; space for large family gatherings in living room/kitchen; the living/dining area as the social hub but still allowing for retreat.
What we don’t like: The openness between living room and hallway, or alternatively the tightness if a wall/door is installed there.
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: 240,000€ (excluding garage)
Preferred heating system: Geothermal heat pump with deep drilling, cozy fireplace
If you had to give up something, which details / additions would you forgo?
- Could give up: KfW 55 standard, temporary waiver of fireplace, very wide roof overhang
- Cannot give up: KfW 70 standard, living area
D
DragonyxXL25 Apr 2016 21:45kbt09 schrieb:
And now this area has shrunk to about 850 cm (28 feet) in width. I find this open-plan space very difficult to furnish. The division into three parts quickly feels like just a row of furniture showroom setups.
Let’s do some calculations:
Right side of the plan: 60 cm (24 inches) kitchen unit
Space: 110 cm (43 inches)
Island: 100 cm (39 inches)
Table: 200 cm (79 inches)
= 470 cm (185 inches)
Walkway to sofa = 100 cm (39 inches)
= 570 cm (224 inches)
That leaves less than 300 cm (118 inches) on the left side. There is a chimney shaft indicated... is a stove supposed to be placed there? Then the armchair would be quite close. There is a built-in fireplace insert in the wall. The armchair is just an example; it doesn’t have to be that large, nor does it need to be placed there permanently (its position can depend on, for example, the season or heating period).
Of course, the open-plan living area can be made wider. Fundamentally, everything can always be made bigger, which means more space and more comfort for everything. Some people are happy with a 16 m² (172 ft²) living room, while others won’t accept a combined living space (cooking, dining, living) smaller than 70 m² (753 ft²).
Adding half a meter (20 inches) would be easy, but what would that achieve? Wouldn’t you just end up placing a larger seating area in the room anyway? What do you do with 12 seats around the coffee table? My actual question is: what would you do with the extra 3 to 5 m² (32 to 54 ft²)?
kbt09 schrieb:
If the kitchen is designed like that, the space is not used efficiently. The sink and stove are way too close together. We asked ourselves whether it makes sense to have 60 cm (24 inches) of space between a tall cabinet and the stove, then another 60 cm (24 inches) between stove and sink, and then again 60 cm (24 inches) to the dishwasher. What do you actually do with these 60 cm segments of workspace?
By the way, the square meter figure for cooking/living/dining includes the hallway and is actually only about 43 m² (463 ft²)—that means around 23 m² (248 ft²) of hallway.
kbt09 schrieb:
I still find the layout of the master bedroom with the dressing room behind it impractical. I could understand this for shift workers, who want to disturb their partner as little as possible. However, I can’t imagine a scenario where on weekdays we wouldn’t get up together (even if staggered) with our children. If there is ever an exception, clothes can be prepared the day before. When do situations occur for you where you would have to wake your partner because you need access to the wardrobe or dressing room?
kbt09 schrieb:
The entrances to the children’s bedrooms also seem a bit optimistic. Door handles can’t be on the doors because they would leave dents in the wall. Yeah, that’s quite possible. Adjusting door widths by 5–10 cm (2–4 inches) is not impossible.
kbt09 schrieb:
And I’m still curious about the roof construction (it should be a hip roof). I don’t (yet) have any plans for the construction itself. I have attached some exterior views. (I’m curious to see the comments on those )
D
DragonyxXL25 Apr 2016 21:53Forgot to add pictures...
The garage doesn’t fit at all, and the roof will definitely not be cheap.
I didn’t say the room should be bigger; I just find the layout very impractical. Take a closer look—you’re creating three furniture blocks placed side by side. The boundaries are the back of the sofa and the island.
You don’t have to put cooking and washing in a single line. The island is perfect for a social sink and work area. By rotating, you can easily reach the cooking zone.
I didn’t say the room should be bigger; I just find the layout very impractical. Take a closer look—you’re creating three furniture blocks placed side by side. The boundaries are the back of the sofa and the island.
You don’t have to put cooking and washing in a single line. The island is perfect for a social sink and work area. By rotating, you can easily reach the cooking zone.
kbt09 schrieb:
Kitchen unit 60 cm (24 inches) deep along the wall
Clearance 110 cm (43 inches)
Island 100 cm (39 inches)
Table 200 cm (79 inches)
= 470 cm (185 inches)
Passage to the sofa = 100 cm (39 inches)
= 570 cm (224 inches)
Less than 300 cm (118 inches) left on the left sideI calculate differently but come to the same result:
Kitchen unit 70 cm (28 inches) (structural dimension with space behind the cabinets)
Clearance 120 cm (47 inches)
Island 90 cm (35 inches)
Table 200 cm (79 inches)
Passage 150 cm (59 inches)
Total 630 cm (248 inches)
... and a sofa is definitely not like a bench for beer gardens
DragonyxXL schrieb:
12 seats around the coffee tableIt’s less about the seating capacity and more about having enough room to access the sofa seats without bumping your knees on the coffee table. And who wants a coffee table right up against the wall? Where would you even look from the sofa? For the fireplace view, someone would have to turn their head a lot.
But you do have options to adjust the length of the room. Just make sure that not everything touches each other (table attached to the island, living room table pushed against the window or wall).
DragonyxXL schrieb:
What do you do with those 60 cm (24 inches) wide countertop sections? Exactly! That’s why you go for 120 cm (47 inches) widths.
Fire and water just don’t mix! Period.
DragonyxXL schrieb:
When do you have situations where you’d have to wake your partner because you need to get to the wardrobe/dressing area? Theoretically every morning — it’s also about respect, letting the other person sleep in sometimes. It’s not always romantic to do everything together.
And one more general note:
It’s not very pleasant to enter a house and have to walk around several corners just to get to the living area.
But since I’ve already seen that the architect has spent 30 hours on this plan and no further changes are wished for, I’ll leave it at that.
I do like the general layout though: one wing for the children, one for the parents, with the living area in the middle.
D
DragonyxXL25 Apr 2016 22:38kbt09 schrieb:
I didn’t say the room should be bigger, I just find the layout very awkward. Take a close look... you’re basically creating three furniture boxes lined up side by side... the boundaries are the back of the sofa and the island. You tend to perceive the furniture boxes like that from a top-down view. It’s hard for me to imagine that the finished space will actually feel that way. Just because of the window wall, I would expect the view to be oriented more towards the garden. There are already a few options for variation. What would a better layout look like? Using bay windows, perhaps?
kbt09 schrieb:
You don’t have to line up the cooking and washing areas in a single row. The island is ideal as a social sink and prep area. Rotate it and you’re at the cooktop wall. That sounds quite reasonable. Is it a problem to have the water supply in the middle of the room? What if you want to completely remodel the kitchen in 30 years?
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