Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 549m² (5906 ft²)
Floor area ratio: 0.3
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 14 x 12m (46 x 39 ft)
Number of floors: 2 allowed with eaves height up to 4m (13 ft)
Roof style: Gable roof 38–45°
Maximum heights/limits: Eaves height max. 4m (13 ft); ridge height max. 11m (36 ft)
Additional requirements
Homeowner requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: Single-family house with gable roof, between modern and classic
Basement, floors: no basement
Number of occupants, age: currently 2, 29 years old, planned final 4
Office: family use or home office? Mainly family use as a guest room
Open kitchen, kitchen island: kitchen with sliding door, which will usually remain open except when cooking fish or hosting guests
Fireplace: chimney planned for masonry stove
Garage, carport: garage 9 x 4m (30 x 13 ft) planned, carport to follow
Additional wishes/features/daily routine: a small pool is planned
House design
Who created the design:
- Planner from a construction company: yes
- Architect: yes
What do you particularly like? It is already quite close to our ideas but could be improved
What don’t you like? Staircase, layout of the upstairs bathroom
Preferred heating technology: undecided yet between air-to-water heat pump or gas (but gas needs a storage tank for the energy saving regulations, right?); geothermal energy not allowed
Please provide suggestions for improvements or optimization. I would especially like your opinions regarding the staircase. We would probably move the roof window from above the dressing room to above the stairs, any thoughts?
Edit: The house will have approximately 152m² (1635 ft²) of living space
Plot size: 549m² (5906 ft²)
Floor area ratio: 0.3
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 14 x 12m (46 x 39 ft)
Number of floors: 2 allowed with eaves height up to 4m (13 ft)
Roof style: Gable roof 38–45°
Maximum heights/limits: Eaves height max. 4m (13 ft); ridge height max. 11m (36 ft)
Additional requirements
Homeowner requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: Single-family house with gable roof, between modern and classic
Basement, floors: no basement
Number of occupants, age: currently 2, 29 years old, planned final 4
Office: family use or home office? Mainly family use as a guest room
Open kitchen, kitchen island: kitchen with sliding door, which will usually remain open except when cooking fish or hosting guests
Fireplace: chimney planned for masonry stove
Garage, carport: garage 9 x 4m (30 x 13 ft) planned, carport to follow
Additional wishes/features/daily routine: a small pool is planned
House design
Who created the design:
- Planner from a construction company: yes
- Architect: yes
What do you particularly like? It is already quite close to our ideas but could be improved
What don’t you like? Staircase, layout of the upstairs bathroom
Preferred heating technology: undecided yet between air-to-water heat pump or gas (but gas needs a storage tank for the energy saving regulations, right?); geothermal energy not allowed
Please provide suggestions for improvements or optimization. I would especially like your opinions regarding the staircase. We would probably move the roof window from above the dressing room to above the stairs, any thoughts?
Edit: The house will have approximately 152m² (1635 ft²) of living space
The architect seems to be a fan of walk-through rooms...
I find it, to put it mildly, rather suboptimal that the office (and later, when fully occupied, probably also the guest room with two children) can only be accessed through the living room...
If Grandma comes to visit later and goes to bed earlier than you and might need to use the bathroom again, she’ll have to walk across the living area in her nightgown. If you like that...
Even if the room is only used as an office, the distances seem too long to me. Imagine sitting in the office working and the mail arrives and rings the bell. Well, we’ve already had a design here that practically included a fitness program just to get around. I wouldn’t call it well planned...
Furthermore, the hallway seems a bit small and awkwardly shaped. With two children, only that tiny bit of closet space? What if the whole family comes home at once, and maybe one child is still in a stroller? How is that supposed to work?
I don’t see any space for a stroller at all. Can it be left outside the door? Do you want that?
And upstairs: why can the storage room only be accessed through the bathroom? Was that your wish? Otherwise, I would put the door from the corridor.
I also find the bathroom layout less than ideal, but that can be fixed quickly:
Move the bathtub to the lower right corner, oriented north/south rather than east/west as it is now; place the window more in the center (is that possible from the outside view?); move the shower to where the toilet is now, which also allows moving the back wall closer to the door, creating a small niche opposite the door where a small cabinet would fit nicely; relocate the toilet to the north wall under the sloping ceiling. If wanted, a partial wall can be built between the tub and the toilet.
Why is there no light in the walk-in closet? I would keep that.
However, I see much more potential for improvement on the ground floor (although I don’t have an immediate brilliant idea right now).
I find it, to put it mildly, rather suboptimal that the office (and later, when fully occupied, probably also the guest room with two children) can only be accessed through the living room...
If Grandma comes to visit later and goes to bed earlier than you and might need to use the bathroom again, she’ll have to walk across the living area in her nightgown. If you like that...
Even if the room is only used as an office, the distances seem too long to me. Imagine sitting in the office working and the mail arrives and rings the bell. Well, we’ve already had a design here that practically included a fitness program just to get around. I wouldn’t call it well planned...
Furthermore, the hallway seems a bit small and awkwardly shaped. With two children, only that tiny bit of closet space? What if the whole family comes home at once, and maybe one child is still in a stroller? How is that supposed to work?
I don’t see any space for a stroller at all. Can it be left outside the door? Do you want that?
And upstairs: why can the storage room only be accessed through the bathroom? Was that your wish? Otherwise, I would put the door from the corridor.
I also find the bathroom layout less than ideal, but that can be fixed quickly:
Move the bathtub to the lower right corner, oriented north/south rather than east/west as it is now; place the window more in the center (is that possible from the outside view?); move the shower to where the toilet is now, which also allows moving the back wall closer to the door, creating a small niche opposite the door where a small cabinet would fit nicely; relocate the toilet to the north wall under the sloping ceiling. If wanted, a partial wall can be built between the tub and the toilet.
Why is there no light in the walk-in closet? I would keep that.
However, I see much more potential for improvement on the ground floor (although I don’t have an immediate brilliant idea right now).
Climbee schrieb:
And the upper floor: why is the storage room only accessible from the bathroom? Was that your choice? Otherwise, I would put the door from the hallway.But that’s where the washing machine and dryer are. I find it practical like this; we have the same setup.
No door to the living room?
Otherwise, I see a few too many corners...
Oh, those are the washing machine and dryer; I didn’t recognize them at first. To me, that looked like a storage room for cleaning supplies, vacuum cleaner, etc.
Personally, I don’t find it practical to have the washing machine and dryer in a separate room without a sink next to them, especially one without a window (it can get very hot with the dryer), but of course, that’s something people see differently.
Personally, I don’t find it practical to have the washing machine and dryer in a separate room without a sink next to them, especially one without a window (it can get very hot with the dryer), but of course, that’s something people see differently.
I also like the idea of having a laundry room on the upper floor.
What I don’t like about the floor plan:
- The children’s rooms are definitely too small in relation (over 24 sqm (258 sq ft) for the master bedroom, 13 sqm (140 sq ft) for the children’s rooms – that just doesn’t work)
- The staircase right at the entrance always causes dirt issues; it’s not my preference. Having just a few meters between the staircase and the door is usually enough to create a small dirt zone for taking off shoes, but here you don’t have that. This is especially annoying with children.
- The enclosed walk-in closet is rather impractical, though it could probably be changed quite easily
- The combined dining/living/kitchen area feels a bit outdated (a more modern layout might separate the living area and combine kitchen and dining), but if that’s what’s desired, it’s of course fine
- As already mentioned, it feels like there are too many corners
What I don’t like about the floor plan:
- The children’s rooms are definitely too small in relation (over 24 sqm (258 sq ft) for the master bedroom, 13 sqm (140 sq ft) for the children’s rooms – that just doesn’t work)
- The staircase right at the entrance always causes dirt issues; it’s not my preference. Having just a few meters between the staircase and the door is usually enough to create a small dirt zone for taking off shoes, but here you don’t have that. This is especially annoying with children.
- The enclosed walk-in closet is rather impractical, though it could probably be changed quite easily
- The combined dining/living/kitchen area feels a bit outdated (a more modern layout might separate the living area and combine kitchen and dining), but if that’s what’s desired, it’s of course fine
- As already mentioned, it feels like there are too many corners
Hi,
thanks for the tips and feedback. That’s why I started this topic.
- The office/guest room can only be accessed through the living room because of the staircase. I think the staircase needs to be arranged differently, any suggestions?
- I still don’t see space for a stroller.
- Good observation – the washing machine will go upstairs and the mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery is planned there. The dryer is not certain yet; for now, we manage without one.
- Currently, there is no door planned in the living room; honestly, I haven’t thought about it yet.
- I just don’t know how to take space from the bedroom and allocate it to the children’s room. We don’t need a large bedroom since we mostly just sleep there.
- I wanted the kitchen to be separable from the living-dining area by a sliding door when needed.
In the utility room, you can also see the chimney flue; the masonry heater is planned for the corner in the living room but isn’t shown in the drawing.
thanks for the tips and feedback. That’s why I started this topic.
- The office/guest room can only be accessed through the living room because of the staircase. I think the staircase needs to be arranged differently, any suggestions?
- I still don’t see space for a stroller.
- Good observation – the washing machine will go upstairs and the mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery is planned there. The dryer is not certain yet; for now, we manage without one.
- Currently, there is no door planned in the living room; honestly, I haven’t thought about it yet.
- I just don’t know how to take space from the bedroom and allocate it to the children’s room. We don’t need a large bedroom since we mostly just sleep there.
- I wanted the kitchen to be separable from the living-dining area by a sliding door when needed.
In the utility room, you can also see the chimney flue; the masonry heater is planned for the corner in the living room but isn’t shown in the drawing.
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