Dear forum community,
I would like to share our floor plan here for discussion. This is the first draft from our architect, developed based on our specifications and wishes. The basic structure comes from us, while the architect worked out the details. It should be mentioned that building our house has been planned for a long time, and we have been considering floor plans extensively during this period. Over time, I have become quite "picky" about this and have very clear ideas about the layout that I do not want to change. I know this is not always ideal, but it is the result of the long phase of information gathering before planning started. Therefore, I hope the floor plan will not be completely torn apart here, but of course, please don’t hesitate to give criticism—that’s why I’m posting this.
---------------------------------------------
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 632 m² (approx. 20.5 m x 30.5 m (67 ft x 100 ft)); street on the east side, a 3 m (10 ft) wide footpath to the north, neighboring plot to the south, fields/meadow stretching for kilometers to the west behind the plot
Slope: The plot slopes down about 1.20 m (4 ft) at the street front (from north to south); leveling/filling of the plot is planned, therefore this does not affect the floor plan
Site coverage ratio: 0.3
Floor area ratio: none
Building envelope, building line and boundary: No building line or boundary, building envelope covers almost entire plot, so not relevant for the floor plan
Setback requirements: standard, house must be 3 m (10 ft) from boundaries, garage may be built on the boundary
Parking spaces: no specifications
Number of storeys: II (two)
Roof type: open
Architectural style: no preference
Orientation: no preference
Maximum height limits: ridge height 9.50 m (31 ft), no other details
Additional regulations: none
Homeowners’ Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: 2-story design without sloping ceilings, hip roof, 'urban villa' type
Basement, number of floors: no basement
Number of occupants, age: 2 people (both mid/late 20s), 1 child planned (want 2 children’s rooms as we are still young and a second child might be wished for in the future)
Room requirements on ground floor (GF) and upper floor (UF): GF: guest WC with shower, cloakroom, utility room, open kitchen-living-dining area; UF: bedroom with walk-in closet, bathroom with large shower and discreet WC, 2 children’s rooms. Additionally, one home office is desired, location on GF or UF is secondary for us. Initially, we will use one of the children’s rooms as a workspace; the official office is a “reserve” in case a second child comes and until then can be used as storage, hobby room, etc.
Office: Intended only for our personal PC and about a 2 m (6.5 ft) wide cabinet for files and documents, so it can be quite small
Overnight guests per year: very rare, max. 1-2
Open or closed layout: open
Conservative or modern design: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen arranged in L-shape along living room, peninsular island with sink approx. 2.0 - 2.50 m x 1 m (6.5 - 8 ft x 3 ft) preferred
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: undecided, but unsure where to place the stove in the current layout; any ideas?
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: double garage with storage room behind
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: no
House Design
Architect: freelance engineer, building with single contracts
What do you like? basically everything except what I mention under dislikes
What do you dislike?
- Arrangement of sanitary fixtures in the bathroom: toilet is directly by the door, shower rather small; generally, we prefer T-shaped layouts or the L-shaped solution I found here in the forum, but this is difficult due to the narrow bathroom. The “must” is a slightly hidden toilet and a large shower (preferably with a shallow/slightly recessed shower tray (I’m not a fan of tiled showers) and glass door on one side, other sides with half-walls)
- The walk-in closet is very spacious with about 7 m (23 ft) of wardrobe space, but due to the window in the closet, only narrow cabinets can be placed on the 4 m (13 ft) side, although I’m not sure this is really bad... 3 m (10 ft) of normal width cabinets for hanging clothes plus 4 m (13 ft) of narrow cabinets for shelves, underwear, bed linen should fit fine
- The biggest issue in our design is actually the exterior views, I will write more on that below
Preferred heating system: air-to-water heat pump
If you had to give up features or extras: hard to say... some of the windows are really huge, they can be reduced if needed
- What you can’t give up: two full stories, large walk-in closet with at least 5 m (16 ft) of wardrobe space, half-landing staircase even if it takes up space, peninsula or island in the kitchen, storage under the stairs, shower in the guest WC (we want a second shower in the house so two people can shower at the same time if needed, especially with teenage children)
---------------------------------------------
A few words of explanation about the drafts:
Everything highlighted in color in the draft indicates things that will definitely be changed or that we don’t like.
These are:
- Ground floor:
1. The doors to the living room and kitchen will probably be sliding doors, mainly because it is awkward otherwise to enter the kitchen and the door would hit the kitchen cabinet behind. Accordingly, the wall extension between living room and kitchen will be removed as it won’t be needed, creating more space in the dining area.
2. The peninsula will be made wider and possibly a little longer; the sink will be placed there, the cooktop will remain somewhere along the long kitchen countertop.
3. The windows in the living-dining area will probably all be floor-to-ceiling because otherwise, it looks unattractive from the outside. It’s not ideal that the sofa will be right in front of the right-hand floor-to-ceiling window, but it can’t be helped. Since the patio door used daily will be the one in the middle, this is bearable.
- Upper floor:
1. The door to the bedroom will of course be as wide as the others; no idea if this is a mistake on the architect’s drawing, we haven’t discussed it with him yet.
2. The bathroom layout definitely needs to be changed. We like T-shaped solutions, but a toilet right next to the door is a no-go, plus we want a larger shower. Recently, I found a bathroom floor plan here in the forum with dimensions similar to ours and adapted their bathroom design *shame* into our bathroom. It looks like this:
We actually like it; spacious shower (approx. 1 x 1.80 m (3 ft x 6 ft)), unsure if a glass door is needed since the wall is under the shower and there is no long side wall; hidden toilet (niche approx. 95 cm (3 ft) wide, should be sufficient?); just need to check whether that works with the window by the toilet or if we have to shift it (and consequently also the ones in the utility room and possibly child’s room 2 and guest WC).
3. Our biggest concern is the window in the walk-in closet... it spoils the west exterior view, and because of the window, only narrow cabinets seem possible on the left side of the closet (which I could live with).
- West elevation:
Speaking of which... the ground floor windows will be floor-to-ceiling for a uniform look. But I find the middle window upstairs (in the walk-in closet) spoils the view. What do you think, is the view bad? I tried making all windows uniform—floor-to-ceiling on the ground floor and with sills on the top floor. It would look like this:
Can it be left like this, or is it a no-go? I don’t know... the west elevation really gives me a headache... and seems to be the only seemingly insurmountable problem in the design.
- South elevation:
We don’t like that the windows on the ground and upper floors are not aligned, but unfortunately, it can’t be changed. That’s why I had the idea not to make the kitchen window (bottom right window) floor-to-ceiling but rather a "light strip," which of course gives us more design freedom in the kitchen (distance between kitchen units, width of island, etc.). It would look like this:
And I can live with that. Or what do you think? The south side is not so important to us anyway because the neighbor’s garage stands at the property boundary, and our house will have only about 3.50 m (11 ft) space to the boundary but will sit considerably higher than the neighbor’s due to the filled plot.
Finally, I apologize for writing so much . I hope you’ll forgive me. The floor plan is very important to me, and I have put a lot of thought into it. I’m afraid of overlooking something and regretting it when the house is built. A floor plan is difficult to change later.
Many thanks if anyone has managed to read through all my details!
I would like to share our floor plan here for discussion. This is the first draft from our architect, developed based on our specifications and wishes. The basic structure comes from us, while the architect worked out the details. It should be mentioned that building our house has been planned for a long time, and we have been considering floor plans extensively during this period. Over time, I have become quite "picky" about this and have very clear ideas about the layout that I do not want to change. I know this is not always ideal, but it is the result of the long phase of information gathering before planning started. Therefore, I hope the floor plan will not be completely torn apart here, but of course, please don’t hesitate to give criticism—that’s why I’m posting this.
---------------------------------------------
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 632 m² (approx. 20.5 m x 30.5 m (67 ft x 100 ft)); street on the east side, a 3 m (10 ft) wide footpath to the north, neighboring plot to the south, fields/meadow stretching for kilometers to the west behind the plot
Slope: The plot slopes down about 1.20 m (4 ft) at the street front (from north to south); leveling/filling of the plot is planned, therefore this does not affect the floor plan
Site coverage ratio: 0.3
Floor area ratio: none
Building envelope, building line and boundary: No building line or boundary, building envelope covers almost entire plot, so not relevant for the floor plan
Setback requirements: standard, house must be 3 m (10 ft) from boundaries, garage may be built on the boundary
Parking spaces: no specifications
Number of storeys: II (two)
Roof type: open
Architectural style: no preference
Orientation: no preference
Maximum height limits: ridge height 9.50 m (31 ft), no other details
Additional regulations: none
Homeowners’ Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: 2-story design without sloping ceilings, hip roof, 'urban villa' type
Basement, number of floors: no basement
Number of occupants, age: 2 people (both mid/late 20s), 1 child planned (want 2 children’s rooms as we are still young and a second child might be wished for in the future)
Room requirements on ground floor (GF) and upper floor (UF): GF: guest WC with shower, cloakroom, utility room, open kitchen-living-dining area; UF: bedroom with walk-in closet, bathroom with large shower and discreet WC, 2 children’s rooms. Additionally, one home office is desired, location on GF or UF is secondary for us. Initially, we will use one of the children’s rooms as a workspace; the official office is a “reserve” in case a second child comes and until then can be used as storage, hobby room, etc.
Office: Intended only for our personal PC and about a 2 m (6.5 ft) wide cabinet for files and documents, so it can be quite small
Overnight guests per year: very rare, max. 1-2
Open or closed layout: open
Conservative or modern design: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen arranged in L-shape along living room, peninsular island with sink approx. 2.0 - 2.50 m x 1 m (6.5 - 8 ft x 3 ft) preferred
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: undecided, but unsure where to place the stove in the current layout; any ideas?
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: double garage with storage room behind
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: no
House Design
Architect: freelance engineer, building with single contracts
What do you like? basically everything except what I mention under dislikes
What do you dislike?
- Arrangement of sanitary fixtures in the bathroom: toilet is directly by the door, shower rather small; generally, we prefer T-shaped layouts or the L-shaped solution I found here in the forum, but this is difficult due to the narrow bathroom. The “must” is a slightly hidden toilet and a large shower (preferably with a shallow/slightly recessed shower tray (I’m not a fan of tiled showers) and glass door on one side, other sides with half-walls)
- The walk-in closet is very spacious with about 7 m (23 ft) of wardrobe space, but due to the window in the closet, only narrow cabinets can be placed on the 4 m (13 ft) side, although I’m not sure this is really bad... 3 m (10 ft) of normal width cabinets for hanging clothes plus 4 m (13 ft) of narrow cabinets for shelves, underwear, bed linen should fit fine
- The biggest issue in our design is actually the exterior views, I will write more on that below
Preferred heating system: air-to-water heat pump
If you had to give up features or extras: hard to say... some of the windows are really huge, they can be reduced if needed
- What you can’t give up: two full stories, large walk-in closet with at least 5 m (16 ft) of wardrobe space, half-landing staircase even if it takes up space, peninsula or island in the kitchen, storage under the stairs, shower in the guest WC (we want a second shower in the house so two people can shower at the same time if needed, especially with teenage children)
---------------------------------------------
A few words of explanation about the drafts:
Everything highlighted in color in the draft indicates things that will definitely be changed or that we don’t like.
These are:
- Ground floor:
1. The doors to the living room and kitchen will probably be sliding doors, mainly because it is awkward otherwise to enter the kitchen and the door would hit the kitchen cabinet behind. Accordingly, the wall extension between living room and kitchen will be removed as it won’t be needed, creating more space in the dining area.
2. The peninsula will be made wider and possibly a little longer; the sink will be placed there, the cooktop will remain somewhere along the long kitchen countertop.
3. The windows in the living-dining area will probably all be floor-to-ceiling because otherwise, it looks unattractive from the outside. It’s not ideal that the sofa will be right in front of the right-hand floor-to-ceiling window, but it can’t be helped. Since the patio door used daily will be the one in the middle, this is bearable.
- Upper floor:
1. The door to the bedroom will of course be as wide as the others; no idea if this is a mistake on the architect’s drawing, we haven’t discussed it with him yet.
2. The bathroom layout definitely needs to be changed. We like T-shaped solutions, but a toilet right next to the door is a no-go, plus we want a larger shower. Recently, I found a bathroom floor plan here in the forum with dimensions similar to ours and adapted their bathroom design *shame* into our bathroom. It looks like this:
We actually like it; spacious shower (approx. 1 x 1.80 m (3 ft x 6 ft)), unsure if a glass door is needed since the wall is under the shower and there is no long side wall; hidden toilet (niche approx. 95 cm (3 ft) wide, should be sufficient?); just need to check whether that works with the window by the toilet or if we have to shift it (and consequently also the ones in the utility room and possibly child’s room 2 and guest WC).
3. Our biggest concern is the window in the walk-in closet... it spoils the west exterior view, and because of the window, only narrow cabinets seem possible on the left side of the closet (which I could live with).
- West elevation:
Speaking of which... the ground floor windows will be floor-to-ceiling for a uniform look. But I find the middle window upstairs (in the walk-in closet) spoils the view. What do you think, is the view bad? I tried making all windows uniform—floor-to-ceiling on the ground floor and with sills on the top floor. It would look like this:
Can it be left like this, or is it a no-go? I don’t know... the west elevation really gives me a headache... and seems to be the only seemingly insurmountable problem in the design.
- South elevation:
We don’t like that the windows on the ground and upper floors are not aligned, but unfortunately, it can’t be changed. That’s why I had the idea not to make the kitchen window (bottom right window) floor-to-ceiling but rather a "light strip," which of course gives us more design freedom in the kitchen (distance between kitchen units, width of island, etc.). It would look like this:
And I can live with that. Or what do you think? The south side is not so important to us anyway because the neighbor’s garage stands at the property boundary, and our house will have only about 3.50 m (11 ft) space to the boundary but will sit considerably higher than the neighbor’s due to the filled plot.
Finally, I apologize for writing so much . I hope you’ll forgive me. The floor plan is very important to me, and I have put a lot of thought into it. I’m afraid of overlooking something and regretting it when the house is built. A floor plan is difficult to change later.
Many thanks if anyone has managed to read through all my details!
Ah, no basement, so you can’t really move a home office down there. Really no basement? For a maximum of four people, the storage space in the house is relatively limited. With two children, quite a bit accumulates. Will that be enough? (Just a thought).
I also read that you’re actually planning for only one child but want to leave the option open for a second. Then I would really only plan for two children’s bedrooms and NO home office. When the first (planned) child arrives, that fits perfectly: one child, one home office.
If the second child eventually comes along, you can always arrange a workspace in the bedroom or living room if needed. Personally, I would prefer that rather than building two children’s bedrooms, although I’m not even sure I want two children myself.
Why is the patio door in the kitchen so important to you? You can also get to the garden quickly through the door in the dining area, and I think you would gain quite a bit in terms of functionality and ergonomics in the kitchen by planning a U-shape layout (then, for example, the freestanding countertop could be a bit shorter). Aside from the additional storage space. And, as I mentioned above, a window along the entire countertop makes the kitchen overall much brighter. Right now, it will be quite dark with the narrow door.
I also read that you’re actually planning for only one child but want to leave the option open for a second. Then I would really only plan for two children’s bedrooms and NO home office. When the first (planned) child arrives, that fits perfectly: one child, one home office.
If the second child eventually comes along, you can always arrange a workspace in the bedroom or living room if needed. Personally, I would prefer that rather than building two children’s bedrooms, although I’m not even sure I want two children myself.
Why is the patio door in the kitchen so important to you? You can also get to the garden quickly through the door in the dining area, and I think you would gain quite a bit in terms of functionality and ergonomics in the kitchen by planning a U-shape layout (then, for example, the freestanding countertop could be a bit shorter). Aside from the additional storage space. And, as I mentioned above, a window along the entire countertop makes the kitchen overall much brighter. Right now, it will be quite dark with the narrow door.
Climbee schrieb:
I find it quite practical when part of the wardrobe is only 40cm (16 inches) deep. I have thought about that as well, and that’s why I came to the conclusion that it’s not a big issue if there are narrow cabinets on one side. Currently, the shelves in our wardrobe are just over 40cm (16 inches) deep (the closet is 60cm (24 inches) wide, but the shelves are shallower), and that is perfectly sufficient. However, I’ve already planned to maybe hang more clothes in the future (for easier handling), so having 60cm (24 inches) cabinets on both sides wouldn’t be bad either. Basically, the dressing room is wide enough for two 60cm (24 inches) cabinets, and it would be nice to make use of that space if possible.
Climbee schrieb:
In the kitchen, I would leave out the door and instead make the patio door at the dining area double-sized (or even bigger). I think then the south side would also look better from the outside. Also (this was mentioned here before, I believe), you could equip this side with kitchen units. Instead of the door, for example, windows or a strip of windows above the countertop would be possible. Wider than the planned patio door too (I would extend it along the entire length of the countertop). That way, you get more light and it’s brighter. I think we are talking past each other, or I’m misunderstanding you ops:. The door that definitely should stay is the interior door from the hallway to the kitchen—not the glass door (patio door) between the kitchen units and the outside. I had also considered replacing the glass door with a window with a raised sill in the kitchen, also stretched across the full width. Take a look at my very first post; somewhere in the middle of the text, I included a modified sketch of the south elevation. Is that what you meant?
Climbee schrieb:
Home office: I also find the rooms upstairs not exactly generously sized. How often do you use the office? If it’s only used occasionally and otherwise just for storing paperwork, you could consider relocating the office to the basement (oops, do you have one? I’m not certain), and allocate more space to the children's rooms. As you’ve noticed, we don’t have a basement. The home office is initially just a “reserve” room; the actual home office will start out as one of the children’s bedrooms. Since we are currently planning for only one child, but don’t know if there might be a second one in the future, we still want to have an additional home office (the office as shown on the floor plan). Initially, it will be used as a hobby room/storage or similar, or we might leave out the wall between Child 1’s room and the office at first, as has been suggested here. The office is intended just to have a dedicated spot for our solely private computer and a bit of storage for files, folders, and paperwork, so the size is sufficient.
Climbee schrieb:
Bathroom: T-shaped layouts are generally great but not always the best solution. In your current bathroom plan, you have an entire wall free opposite the planned sinks that isn’t used. I would include that wall. Either put the sinks there or the toilet, etc. I personally wouldn’t like the toilet placed right by the door as it is now. The bathroom will definitely be arranged differently, that’s for sure. The original layout by the planner doesn’t work for us at all. I also included a sketch of a revised bathroom version somewhere in the text of my first post. Take a look there. This is close to what we envision. Although it’s not a T-shaped layout, the toilet is reasonably concealed, and the shower is large enough. We do like T-shaped layouts, but they definitely require a wider bathroom (ours is rather narrow) or in general a very spacious bathroom. We visited several model homes with T-shaped bathrooms, and everything felt cramped and tight to us. That’s why a T-shaped layout isn’t an option for us given the bathroom size.
Regarding storage space: I think it should be sufficient. Or don’t you think so? We have a utility room with just over 10m² (about 108 square feet), plus we have a few more square meters of storage under the stairs for small items like vacuum cleaner/cleaning supplies or beverage crates or whatever. Then we still have an attic where we can store things that aren’t used frequently (Christmas decorations, etc.). And we also have a storage room behind the garage with about 18m² (194 square feet) where garden furniture, tools, etc. can be stored. We figured this should be enough. Also, we probably will have only one child (that’s the current plan). Then the office could also be used as additional storage space since one bedroom becomes the office. So honestly, we’re not too worried about storage space right now. In fact, I find that most floor plans here in the forum offer less storage than we do, so we assumed storage won’t be a problem. Am I wrong about that? Of course, I won’t hoard a ton of stuff, but I don’t want to either. I see my parents’ basement—roughly 90% of what’s in there should just be thrown away.
Hello,
I have broken down your post a bit to respond more appropriately:
My parents have a similar setup where the kitchen door is closer to the main entrance than the living room door. Everyone ends up walking through the kitchen there, and we didn’t want that. Without a partial wall, the route through the living room isn’t really much longer. But of course, that’s a matter of personal preference.
The staircase really makes or breaks every floor plan. We absolutely wanted a straight staircase. If that could be an option for you too, I can share our floor plan with you.
I couldn’t find that door in your plans.
You’re welcome.
I would recommend using half-height windows on the upper floor. The top-right window in our plan is the children’s room. It has a floor-to-ceiling window there and on the side (see my avatar). That really limits the available layout options.
We’re glad we have windows in our garage and storage room. You probably can’t have a garage window due to boundary restrictions. It makes these rooms brighter and also allows ventilation without needing the garage door or another door to be open all the time. We also have a glass panel in the door.
I have broken down your post a bit to respond more appropriately:
Lanini schrieb:
That’s not an option for us. It’s important for us to have a door to the kitchen and a door to the living room. I’ve already roughly planned the kitchen, and there should be enough space for everything including the doors.
My parents have a similar setup where the kitchen door is closer to the main entrance than the living room door. Everyone ends up walking through the kitchen there, and we didn’t want that. Without a partial wall, the route through the living room isn’t really much longer. But of course, that’s a matter of personal preference.
Lanini schrieb:
Practically everything depends on the half-landing staircase in the center of the house – but it is very important to us and is high on our “must have” list.
The staircase really makes or breaks every floor plan. We absolutely wanted a straight staircase. If that could be an option for you too, I can share our floor plan with you.
Lanini schrieb:
We might also take kbt09’s suggestion and initially leave out the door between the children’s room and the study, since the study will mainly be a “reserve” room in case we decide to have a second child.
I couldn’t find that door in your plans.
Lanini schrieb:
Thanks a lot for the photo — it really helps me visualize it much better, and I have to say it doesn’t look bad.
You’re welcome.
Lanini schrieb:
You have floor-to-ceiling windows everywhere on the upper floor; I’ll have to give that some thought. I’m concerned about children’s room 1, which isn’t very large and would have floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides, limiting the options for placing furniture (like a desk)... we’ll see...
I would recommend using half-height windows on the upper floor. The top-right window in our plan is the children’s room. It has a floor-to-ceiling window there and on the side (see my avatar). That really limits the available layout options.
Lanini schrieb:
Regarding a window in the storage room, we had already thought about it but then figured it might reduce space for furniture and might not be absolutely necessary. Are you saying we should install a window? We’re still unsure and will think it over again. The advantage would of course be that the storage room wouldn’t be completely dark.
We’re glad we have windows in our garage and storage room. You probably can’t have a garage window due to boundary restrictions. It makes these rooms brighter and also allows ventilation without needing the garage door or another door to be open all the time. We also have a glass panel in the door.
Jochen104 schrieb:
My parents have a similar setup where the kitchen door is closer to the front door than the living room door. Everyone ends up running through the kitchen, and we didn’t want that. Without a short wall section, the path through the living room isn’t really much longer.
But of course, that’s a matter of personal preference. I just can’t give up on that door. It has to stay. As you said, it’s a matter of taste, and for us, having no door is not an option.
Jochen104 schrieb:
The entire floor plan depends on the staircase. We were set on having a straight staircase. If that might work for you as well, I can share our floor plan. At first, we also considered a straight staircase but quickly dropped the idea again. We simply fell in love with the half-landing staircase. But if you like, feel free to share your floor plan anyway—maybe I’ll be convinced after all.
Jochen104 schrieb:
I couldn’t find that door in your plans. Oops, that was a typo. I didn’t mean “door,” I meant “wall.” Take a look on page 1 in post #6 by ktb09.
Jochen104 schrieb:
I would add knee walls throughout the upper floor. The window at the top right is the kids’ room for us. It has a floor-to-ceiling window there and on the side (see my avatar). That really limits placement options. I’ve also considered adding knee walls everywhere. Let’s see—I’ll experiment quite a bit with the windows over the next few days.
Jochen104 schrieb:
We’re happy with our windows in the garage and storage room. The garage probably isn’t an option for you because of boundary building restrictions. First, it lets in light, and second, you can ventilate the rooms without having to leave the garage door or door open all the time. We also have a glass panel in the garage door. Okay, I’ll discuss that with my husband.
Lanini schrieb:
At the very beginning, we also considered a straight staircase but quickly dismissed that idea. We simply fell in love with the staircase with a landing. If you like, you can still show me your floor plan sometime, maybe I’ll be convinced after all. I’ve sent you a message
Lanini schrieb:
Oops, I made a typo. I didn’t mean "door" but "wall". Check page 1, post #6 by ktb09. OK, that makes sense. It was from @kbt09 after all
Lanini schrieb:
I also once thought about having half walls everywhere. Let’s see, I’ll experiment with the windows in more detail over the next few days. Yes, you really need to take your time for that. We also moved a lot back and forth until we were happy with the views.
Yep, I meant the patio door in the kitchen!
If only one child is really planned and maybe, at most, a second child is a possibility, then I would definitely start by designing just one large children’s bedroom and one master bedroom upstairs, with the option to add a wall later if the second child does come.
Storage space: I always have too little storage.
You can never have enough.
For example, what I would really miss is a small workshop. I find it practical to have a dedicated room where you can work on projects without having to tidy everything away every time. Upstairs, in your storage area next to the garage, you’ll definitely need a lot of space for garden tools and such, so there won’t be room for this, and it’s probably also unheated. A workshop—or let’s call it simply a DIY room *g*—I would prefer not to have unheated.
But that’s a personal choice, and it probably depends on the soil conditions. With normal soil, a basement doesn’t cost much more than a slab foundation, and I would never want to give up the extra storage space.
We also have many hobbies that require a lot of equipment, which is currently a real problem. (Just the diving gear alone takes up a lot of space, along with various types of skis, climbing gear, different mountaineering boots, backpacks, etc.)
Windows in the garage and storage room: definitely, if possible. As I said, you can’t have them on a boundary wall, but nothing prevents you from having glass elements in the doors. At least for the storage room, I would plan a large door (there are workshop doors for this) with a big glass section. A large door also makes sense if you want to bring in and take out larger items.
If only one child is really planned and maybe, at most, a second child is a possibility, then I would definitely start by designing just one large children’s bedroom and one master bedroom upstairs, with the option to add a wall later if the second child does come.
Storage space: I always have too little storage.
You can never have enough.
For example, what I would really miss is a small workshop. I find it practical to have a dedicated room where you can work on projects without having to tidy everything away every time. Upstairs, in your storage area next to the garage, you’ll definitely need a lot of space for garden tools and such, so there won’t be room for this, and it’s probably also unheated. A workshop—or let’s call it simply a DIY room *g*—I would prefer not to have unheated.
But that’s a personal choice, and it probably depends on the soil conditions. With normal soil, a basement doesn’t cost much more than a slab foundation, and I would never want to give up the extra storage space.
We also have many hobbies that require a lot of equipment, which is currently a real problem. (Just the diving gear alone takes up a lot of space, along with various types of skis, climbing gear, different mountaineering boots, backpacks, etc.)
Windows in the garage and storage room: definitely, if possible. As I said, you can’t have them on a boundary wall, but nothing prevents you from having glass elements in the doors. At least for the storage room, I would plan a large door (there are workshop doors for this) with a big glass section. A large door also makes sense if you want to bring in and take out larger items.
Similar topics